The Hippie Handbook

Offering up The Hippie Handbook to your friends quickly becomes a sociological study. The younger hippies – say, 35 and under who still live more or less by the hippie constructs – will most likely love this paperback (with a tie-dye cover, natch).

But the older hippies -- or even worse, those fortunate (?) few who were raised by hippies -- seem to dislike the book, or are at least likely to rip its tips to shreds. To this group, being a hippie is no laughing matter; a childhood full of homemade yogurt and granola can clearly make a person angry later in life.

Regardless of who your friends are, the book is a blast. You’ll read about everything from how to make “oregano” brownies to how to care for a fern, how to milk a goat, and the proper way to do tree sitting (bring a laptop). The illustrations are charming, and really add to the Flower Child feeling of the book. Peace and love.