Apocalypse Culture II

The reason to get this one, aside from the indispensible interview with Bobby Beausoleil (a man coping beautifully after being railroaded by the media and the system into doing life for a crime commited as a teenager), is for its entertainment value. At least three of these articles--the letters to Anton LaVey, "Mr. Awesome" and the convention of female fans of a new genre of pop fiction are tears-running-down-the cheeks hilarious. I don't undrestand why anyone would promote this stuff as an important cultural document of some sort, if any such exist; the agenda here is laughs, and plenty of 'em.

As assistant book-buyer for a federally funded, institutional library - and having actually read the book, not merely cast a neurotic sidelong glance at it, I emphatically recommend _AC2_ for facilitiies interested in stimulating intellectual curiosity among preoccupied adults. _AC2_ is likely to tear asunder the reader's psychological bearings, signalling the kind of psychic disturbance which may eventually pave the way for genuine appreciation of more classical forms of literature and behavior.

_Apocalypse Culture II_ is a fount of billowing, burbling, babbling psychopaths, most of them in some way violent. Cannibal Issei Sagawa, for example, is dispassionately portrayed by prolific badboy Colin Wilson as an innocent soul whose poetic life path just happened to lead him through a brave, experimental pilgrimage involving the casual murder and mastication of a beautiful young white woman. Elsewhere in this tomelike compendium, convicted Unabomber Ted Kaczynski tells an almost convincing fable about our deaf ear-turning, environmentally insentient species denying its way to certain extinction; I say "almost convincing" only because Kaczynski's stilted tone suggests the possibility, however faint, that the author suffers from unresolved personal issues. Don't get me wrong - I don't necessarily think Kaczynski has issues. For me, however, the most powerfully conceived and obviously inspired contribution comes from celebrated murderer David Woodard, whose essay "The Ketamine Necromance" courageously discusses uses of the drug truly intended by its University of Michigan inventor - "illuminative communication," as angelic necromancer Johannes Trithemius would have had it, and practical confidence enhancement during the commission of victim-based crimes. Although this is the essay for which I purchased the book, I am delighted to say I was able to find something worthwhile (however inadvertantly - to the fifth or sixth power) in most of the varied contributions. Finally, editor Parfrey's knowledgeable, at times wryly humorous essay on masturbation, "RealDoll," emblazons on the reader's by now quivering cortical mass the idea that humanity is rattling on its last legs: when grown men gather to share masturbation fantasies about memories of sex with dolls, we are certainly witnessing the final erosion of our own evil, repugnant species. Expect the worst, and you won't be disappointed.

Adam Parfrey has put together his second volume of what he delicately calls "the extreme societal tendrils" of our culture. Volume II is even finer than the first volume: bigger, more varied and with greater depth.So what have we got here? From the banal : descriptions of the exquisitely realistic female sex dolls, with orifices (it is said) more pleasure-giving than the real thing, for a mere $5,750.00 plus shipping. From the horrendous: satanism, the sexual vicitimization of children, necrophilia. From the in-between: a writing by Ted Kaczynsky (a rather dull fantasy); Danny Rolling (the Gainesville serial murderer)contributes a letter and a painting from death row; Sondra London has a short, thoughtful piece about "Murder Light," and Jim Goad writes a piece justifying (he thinks) the brutal beating of his girl friend. Jim wrote a very funny and intelligent "Redneck Manifesto," which I reviewed not so long ago. He wrote the Apocalypse piece from the Oregon State Penitentiary, where he resides on account of the above mentioned violence.This book is full of asperities and venom and razor-sharp protrusions. It is guaranteed to scrape and not to sooth. I cannot think of any normal (or abnormal) person who will not bleed a bit, here and there, just from browsing this book. With that warning, it is highly recommended. 60 articles, lots of pictures, 457 pages.

"Apocalypse Culture II" is the eagerly-awaited sequel to the 1987 underground classic "Apocalypse Culture." Like its predececcesor, "Apocalypse Culture II" is a series of articles chronicling cultural extremes.The articles take many forms. Some are essays written by the editor, Adam Parfrey, and other contributors (Jim Goad, Crispin Glover, Michael Moynihan). Others are interviews with assorted artists, writers, and mass murderers. Some are documents reprinted from other sources (i.e. an analysis of the song "American Pie" by the Aryan Nations, love letters to Jodie Foster by John Hinckley Jr.). As Parfrey states in his introduction, the book is "designed to assist the reader in finding front-row seats to its perverse pleasures and strange solutions." Much of the content is extremely disturbing, but as Parfrey advises, "Readers are urged to contemplate the strange and often contradictory information within, and make up their own minds regarding its value." Like real life itself, "Apocalypse Culture II" is simultaneously frightening, thrilling, hilarious, perverse, and disturbing. This book is NOT for the squeamish or easily offended. No matter how "progressive" and "open-minded" you think you are, there is something in here that will DEFINITELY offend you. Given the extremity of the viewpoints and artwork/ photos, it's also not a book to casually leave on your desk at work or on your coffee table.However, if you have a strong stomach and an open mind, you're in for quite a ride.Also highly recommended: the original "Apocalypse Culture," "Cult Rapture" (a series of lengthier articles by the editor Adam Parfrey), "Amok Fifth Dispatch" (a 500+ page directory of extreme texts and information), "Psychotropedia" (another 500+ directory of extreme texts, but with lengthier reviews and analyses by the editor, Russ Kick), "Rapid Eye Movement" (a compilation of articles by the late Simon Dwyer), and "Critical Vision" (a compilation of articles from the amazing British journal "Headpress").