Reviews New Buffalo

"There were also, surprising to me...amicable exchanges among New Buffalonians and their Hispano neighbors...." Review by Lois Rudnick University of Massachusetts, Boston Read Full Review  “Kopecky… faithfully recorded daily life in an open journal that reveals much about him as a person. His writing, a window in the thoughts of a utopian idealist, reflects a deep commitment to the anarchistic experiment of living on the land.” Albuquerque Journal   “Kopecky’s greatest contribution to understanding the commune movement of a generation ago may be in writing day after day of the love and generosity of these young people.” Denver Post Read Full Review

I remember visiting the New Buffalo commune in the spring of 1970. It was a clear day, probably a Sunday and because poet Alan Ginsburg was there, too, the place was packed with people. Ginsburg had a very deep and distinctive voice which seemed to boom over everything in a certain way that suggested depth of understanding. And though the place was impressive in its adobe construction, it seemed to shrink back from the presence of the poet and the crowds. It was impossible to tell who lived there and who was visiting and even to determine what was going on at all. But the place was welcoming, open and had good vibes. Solon, Fountain of Light.net Read Full Review “Kopecky’s book celebrates the counter cultural revolutionaries of the 1960’s…[and]…the practical application of hippie idealism.” Taos HorseFly  “[Kopecky’s] conflict over the community’s need for both individual freedom and rules and the role of private ownership verses communal sharing create a smooth undertone for many of the journal entries.” Albuquerque Journal North Edition "It is enormously welcome to see a published primary document that lets us into the daily life of one of the fabled communes of the era. This first-person voice captures the magic-and the more sordid realities-of the 60s communal enterprise as well as anything that has yet appeared." Tim Miller, University of Kansas, for Communal Societies Read full review. “Wallace Stegner referred to communal living in his novel, Angle of Repose: ‘I want a society that will protect the wild life without confusing itself with it.’ Such is the genius of Kopecky's lesson at New Buffalo." Southwest Bookviews Read Full Review "The journal is a primary source, written at the time of the events it describes. As such it is a valuable record of life at New Buffalo." Santa Fe New Mexican Read Full Review "Those who want a detailed, if informal, record of how a commune actually worked will prefer Kopecky and perhaps react to his belief in the possibility of attaining 'harmony and a sustainable future.' I hope that he is right." Crosswinds Weekly  “The Journals are also a record of New Buffalo itself growing up, from wide-eyed idealism and endless parties, to crafts production as livelihood, to full self sufficiency as a dairy farm. And though the details are sparse, by the end, a story arises that is far more than the sum of its individual entries.”  North Bay Bohemian "The dream was nothing less than Jeffersonian,… [and] would provide both the rationale and nourishment for community-based democracy. New Buffalo makes a plaintively naïve, refreshingly idealistic case for post-corporate capitalism and cooperative self-rule." Su Casa Magazine Read Full Review “Kopecky began his account in the spring of 1971 as he and a small band of like-minded people left Bolinas, Calif., and traveled throughout the U.S. in a converted Wonder Bread truck, called the Mind Machine.” Pasatiempo Magazine Read Full Review "….the seasonal cycles of activity and the drug and alcohol-laced entertainment provide accurate snapshots of the living conditions, personal relationships, and community involvement that hippie communes everywhere shared in one form or another." Bloomsbury Review "Kopecky finds that ideas of intentional communities, eco-villages and people working together to create a safety net is more appealing than ever in today's world of too much traffic, too much worrying about downsizing and out-sourcing, and a conspicuous absence of joy and optimism. This is his testament to how it can work." Sonoma Index Tribune "Although communes are generally thought of as part of the counterculture, utopian communities have been part of the American scene almost from the original colonies, which were their own utopian dream." New Mexico Magazine "New Buffalo…had a total open-door policy. Decisions weren't made by consensus or voting, but rather a kind of amorphous vibe-grok among folks there at the time….[Kopecky] had hope that it and other communes would make a difference in our society." by Diana Leafe Christian,Communities Magazine Read full review. "This book is unique. It is like nothing else you are likely to read. There are incidents, anecdotes, and life situations. It's all here. In my experience, it takes a long time to read a journal. It's different from a story, since there's no narrative thread per se. But the time is well worth it. The threads you do find are of solid gold." Pam Hanna, Amazon.com "New Buffalo: Journals from a Taos Commune is a unique contribution to the sum of human experiential learning. The experience of New Buffalo, so honestly presented here, may prove to be more precious than a memory. We all may yet need those skills, we all may yet need that mind, to master what may come." Daniel S Cohn, Amazon.com. Read Full Review        These are on-the-spot journal entries from the serious, day-to-day heart of life at New Buffalo-a real picture of the interrelations within the early to middle years of the rise of the adobe, pot, and peyote counterculture." Clark Diamond, Amazon.com. For more information on Kopecky or New Buffalo, please contact Amanda Sutton, UNM Press publicity at 505-277-0655, 505-277-9270 (fax), or asutton@unm.edu.