"Change is no stranger to us in the twenty-first century. All of us must constantly adjust to an evolving world, to transformation and innovation. But for many thousands of creative artists, a torrent of recent changes has made it all but impossible to earn a living. A persistent economic recession, social shifts, and technological change have combined to put our artists-from graphic designers to indie-rock musicians, from architects to booksellers-out of work. This important book looks deeply and broadly into the roots of the crisis of the creative class in America and tells us why it matters. Scott Timberg considers the human cost as well as the unintended consequences of shuttered record stores, decimated newspapers, music piracy, and a general attitude of indifference. He identifies social tensions and contradictions-most concerning the artist's place in society-that have plunged the creative class into a fight for survival. Timberg shows how America's now-collapsing middlebrow culture-a culture once derided by intellectuals like Dwight Macdonald-appears, from today's vantage point, to have been at least a Silver Age. Timberg's reporting is essential reading for anyone who works in the world of culture, knows someone who does, or cares about the work creative artists produce"--

A complete, full-color recreation in book form of all 12 issues of the legendary psychedelic newspaper originally published in the Haight-Ashbury 1966-68. Edited by Allen Cohen $175.00 Library Edition (ISBN 0-916147-11-8) / $700.00 Collector's Edition (ISBN 0-916147-12-6) / 431 pp / 11" x 14"/ hardbound / archival paper / Library Edition limited to 1700 copies / Collectors Edition limited to 200 copies The San Francisco Oracle, published in the Haight-Ashbury from 1966 to 1968, was one of the most unique and beautiful publications of the 60's. It is remembered for it's extraordinary graphic design by major San Francisco artists, its rainbow colors and the cultural explorations and breakthroughs in its articles, interviews and poetry. At its height, over 120,000 copies of each issue of The Oracle were printed and distributed, and each copy was read by many people. The Oracle is quoted and praised in most of the histories of the 60's. Writers who appeared in The Oracle include: Gary Snyder, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Alan Watts, Stephen Levine, Lenore Kandel, Tim Leary, Michael McClure, Paul Krassner, Buckminster Fuller, Carl Rogers, Richard Alpert (Ram Dass), Robert Theobald, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and others. Artists include many of the great San Francisco Poster artists such as: Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse, Alton Kelly, Bruce Conner, Michael Bowen and Gary Grimshaw. During the 60's there was an incredible surge of creative innovation in journalism. In response to the mainstream media's control of information regarding the Vietnam War, the anti-war movement and the cultural changes that were sweeping America, every large city, many college campuses and even some high schools created their own underground newspapers. Out of this creative ferment arose one publication that burst the boundaries of the newspaper format both in graphic and in written content;The San Francisco Oracle. The Oracle printed artwork in bold colors, merging written content and artistic vision. At times it was difficult to tell if the paper was reflecting the changes in the new culture or originating them. Its style and technical innovations were copied by many of the alternative papers and some of the more adventurous mainstream media. The Oracle is now a cherished legend. Those who remember it compare its beauty to the medieval illuminated manuscripts and the illustrated books of Blake and Dori.