Join the Archive
Get 15% off your first order plus early access to newly released declassified materials
Skip to product information
Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon: Laurel Canyon, Covert Ops & the Dark Heart of the Hippie Dream - Paperback
$31.95
by David McGowan (Author), Nick Bryant (Foreword by)
Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon: Laurel Canyon, Covert Ops & the Dark Heart of the Hippie Dream is a investigative work by David McGowan (1960–2015), a California-based researcher, writer, and author who was born and raised in Torrance, California, just south of Laurel Canyon. A UCLA psychology graduate who ran a small business in the Los Angeles area, McGowan spent years examining the 1960s counterculture scene through extensive research into public records, family backgrounds, and historical connections.
The book explores the Laurel Canyon music and hippie scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s, where numerous influential rock artists congregated. It examines the unusual concentration of musicians with direct family ties to military-intelligence backgrounds, the area’s history as a hub for covert operations and experimental activities, and a series of mysterious deaths, violent incidents, and disturbing undercurrents beneath the peace-and-love image. McGowan analyzes the rapid emergence of the scene, its key figures (including The Doors, The Byrds, Frank Zappa, and others), connections to intelligence programs, and questions the conventional narrative of an organic grassroots movement.
A detailed independent investigation and primary alternative history of the era, Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon offers readers interested in 1960s counterculture, intelligence operations, and the darker side of the music industry a comprehensive look at one of the most mythologized periods in American popular culture.
Number of Pages: 316
Dimensions: 0.9 x 8.4 x 5.4 IN
Illustrated: Yes
Publication Date: April 30, 2014