The Upstart Spring: Esalen and the American Awakening

Walt Anderson is a fantastic writer. And Esalen is such an amazing place that this is a must read for anyone who is interested in the birth of the human potential movement in America. The stories of Michael Murphy, Dick Price, and the early days are inspiring, thrilling, and a testament to the power of a few to change the consciousness of a generation.

This too little known book deserves to be on everyone's bookshelf. Walter Truett Anderson is a great raconteur of the highest caliber. And the story there is to tell! The only wonder is why this hasn't been made into a movie...the stories are sooooo interesting and the cast of characters in the first chapter alone would make the book worthy of attention...from Joan Baez and Hunter Thompson (one can only imagine what he was like as "security guard/caretaker") to gay bathers, Hell's Angels and Big Sur's bohemian artistes like Henry Miller...what a time. This book seems like a worthy memoir of it all. A sort of collective Big Chill for the rest of us.