Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Uncover the life of High Times' enigmatic founder, an underground newspaper editor and marijuana kingpin who battled both the U.S. government and fellow radicals in this whirlwind narrative of police raids and smuggling runs.
At the end of the 1960s, the mysterious Tom For ade suddenly appeared, insinuated himself into the top echelons of the political counterculture, and assumed control of the Underground Press Syndicate, a coalition of newspapers across the country. As he weathered government surveillance and harassment, he embarked on a landmark court battle to obtain White House press credentials. But his outrageous stunts--pieing Congressional panelists, stealing presidential portraits, and picking fights with other activists--led to charges that he was an agent provocateur. He claimed that he was just trying to "advance international surrealism."
For ade saw a new path forward--marijuana, he believed, could be used as a tool for cultural and economic revolution. What Playboy had done for sex, High Times would do for marijuana, dragging a taboo subject into the mainstream. Bankrolled by drug-dealing profits, the magazine was a travelogue of globe-trotting adventure and a wellspring of news about "the business" from a worldwide network of sources. With regular updates on legislation, entrepreneurial advice, and charts of price fluctuations, the glossy magazine simultaneously legitimized and commodified drug culture. Its editorials--which warned against corporate interests descending upon legalized weed, and international drug wars serving as cover for imperialist adventures--would prove to be prophetic. But High Times soon threatened to become nothing more than the "hip capitalism" that he'd railed against for so long, and For ade felt his enemies closing in.
Agents of Chaos is a fast-paced tale about attacks on journalism, disinformation campaigns, governmental secrecy, corporatism, and political factionalism. The tragedies and triumphs of Tom For ade mirror the cultural transformations of 1970s America, wrought by forces that continue to clash in the spaces between unrest, activism, and power.
Synopsis
The life and time of High Times' enigmatic founder Thomas King For ade, an underground newspaper editor and marijuana kingpin who--between police raids, smuggling runs, and outrageous stunts--battled both the US government and fellow radicals.
At the end of the 1960s, the mysterious Tom For ade 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.
As the era of protest faded and the dark shadows of Watergate spread, For ade hoped that marijuana could be the path to cultural and economic revolution. Bankrolled by drug-dealing profits, High Times would be the Playboy 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 High Times soon threatened to become nothing more than the "hip capitalism" For ade had railed against for so long, and he felt his enemies closing in.
Assembled from exclusive interviews, archived correspondences, and declassified documents, Agents of Chaos 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.