Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo

by Oscar Zeta Acosta

Book Overview

Before his mysterious disappearance and probable death in 1971, Oscar Zeta Acosta was famous as a Robin Hood Chicano lawyer and notorious as the real-life model for Hunter S. Thompson's "Dr. Gonzo," a fat, pugnacious attorney with a gargantuan appetite for food, drugs, and life on the edge.

Written with uninhibited candor and manic energy, this book is Acosta's own account of coming of age as a Chicano in the psychedelic sixties, of taking...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679722130
• ISBN13: 9780679722137
• Release Date: July 1989
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Read this and watch Fear and Loathing in Vegas again

By reading this book before watching the movie, you will see what Dr. Gonzo's life was like right before he decides to become a lawyer. If you have ever felt alienated by American ideals, regardless of your race, you will relate to this book. Acosta's writing is good and he does a great job of describing what the character is feeling when he encounters life, drugs, and ulcers.

A superb book

This book is one of the most memorable I have read in many years. Oscar lived an incredible life, and his ability to render it in this book is consistently amazing. I've read this book about three times, and I reflect on the trajectory of Oscar's life often.

Finding Gonzo

To finally learn who the inspriation behind H.S. Thompson's Gonzo attorney was a treat. This book is a must read for anyone who desired the guts to quit their job and hit the road and discover life on the 'other' side of life. Every American should graze where the Buffalo once roamed.

A SUPRISING TREASURE

Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo is a powerful book that takes the reader on Acosta's unique journey from the brown and beaten to the brown and bruised. He is a magnificent story teller and it is shines a lot of light on the struggles of the non white in this country. The writting stands alone from his fellow gonzo HST, and is equally refreshing and challenging.

Listen for the Hoofbeats

This book is crude and drug-addled, but there's a lot of truth in it. Acosta opens a window into his tormented soul, and the brutality with which he examines his own life is refreshing. In a strange way, this book imparts a message of hope to the reader. It's a classic. If you dig Hunter Thompson, check it out.