{"product_id":"agents-of-chaos-thomas-king-forcade-high-times-and-the-paranoid-end-of-the-1970s","title":"Agents of Chaos: Thomas King Forçade, High Times, and the Paranoid End of the 1970s","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe life and times of \u003ci\u003eHigh Times\u003c\/i\u003e' enigmatic founder Thomas King Forçade, an underground newspaper editor and marijuana kingpin who--between police raids, smuggling runs, and outrageous stunts--battled both the US government and fellow radicals.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCover illustration by legendary comics artist Bill Sienkiewicz.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e At the end of the 1960s, the mysterious Tom Forçade suddenly appeared, insinuating himself into the top echelons of countercultural politics and assuming control of the Underground Press Syndicate, a coalition of newspapers across the country. Weathering government surveillance and harassment, he embarked on a landmark court battle to obtain White House press credentials. But his audacious exploits--pieing Congressional panelists, stealing presidential portraits, and picking fights with other activists--led to accusations that he was an agent provocateur. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e As the era of protest faded and the dark shadows of Watergate spread, Forçade hoped that marijuana could be the path to cultural and economic revolution. Bankrolled by drug-dealing profits, \u003ci\u003eHigh Times\u003c\/i\u003e would be the \u003ci\u003ePlayboy\u003c\/i\u003e of pot, dragging a once-taboo subject into the mainstream. The magazine was a travelogue of globe-trotting adventure, a wellspring of news about \"the business,\" and an overnight success. But \u003ci\u003eHigh Times\u003c\/i\u003e soon threatened to become nothing more than the \"hip capitalism\" Forçade had railed against for so long, and he felt his enemies closing in. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Assembled from exclusive interviews, archived correspondences, and declassified documents, \u003ci\u003eAgents of Chaos\u003c\/i\u003e is a tale of attacks on journalism, disinformation campaigns, governmental secrecy, corporatism, and political factionalism. Its triumphs and tragedies mirror the cultural transformations of 1970s America, wrought by forces that continue to clash in the spaces between activism and power.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSean Howe \u003c\/b\u003eis the author of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestseller and Eisner Award-winning \u003ci\u003eMarvel Comics: The Untold Story. \u003c\/i\u003eHis work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, Bookforum, Wired, \u003c\/i\u003eand elsewhere. He lives in upstate New York.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Hachette Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50621193093394,"sku":"9780306923913","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_cac0c38c-2059-4069-8059-8f06398e3ab8.jpg?v=1732582842","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/agents-of-chaos-thomas-king-forcade-high-times-and-the-paranoid-end-of-the-1970s","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}