From Publishers Weekly
A good travelogue conveys a sense of place while pointing the reader towards interesting activities, destinations, places to eat and the like. A great travelogue does all this, but it also stands alone as an enjoyable read, regardless of the reader’s travel plans. This quirky tour of Austin, Tex., delivers the whole enchilada. Friedman (Armadillos & Old Lace, etc.), novelist and founder of the band Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys, is not what most people would think of as a typical Texan. When he suggests what car to buy to fit in (either a pickup or a Cadillac will do), he proclaims, "I myself drive a Yom Kippur Clipper. That’s a Jewish Cadillac—stops on a dime and picks it up." But this attitude gives Friedman the perfect perspective from which to narrate a journey through his city. His suggestions of things to do all come from personal experience and are usually accompanied by a colorful anecdote or observation. In a chapter on places to eat, Friedman gives this tip on dining at the Magnolia Café: "Feel free to light up a cigarette if you smoke, because Magnolia is one of the few restaurants you can smoke in without some asshole trying to make a citizen’s arrest." Friedman’s plain-speaking is part of the book’s charm. What other travel guide would proudly list a mass murderer—Charles Whitman, who shot 45 people from the Texas Tower in 1966—in a section on famous citizens? As Friedman points out, "We like to think that everything’s bigger in Texas. This, of course, includes mass murder sprees." Whether or not a trip to Austin is in your future, this slim book paints a vivid picture of a city that’s as appealingly offbeat as Friedman himself.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Inside Flap
Kinky Friedman, the original Texas Jewboy, takes us on a rollicking, rock-and-rolling tour of his favorite city: Austin.

Maybe you want to know which restaurant President Bush rates as his favorite Austin burger joint. Or maybe you want a glimpse of Willie Nelson’s home life (hint: Willie plays a lot of golf). Perhaps you want to get the best view of the Mexican free-tail bats as they make their nightly flights to and from the Congress Avenue Bridge. Or maybe you’re itching to learn the history of a city that birthed Janis Joplin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and countless other music legends. It’s all here in The Great Psychedelic Armadillo Picnic, the slightly insane, amazingly practical, and totally kick-ass guide to the coolest city in Texas by none other than Kinky Friedman.

This ain’t no ordinary travel guide, neither. “Like most other busy cities these days, Austin is not very effectively traversed by foot,” Kinky explains. “You must understand that ‘a walk in Austin’ is primarily a spiritual sort of thing.” As might be expected from this politically incorrect country-singer-turned-bestselling-mystery-author, the Kinkster’s tour includes a bunch of stuff you won’t ?nd in a Frommer’s guide, from descriptions of Austin’s notable trees and directions to skinny-dipping sites to lists of haunted places and quizzes and puzzles. So put on your cowboy hat and your brontosaurus-foreskin boots and head down south with the only book you need to get to the big heart of this great city.


From the Hardcover edition.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Irreverent Texas novelist, songwriter and self-described "Gandhi-like figure" Kinky Friedman has not allowed his pursuit of the Lone Star State governorship to interfere with more important matters. In The Great Psychedelic Armadillo Picnic, the Kinkster guides us on a rock-and-rolling, mind-expanding tour of Austin, the city that skinny-dips but does not sleep. You can read this book as a Frommer's Guide for the truly jaded or just enjoy the ride.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Maybe you want to know which restaurant President Bush rates as his favorite Austin burger joint. Or maybe you want a glimpse of Willie Nelson's home life (hint: Willie plays a lot of golf). Perhaps you want to get the best view of the Mexican free-tail bats as they make their nightly flights to and from the Congress Avenue Bridge. Or maybe you're itching to learn the history of a city that birthed Janis Joplin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and countless other music legends. It's all here in The Great Psychedelic Armadillo Picnic, the slightly insane, amazingly practical, and totally kick-ass guide to the coolest city in Texas by none other than Kinky Friedman.

This ain't no ordinary travel guide, neither. "Like most other busy cities these days, Austin is not very effectively traversed by foot," Kinky explains. "You must understand that 'a walk in Austin' is primarily a spiritual sort of thing." As might be expected from this politically incorrect country-singer-turned-bestselling-mystery-author, the Kinkster's tour includes a bunch of stuff you won't find in a Frommer's guide, from descriptions of Austin's notable trees and directions to skinny-dipping sites to lists of haunted places and quizzes and puzzles. So put on your cowboy hat and your brontosaurus-foreskin boots and head down south with the only book you need to get to the big heart of this great city.

FROM THE CRITICS

Pamela Paul - The New York Times

The book is more an ode to the self-described Kinkster than it is a guide to Austin proper, even with Friedman's desultory inclusion of to-do lists, quizzes and restaurant recommendations. He proffers his advice as a local yokel and a man's man, a ''Texas Jewboy'' -- which is also the name of his frequently mentioned rock band.

Library Journal