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ADVANCE PRAISE FOR CAN’T YOU GET ALONG WITH ANYONE? A WRITER’S MEMOIR AND A TALE OF A LOST SURFER’S PARADISE
NOTE: Scroll to the bottom for "Brian's Classic Review," the funniest book review I’ve ever come across.
"Can’t You Get Along With Anyone? takes the gloves off and delivers a punch that transcends memoir. It speeds forward like a train wreck of a psychological thriller."
--Eric Blehm, The Last Season (National Outdoor Book Award winner)
“With In Search of Captain Zero and now Can’t You Get Along With Anyone? I believe Allan Weisbecker is the greatest memoirist of our time.”
--Mary Sands, Jack Magazine
“Can’t You Get Along With Anyone? is a writer’s book about writing. And when I say writer, I mean Writer. I’ve already compared Weisbecker’s writing with Alexandr Solzhenitsyn’s, and now I’m going to compare it to Mark Twain’s. Alexandr Solzhenitsyn is a Writer. Mark Twain is a Writer. And Allan Weisbecker is a Writer.”
--James Maclaren, Ink 19 Magazine
To read Mr. Maclaren’s 6,000 word review/essay on CYGAWA, click here
“As his sanity, health and existence are simultaneously mangled, Weisbecker somehow manages to solve a murder, wrestle the dark side of paradise, and wind up on multiple third world hit lists… Can’t You Get Along With Anyone? is a necessity for anyone who believes truth is indeed stranger than fiction… an entrancing, thoughtful and darkly humorous calamity.”
--Surfer Magazine
“If you’re looking for Hunter S. T’s and Kerouac’s lost cousin, look no further. In terms of brass balls and lunatic schemes filled with desperadoes, delusions, and dirt roads, Weisbecker goes toe-to-toe with Neal Cassidy/Dean Moriarity any day.”
--Jay Sweet, Paste Magazine
Can’t You Get Along With Anyone? is a vividly confrontational must-read for anyone who has friends in jail or in the movie or record businesses.
--Jimmy Buffett
“…I encourage you to stay (in Central America) until something that resembles death.”
--Sean Penn to the author in their last communication
“In all its brutal, dark, hilarious truth, Can't You Get Along With Anyone? belongs in the pantheon of Hollywood memoirs right next to William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade and Which Lie Did I Tell. If Allan Weisbecker were Job, the only woe not heaped upon him are the boils.”
--David M. Evans, writer/director/producer (Radio Flyer, The Final Season)
Here are blurbs from reader reactions (some letters went on for pages). If you scroll around, you’ll see I did not front load the most enthusiastic ones (I left in the two negative ones):
…(the) book sucks you right IN, while sucking the fucking life out of you as well… frenzied anticipation, and emotional attachment that runs the full spectrum. Great work… Jeffrey Johnson
…it made me feel happiness, sorrow, disbelief, anger, relief and much more - the ending was perfect yet left me wanting so much more... Matt Smith
What the fuck!! This book was like poison ivy you know you shouldn’t scratch… Bill Pingle
The more I read the harder it was to put the book down… David Johnson
Holy fuck Allan, CYGAWA is an amazing book. Never read anything like it… Terry Shaw
I feel wiser having read your thoughts. More importantly I feel encouraged in my own personal struggle with the world… Dana Foley
your book means more than you will ever know to people you will never meet…. one of the best endings i've ever seen or heard about, but it is also one of the most beautifully written things i have ever read in my life… Mark Ledcuda
Still 'shell-shocked' a month plus after finishing your new book.
Corbin Meek
… from mad rushes in the hotel to the tranquil beauty of that passage about your mom! such an extreme change in emotion… great, great ending… who coulda thought lying in bed quietly reading a book could do that to ya!... Jamie Souter
It's like the eighth grade class misfit/clown/genius on acid all grown up and being able to peer right into the unexpurgated structure of the brain … Matt Cunningham
I can honestly say that I have never read a book like CYGAWA. it was damn near flawless…Cory Cason
…you cannot read the thing in public…. I started roaring with laughter on the Muni train in SF. People thought I was nuts… Johnny Bell
…still absorbed in CYGAWA - here's my latest review, borrowed it from the movie Finding Nemo.."I was like WHOA, and you were like WHOA, and we were like WHOA!!!"… Bob in FLA
I just read the part where you read the letter you found in your father's house. It was a truly powerful thing to say, and I am writing to thank you for having said it… Whitney Reeds
OUTSTANDING work my friend!!!... Did you see the movie "The Neverending
Story?" where the kid reads the book and then becomes a character in the story? THATS what it felt like…. Travis Hampton
Finished your latest crazy tome Sunday night. I must say, it left me out of sorts and I had to get up and slug a rum to help me get to sleep… Loco Lorenzo (Larry)
I really liked the ending. … the story about your mom had me in tears... Sarah O'Connor
I’ve gotten to thinking that you’d be one heck of a chum and would be happy to consider you my friend… Gary Kaganas
Check it out! I'm on page 373. I've gotta find out what happens next… Jason Bickley
With your memoir, the reading experience… shifted my view of my own life experience...just a little bit, but in a good direction. So thank you very much for that Mr Weisbecker… Nick Carroll (Global Editor, Surfing magazine)
I know you and I are going to be friends for a lifetime, if only in the pages of the books…
JKDove
I just finished it again. I had a marathon read starting the day I got it and,
after finishing it 23 hours later, I tried to read it again from the beginning but it
was too difficult, my brain too hot and fevered… Jeff Beebe
This life of yours is by far, the most interesting, funny, sad, screwed-up combination rollercoaster/funhouse ride that anyone could imagine living… Michael
As I was reading your words, the one singular thought that came to mind wasn’t words....it was a sound. The sound of a WWII Stuka in full dive mode… Brad Miller
When I read that page in Can't You Get Along With Anyone? it was 0100 and I was in my bunk in the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq. I was by myself and laughing my ass off… Jeremy Turner
The end of page 82 brought me to tears…. Chip Gruber
You have filled my time with insight and complete and utter satisfaction in the knowledge that I'm not crazy!... Deirdre H. T. Finnegan
I have been laughing out loud the whole way through…. your stuff is always 10 layers deep… Duffy Rich
Just finished your amazing new book.....i absolutely couldn't put it down.... joe strickland
Your world is fantastic…. your book LIVES… Caren Oberg
i absolutely loved the book, and was truly devastated when i finished it… whitney reeds
I read slowly to relish every page… Peter Spacek
… from mad rushes in the hotel to the tranquil beauty of that passage about your mom! such an extreme change in emotion… great, great ending… who coulda thought lying in bed quietly reading a book could do that to ya!... Jamie Souter
I just wanted to let you know that this one guy’s humble opinion of MacLaren’s review is that the nail has been walloped on it’s shiny ass dome. (as with your book…I only wish it were longer!)… Andrew Casini
CYGWA did not live up to my expectations…. Jay Lapat
CYGAWA was great…please don't stop…Bruce Arledge
...I haven't stopped reading it since i got it.... It's kinda become an obsession... Bob Jack
Your writing has had a profound effect me… I was a little sad that I finished it…
Chuck Tuohy
Another brilliant book by you. Keep on writing! Kate
Your thoughts on jealousy, women and headf*cks is exactly how the brain works, it's just no one ever says it… Mark Jones
Thanks for writing the book; you are My favorite writer… Michael J. Buehrig
"Can't You Get Along With Anyone?"...GREAT!... Fred Lammers
I'm about half way through and I'm definitely enjoying it… Andrew Contrino
I walk away from that book with a confirmation of "People, by nature, destroy paradise once they find it."… Herb Silio
i couldnt put the fucking thing down…. it was incredibly honest….What a fucking ride… Danny DiMauro
I've just finished reading your book like, just 5 minutes ago… I've been thoroughly entertained… Mark Evans
i've just finished reading your new book. I loved it…Timothy Matthews
But I couldn’t put that goddamn thing down… I didn’t really think of much else. No food, drugs, movies, anything… Glen.
Wow. You have got to be the bravest person I've ever known… Randy P.
I can honestly say that I have never read a book like CYGAWA before. it was damn near flawless…Cory Cason
(after reading CYGAWA) I consider you my favorite author… Ian Dooley
Thank You for your excellent and heart ripping book… Sean Mahoney
Talk about catharsis… I am pretty blown away by the juicy details of it….Great book…
Chris Curley
The book is strong. It made my gut wrench in sympathy for entire chapters… Michael Crumbliss
I just finished the book. I really enjoyed it… Thomas Carey
I read your book in record time for me You made me laugh and cry more than once… Ron Leavoy
I read a lot of books, and rarely do I finish a story and feel like I must know what happens next... Elevendozen
I finished your book last night. The way you wrap it up lingers in a powerful sort of way… Randy Taylor (Morehead City Book Shop)
I read it cover to cover on a plane from Oregon to CT… and the thought was HOLY SHIT… Mike Fulcher
Man, I feel for you! It made an otherwise perfect vacation in Fiji even more enjoyable... Carter Townsend
I just read the part where you read the letter you found in your father's house. It was a truly powerful thing to say, and I am writing to thank you for having said it… Whitney Reeds
Finished your book several hours ago. It has changed the way I see shit… Jim Mandler p.s. Love the ending.
wow. I could not put it down at the end. I was up until 1am last night… Steve Lovell
I am enjoying this book on many different levels… I'm on page 473 now and man, I really feel for you!... Randy Pearson
Once I finish the book I think I will need some time to explore all that you have brought to light within me… Dave Nelson
Just completed your third book and enjoyed it immensely. Your quest for truth is
fantastic and I hope to emulate your vigilance! thanks for the powerful words… Aaron
I really enjoyed it….thank you for finally calling Hollywood for what it really is… Nick Dominguez
Loved reading the book. Starting it for the second time… Brian Flett
I enjoyed your book about pavones (life in paradise)!!... Jim Mincher
…you cannot read the thing in public…. I started roaring with laughter on the Muni train in SF. People thought I was nuts… Johnny Bell
…still absorbed in CYGAWA - here's my latest review, borrowed it from the movie Finding Nemo.."I was like WHOA, and you were like WHOA, and we were like WHOA!!!"… Bob in FLA
I was reading cygawa early this morning… love the way that you let your writing loose in this piece. fucking love it… Mark McInnis
I just finished the book, CYGAWA. Fucking amazing… Christian Morwood
Hi Allen, finished the book and have that lonely feeling of losing touch with an old friend. It was strange like that. ....domlin
\
Hey Allan,
I'm fucking exhausted... You speak the truth man. Despite my exhaustion, I'm laughing out loud… Erik Barnes
As hard as it was to put down ISoCZ, CYGAWO is hard to pick back up… Carlos
I keep thinking of "Death on the Installment Plan" by Celine when I think of CYGAWA…Sean Sullivan
OUTSTANDING work my friend!!!... Did you see the movie "The Neverending
Story?" where the kid reads the book and then becomes a character in the story? THATS what it felt like…. Travis Hampton
Finished your latest crazy tome Sunday night. I must say, it left me out of sorts and I had to get up and slug a rum to help me get to sleep… Loco Lorenzo (Larry)
I’ve gotten to thinking that you’d be one heck of a chum and would be happy to consider you my friend… Gary Kaganas
Check it out! I'm on page 373. I've gotta find out what happens next… Jason Bickley
With your memoir, the reading experience… shifted my view of my own life experience...just a little bit, but in a good direction. So thank you very much for that Mr Weisbecker… Nick Carroll (Global Editor, Surfing magazine)
I know you and I are going to be friends for a lifetime, if only in the pages of the books…
JKDove
I found myself laughing out loud, pissed off, close to tears, and enlightened throughout… Dan Goddard
I got your book. 182 pages in and completely hooked… Duane Burns
i couldn't put the damn thing down!!! i read it in 3 days... dave foy
I feel wiser having read your thoughts. More importantly I feel encouraged in my own personal struggle with the world… Dana Foley
GREAT read… Tom Gonzalez
…hearing the details from another on their day to day struggles in this sometimes fucked up world, can often times help the reader forget, or at least distract, themselves from their own fucked up life….Jeff English
Your book has finally churned and burned through my subconscious and I want to sincerely thank you for your honesty and emotional nakedness… Linda Hermanns
It’s an extraordinary book! I suspect the person who said that reading it had changed his life is not alone. Count me in that group… Bob Poole
I'm a Screenwriter/Director. Jesus... you nailed (Hollywood). Thank you. David M. Evans
Two big fucking thumbs up on the book, congrats, man… Michael Ginthor (filmmaker)
What a read! I feel I owe you a beer, or a Hug, or a slap… Justin Sheedy
My perspective on life has certainly changed after reading your book… Adam Ferguson
I am reading it again. I am enjoying every word!.. Jim Kuiack
…brilliant and also, pretty damn good… ROGER
I loved it, it was an addiction for the three days or so it took me to inhale it. You are a human being. You are an artist… Andrea McGarty
The more I read the harder it was to put the book down… David Johnson
Holy fuck Allan, CYGAWA is an amazing book. Never read anything like it… Terry Shaw
I finished reading your book last night and I must say I am pretty upset… due
to the fact that the next book I read will be a severe let down… David Hartogs
I have just bought your book for the 2nd time!... Lana Swanson
I'm really connecting with you. Can't put the fucking book down…Michael Pacheco
Really great book Allan! Thank you for writing so many truths that I have felt myself, yet never put in words…. Steven Madorsky
All i can say at this time is WOW, and HOLY COW…. the phrase "may you live in interesting times" comes to mind. Bob in Florida
I loved the new book, the ending was great, had me rolling…Dean Mccormick
Cool, deep Renaissance shit that makes you feel both tiny and significant all at the same time… Andrew Casini
I finished CYGAWA last week. Great book! Thanks for going through all that lunacy for us... hart dementi
I have a fun job. I work with dolphins here in Hawaii, yet my fun job quickly became a hideous chore after I started reading your book. Your book consumed me… Jessica Aschettino
Just finshed you book at 3:30 am this morning. I just couldn't put it down. Wow, man.
I feel for you man… Nate DeMars
well - i hung in...all damn day long and: WOW… gonna need a few days to digest it all, but again: WOW…i wish i could produce more accolades right, now, but i am gonna need a few days…Bobby Chappell
Great read… Scott Stephens
I do like your book and yes it does change my life. Thank you for that. It makes me feel like there's hope… Stefan Joesler
I like to get lost in your books. I just worry that writing another one might kill you… Ralph Hardy
…it was a compulsive reading. I couldn't really lay the book down. I kept going because I wanted to know what would happen next. I *LOVED* the last chapter. Nearly drove me to tears… Sammy Fischer
i was in a sprint to the end, to see what happened… Melanie Hamilton
Hell of a book. It… make(s) you laugh out loud, break your heart, wish for vengeance… Rick and Liz
…no shit, your work has seen me through a lot like you can't imagine and words (at least mine) cannot express. Good Night and Good Luck"… John Limanni
You do have something special with cygawa… You are the only writer that I read that I actually care about on a personal level and that is because of your unique writing style… Jan Ziegler
“I’m still blabbing about CYGAWA. Some friends I’ve blabbed to are now blabbing themselves. It truly is viral, and I hope that it infects everyone!...” Michael
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and have enjoyed the website. Keeping my fingers crossed that there is plenty more in future from ACW…. Zach
Another great book. What a bitch!!!!!!! Steve Davis
I finished the book at 5:30 AM in a bit of a daze… it’s more a writer/reader relationship where you are stuck feeling helpless while your friend spirals out of control …” …Jordy
I was not planning on finishing the book tonight, but I could not put it down. Jesus fucking christ....how the fuck do you live through this shit… Gavin Hecker
You've done it for me, again… Tim Niedringhaus
You've done it again. Your writing style is a breath of fresh air… Mike Denby
thanks soooo much I have really enjoyed your sharing and wish you the best… Jim Christ
….it's probably one of the best endings in a book I've read, the only way yours could have come to a proper close… Rich Robinson
... its fucking great! couldn't put it down. i think you've made the world a better place… justin gooding
... just laid there hoping for sleep which never came and had to finish your %*^(&(@ book… Ashley Carter
I was reading it last night (part 2) then dreamt about it. I don't remember many dreams so I knew you were on to something!... Warren King
…it made me feel happiness, sorrow, disbelief, anger, relief and much more - the ending was perfect yet left me wanting so much more... Matt Smith
I just finished your memoir and man, I thought I had dated some fucked up women. But aren't the crazy ones the best in bed?... I wanted to let you know how much I liked your book…Chris
…your book is the genuine article. Truthful, passionate, and funny, you have a way where most do not... you ROCK!!!... Matt from Long Island
Can't You Get Along With Anyone? is amazing!... you're an amazingly gifted writer… Rob Pagnotta
I finished it through sheer compulsion and horror. "Here is a man who would not take it anymore. A man who stood up against the scum, the cunts, the dogs, the filth, the shit. Here is a man who stood up."--Travis Bickel, Taxi Driver… Scott Hulet (Editor of The Surfer’s Journal)
I think its better than anything I've read by Hunter S. Thompson, but not as good as Heart of Darkness or Moby Dick… Howard McAuliffe
I felt like I was in on a secret. I was amazed…. You humanize a hooker and then fuck her. Wow. Why? Dude. Dark shit. Wow… Josh Peay
You are such a GREAT writer. However, you are really causing my a problem. I am up to my kazoo working here and I can't put your book down…Ellen Huber
Hello, this is my first time ever writing to someone I don't know. You opened my eyes… Michael
Hot damn if it isn't the most vicarious reading experience I've had in years… Jeremy Matthews
i've been late to work every morning because i've been up reading it. dave allison
Your book kept me laughing the whole way through. I had to buy it twice because some a-hole stole it out of my car… Anyway I was stuck in the therapist's office for almost a month before I could get another copy… Jon Dickey
Like Zero, this book leaves me haunted. It will pass, but its that feeling that makes me grow as a person by having read them… Larry Bergman
Just finished the book in two days. Great shit!... but yowza, I'll be damned if CYGAWA didn't "Tie the room together" in relation to all the weird jungle crime "I couldn't make this shit up" noir hoopla that was goin on… Max Bristol
With all the blood you must have shed writing this one is there going to be anything left for another?... GerryDWhite
…since your book arrived on Monday I have been back to my pre-Lunesta obsessing and tossing and turning… Pete Middlebrooks I'm fairly well-read and through the years have loved Vonnegut, Hunter S., Kerouac, Bukowski, etc. You're in their league… Brian Olsen
…I was laughing out loud on the train ride into work this morning. Now you're staring at me from my desk, where your title pretty much sums up how I feel about my job… Michael Kmiec As I was reading your words, the one singular thought that came to mind wasn’t words....it was a sound. The sound of a WWII Stuka in full dive mode… Brad Miller
I felt like I was in on a secret. I was amazed…. You humanize a hooker and then fuck her. Wow. Why? Dude. Dark shit. Wow… Josh Peay
By the last pages I was rereading everything 3 times… the interpolation hardware in my brain shut down, demanding sleep…. It exceeded every measure of what I expected, and the broad social implications are astounding… Abbey Hawk Sparrow
I loved it, it was an addiction for the three days or so it took me to inhale it. You are a human being. You are an artist… Andrea McGarty
(the) book sucks you right IN, while sucking the fucking life out of you as well… frenzied anticipation, and emotional attachment that runs the full spectrum. Great work… Jeffrey Johnson
I am reading CYGAWA for the second time to make sure I did not miss anything… DSK.
I wish you would of broken down the door and beat the shit out of "little kim",
but your right as how many guys would you need to beat up because of Lisa? Anyway, your a great writer and I hope only the best for you… Greg
I can't wait to check out CYGAWA. My girlfriend's brother told me it was the craziest most narley book ever written… Gray Holt
Wow, its 4 am, and at the moment, words escape me. For now, just thank you. When I gather my thoughts about the book better I will write again… Todd Duncan
One of these days I plan to write to you and detail my personal thoughts on CYGAWA...but that will be a bit of a project. (It) made my heart pound harder at times as I could identify with the emotions… Reid
CYGAWA is your best book. Thank you for treating non-fiction as literature… Sam Huff
I really enjoyed CYGAWA and even though I've read a few other books since, I still reflect back to it on an almost weekly basis… Mark Evans
…(I am) truly sucked in. I think it's a combo of intrigue as to what level of punishment you can continue to endure and the eternal hope that somehow this has a happy ending, although that I'm unsure of. I read on.... Peter Nolan
I’m still blabbing about CYGAWA. Some friends I’ve blabbed to are now blabbing themselves. It truly is viral, and I hope that it infects everyone!... Michael
I finished the book tonight and thought it brilliant. It gets a 4 and 3/4 out of 5 stars.
Ian Anderson.. P.S. Nothing that I have ever watched or read has gotten five stars
A "can't put the book down" kind of read!!... I hope to see Sean Penn playing you on the big screen soon. (Author’s note: Hah!)… Larry You've grown as a writer and for that alone, I am grateful… JKDove
…to borrow your quote from Ambrose Bierce on p472, (your book) describes Things as they are, not as they ought to be, and I think this is the main reason why I couldn't put (it) down… Daniel
…since your book arrived on Monday I have been back to my pre-Lunesta obsessing and tossing and turning… Pete Middlebrooks
Well it is nine p.m.,just put my two daughters to bed,my better half did the putting so I am going to end by simply saying "thank you "… Paul Jeffrey Beebe here. Wow. I haven't had a marathon reading like that since I read Henry
Miller's Rosy Crucifixion trilogy a decade ago.
I'm fairly well-read and through the years have loved Vonnegut, Hunter S., Kerouac, Bukowski, etc. You're in their league… Brian Olsen
I was actually on chapter 17 when I was inspired to say right fucking on. I haven't read anything this good since................. Banditos… Aloha Jerry
Your new book is awsome!!!!!! I got it early this week and since then i've been not able to put it down, or stop thinking about it after i have put it down... Greg Keenan
Just a quick note to say I've received the book and I'm hooked and happy... enjoying this new, even more free mode of _expression your writing has evolved into… Steve
…you push and pull the reader around- essentially manipulating how we feel about the other characters and you and what could be more fun!... Larry
Am enjoying the new book and laughing about how much fun you must have had broiling your old editor… Larry ErdmanI read Banditos and Zero and loved them. This tops the charts and I'm just to chapter 7.
CHARGE!... Jerry
I have a job and family and wish I could chuck everything until I'm finished with the book. Take care, loving the book… Brian Olsen It keeps getting better the more I read… Pura Vida, David
...just wanted to let you know it's fantastic so far...well done once again… leon
...it is so nice to actually read material that is so honest...Bethany Berry-WeissI'm sorry it's nonfiction and happening to you. I finished the book - just couldn't put it down. The ending was perfect. -Ashby
Your book has really hit a nerve in me simply for the simple us vs. them IE those that seek the truth no matter where it is, and those that wallow comfortably in their own warped and pre-manufactured reality thats fed to them daily… Brad
Since I’m only part way thru, I don’t know how it came out with Lisa but with all due respect – how did you get to be so old (my age) & still be so dumb about women? .. Doug
Your witty style and easy reading did not disappoint... Thank you!!!... Tim JumpWith all the blood you must have shed writing this one is there going to be anything left for another?... GerryDWhite
On Page 108 you told me something I already knew without knowing that I did. A good book is something that you read, and want to read again to hear the words in your mind…
Ian Anderson
You are a fucking madman and I love it. No one and I do mean no one, has your mix of obvert self confidence, heightened awareness and bold bravado to bring up getting gang-raped in a Panamanian whorehouse then in the next breath (literally its 6 pages later) proclaim that you’ve found the love of your life… Lojack
I've left on a short get away with the family and I forgot to pack the book....fuck....Can't read anymore til Tuesday. Bob Jack Naples Fl. Just finished the book in two days. Great shit!... but yowza, I'll be damned if it didn't "Tie the room together" in relation to all the weird jungle crime "I couldn't make this shit up" noir hoopla that was goin on… Max Bristol
My buddy in LA is about half way through the book and is really stoked about it. Has nothing but good things to say so far. Can't wait to get my copy… eric
I read at night until I can't keep my eyes open, and then pick up the minute my eyes open in the morning (or afternoon, whenever I wake up)… Hart Dementi
I have HUGE expectations of this book after being enthralled word by word with your other works. So far, this piece is everything I anticipated. Thanks for continuing to create outstanding prose in a time where most writers only relay shit, errors and more shit… Eric Hammond
You fucker, I think I blew a job interview today because I was up so late last night reading your damn book…Roger Johnson
As I read, sometimes I begin to think that you are utterly crazy… But then, as I continue to think and read, I realize, through self-reflection(!), that I am just the same. I love it… Ashby Sorensen
Got the book, I'm in Philly. Can't put it down! I think you are a funny freakin dude… Deirdre H. T. Finneganok, I am about half way through "you can't get along with anyone," and to tell you the truth I can't put it down… J.B. McCarty
I was so excited to get it and the first couple chapters pulled me in so deeply, I set a large glass of milk down on the edge of my shelf next to my bed… Zach Luellen
Just wanted to send my congratulations on the new book. Started reading my ARC two days ago, a handful of chapters into it, and so far it's nothing short of outstanding. :).. Micheal
Something about your books make me want to just keep reading and reading. I get to the end of one chapter and say to myself, one more then i'll go to sleep, alot of chapters later, I stayed up way to late an am paying for it today… Jeff
I usually only get a chance to read during my lunchbreak from the grind, but I may have to shelf some other obligations to read more at night… Phil Weinbach
I've been reading it ever since, every spare minute. I've even temporarily put down "American Prometheus", the Robert Oppenheimer biography, in favor of your book!... Walter (Jim) Stalling
…heartfelt exposure open book life OMG hilarious LOL better than TV/film watching… Cat
I have already started to re-read. Allan, you are the Real Thing… Esse Veverka
Hey Nutcase: well... it's probably late where you are, and seeing as your book as kept me up late three nights in a row... well, you get the picture… Super B
No time to type – around the 280 page mark – fitting reading around my dead end gov job (when Im not skiving off for a surf) and two kids. Stuart (aka 877)
The chapters are like potato chips- I just kept devouring them until, like the Pringles can, I just had to put them away and leave the room so I could get some sleep for my date with the dawn patrol… Larry
….just finished it last night. I basically spent the last 4 days power reading it (with the exception of Sunday which I spent traveling to Philly to see the Giants beat the Eagles)… I am gonna take a few days to decompress… Joe Praino
i am loving what i read! thanks again.. kieron
I’ve gotten to about page 150 or so, and the stuff about Lisa is blowing my mind. I went through a similar experience about 7 years ago… Steve Lovell
Thank you again for writing this book. It was worth every goddamn second of the wait. Damn it's good… Zach Roski …In fact at 2AM this morning right there at the bottom of page 378 you brought me to tears… John M (Sprocket)
I am on page 325 and cannot force myself to read "The Horror" that will surely transpire on page 326!!!... Tell me something, anything, to make me read on....Give me a light at the end of the "Fucking Tunnel".... Brandon
(after reading) I wanted nothing to do with my beautiful blond ex-wife and stayed high and on the couch the whole time, and even left early to get back to my lying, blacking out, sex oozing slut… (name withheld)
In the words of David Cassidy...."I Think I Love You!"… Tracy Hays
So your book made me think things over. Maybe I will even become a better person as a consequence of reading your book. This IS in fact the best book I ever read… Timo Lichtneckert
......I can't put the fucking thing down.... hands down the most enjoyable book I have ever read... Fraser Cook
When I take a (reading) break there is a slightly dizzy phase shift as I go from where I have been to where I am now… Ian Anderson
I wish it didn't end, I could live the rest of my life reading about what your take is on the world… S. Toomey
Like Zero, this book leaves me haunted. It will pass, but its that feeling that makes me grow as a person by having read them… Larry Bergman
I'm still reading this fucking masterpiece to find out where you’re going… Jerry Whitesides
Your book has changed my life. Simple as that… Pete Middlebrooks
I love to read and usually my mind wanders while I'm reading, even during great books, for some reason this book has me totally focused when I'm reading it, its almost like I'm more alert or something and I can't figure out why… Howard McAuliffe
I'm about halfway through and it's turning into a "can't put the book down" kind of read!!.. Brian Olsen
…totally involving, I laughed, I cringed and I yelled at the book (you) several times… Matthew Reid\
…can barely manage to pull myself away from it to work… Matthew Gingerich
Your book has really hit a nerve in me… Brad Miller
Jesus. What a book…. Another Masterpiece… Shimonti Chatterjee
All I have to say is Bravo...if it's true, the literary equivalent of Noll's middle finger last wave at Makaha… David Miller
Every ten pages I get on the phone to tell anyone who will listen what fucking riot the new book is… Christopher Stewart
...my mate is sick of listening to me talk about the book (although i used her credit card to buy it), and i was almost ousted from my local pub for ranting to my buddies… Dan Doughty”I’m your NUMBER ONE FAN!!!!!” … Dave Kingsbury
I started it yesterday, read till about 1am, couldn't put it down… Bert Castrejon
I just finished the book. I literally could not stop reading it all day today… Robin Woodward.
Hola! Love the new book. Finished it in two days, and now I am re-reading the parts that had my jaw hitting the floor in disbelief… Robert
I stayed up until 2am this morning finishing you book. Probably one of the most unique books I have ever read. I was a little sad that I finished it… Chuck Tuohy
i cower in the absolute dominance of your abilities… i may not be well read… but i am a fan of reading, and this is by far and away quite possibly the best thing i have ever
read… Jamie Souter
Really enjoy your stuff & especially the way the words flow… Doug Peterson
You are a fucking madman and I love it. No one and I do mean no one, has your mix of obvert self confidence, heightened awareness and bold bravado… Peter Louzek
I feel bad saying that I enjoyed the book, in that it means in some ways i am taking enjoyment from all that bad shit that you have had to go through. I would rather your book had been shit and that you have not had go through the mouth of madness… Fraser Cook
I'm still shaking my head in amazement - not slowly as in "no way, man...", but vigorously - as in trying to get my own sense of reality back. Holy shit...I need a surf… Patrick Sprung
My buddy in LA is about half way through the book and is really stoked about it. Has
nothing but good things to say so far… Eric Schile
I have an 8-month-old (teething) son… sleep is a rather precious commodity in my world, & I have only stopped short of prying my eyes open with toothpicks to finish this damn book!... Stacey B
I am about 11 chapters in and absolutely love the book. Phil Weinbach
I received the book here in Washington (NW) 4 days ago… I've been reading it ever since, every spare minute… Jim Stall
I couldnt put the f'ing thing down! My porn and boat mags r piling up in my bathroom... Johnny G.
I'm going to dive back into the book now and see what else she put you through… Gary Spence
Alan, I apologize for not contacting you sooner after completing your work, but I was in "after-reader's throes"… Stefan Joesler
......my wife is totally sick of me telling her about your book and what you were going through...your virtuoso sense of humor... Brian O’hara
I kept giving you advice along the way about how to handle this and that, and laughed a lot, was pissed off a lot and was scared for you a bit too… Christian Foster
It was an amazing read, one that put my studies in jeopardy --I laughed out loud, and thought I was going to be sick when I read about the airport scene… Leo Bresnick
It's cool, clever and so damn funny! It's also healing my anger, turning it into humour! I'm loving it. I think it's genius and hope it does well… Amanda
The book rocked !. I couldn't put it down ! Period. I was entranced… Mark l
Just through the first 13 chapters and I almost cant put it down. Great stuff.. Michael Nolan
I read CYGAWA last November while on Namotu Island , Fiji in a matter of 2 days, without stop (It went flat at the end of the trip). I’ve read several life changing our at least perspective altering books. They are, in no particular order, The Satanic Verses, The Monkey Wrench Gang, Atlas Shrugged, Searching, A Man Without a Country – I could list a few others but you get the point. You’re in good company. .. Jeremy Graves
Yep, we are among those who are sucked in to your book… Ashley Carter
I love the story about your editor, and the piece about Clinton and Sudan was hilarious, but not without some sadness as well… Rich Robinson
I finished it on Friday and i have to say that it is one brilliant piece of work… Matt Kenny
I-FUCKING-LOVE-YOUR-BOOK!!! Tracy Hayes
I actually thought more about this book in the last couple of days than of pussy, beer, and surfing combined. Lee Duer
OK< finished the thing----at first i wasn't THAT into it----but you SuCKED me IN....... CTWALRUS
.....couldn't pull myself away from it...kinda like ....reading...a train wreck..... Steven Newton
Was in the early stages of a book by Ian McEwan (one of the best writers alive) and so planned to just dip into yours to get the flavor. Well I haven't returned to Ian yet; too busy cringing, fuming and laughing my way through the last few years of your life… Henry B
Every time I finish a chapter I can't help myself from starting the next one. I've just got to see what happens next… Tim Berg
There are passages that I had to read over and over, they are so good… Kathleen Burns
I can't put the fucker down!!! You are weaving a hypnotic tale… DonnaMarie Barnes
Well, eight hours later at 3am, I fell asleep, so put me in the couldn't put it down category… Tony TaylorBut, your now read book, sitting on my coffee table makes me feel like getting back into reading, thanks for that!.. Ron Weiss
CYGAWA is your best book. Thank you for treating non-fiction as literature… Sam Huff
It was an amazing read, one that put my studies in jeopardy….I laughed out loud, and thought I was going to be sick when I read about the airport scene. Pablo Paldao
I read your book pretty much in one sitting. It was like seeing your dog run into the street with a speeding truck in your peripheral field...you know something bad is happening, but you can't do a god damned thing about it. Scott Hulet
With “Can’t you get along with anyone” it is different. There is some strong vacuum inside me right now. I feel being dropped at bottom of reader-hell by you at the end of the book. Timo Fuck. I just finished it. I don't know what to say. Fucked up. Mike Nolan
Having read "ISOCZ" and the latest I admit that I feel strongly that you are a sign of life. Jay Sweet
I just finished the book. I literally could not stop reading it all day today. I loved the book. Robin Woodward I am somewhere around page 300. I am savoring the read... The last thing I read was you in you pre-empting Ron the Merc with your performance. That was classic. Larry Bergman
my mate is sick of listening to me talk about it(although i used her credit card to buy it), and i was almost ousted from my local pub for ranting to my buddies and yelling out obscenities during dinner. Dan doughty
I have started reading your book and I love it so far, very proud to have #109, though I am jealous of my brother who I think has #90 or somewhere near that. David Hartogs
I just finished reading your book. ... Holy shit! I couldn't put it down. John Meekins
Holy Shit. I couldn't put the book down since I've received it. To say I identified with you and your relationship with Lisa is an understatement.
John M i'm also getting a lot of feedback saying people had experiences similar to mine. in other words, no, you're not nuts, i'm not nuts, this sort of thing happens. and many have found peace and a new relationship, so there's plenty of hope. John M (another email)
Cathartic is a word that comes to mind.You were a bit obsessive about the veracity of your facts… I would recommend the first two books to a new Weisbecker reader and if they liked them, then I would rec. CYGAWA. Not the book to start your AW experience with. Wilbur Holloway
I just finished reading your new book and what can I say but, WOW !!! WB Harris
i too have found it almost impossible to put the damn thing down. Bobby (Jaco)
Just a quick note to let you know that I have just completed "Can't Get Along With Anyone". Fascinating, and a great read! Paul Lauritzen
So the book: I love it. I couldn't put it down. I can empathise fully with Brian (aka 'your book sucks' fame)I had a number of similar experiences including skipping work / laughing out-loud etc. Pablo (2nd email)
I think a lot of folks can relate to what you went through with Lisa perhaps not to that degree. Dan
seriously, what an insightful, hilarious book. Johnny g.
I love to read and usually my mind wanders while I'm reading, even during great books, for some reason this book has me totally focused when I'm reading it, its almost like I'm more alert or something and I can't figure out why… Howard McAuliffe
So your book made me think things over. Maybe I will even become a better person as a consequence of reading your book. This IS in fact the best book I ever read… Timo Lichtneckert
......I can't put the fucking thing down.... hands down the most enjoyable book I have ever read... Fraser Cook
When I take a (reading) break there is a slightly dizzy phase shift as I go from where I have been to where I am now… Ian Anderson
I wish it didn't end, I could live the rest of my life reading about what your take is on the world… S. Toomey It keeps getting better the more I read.
Thank you for not being afraid of being real and honest...doesn't happen much....
Thanks for all the insight and enjoyment, even if at your expense. I'm proud of you. Ashby Sorenson
UNSIGNED REVIEWS
… (I) have to say that something about your books make me want to just keep reading and reading.
a handful of chapters into it, and so far it's nothing short of outstanding. :)
I just finished reading your new book and what can I say but, WOW !!!
ok, I am about half way through "can't you get along with anyone," and to tell you the truth I can't put it down.
...but, on the other hand [clever lad that you are], I couldn’t put this one down, either...
I made the egregious mistake of opening the innocuous little package… The book has been glued to my hands since. Unsigned
Gotta say, you're a complete and total nutjob. but the fact that I could not put down your nutty book might say something about me being something of a nutjob myself.i started reading your book and am loving it. you may be a jerk off, but you're a terrific jerk off.
i'm a third of the way through your book, no wonder your forehead is bleeding. I force myself to look across the room at the book… you do have me talking to it, the book that is. Just finished reading the book(XXX of 1418)...almost done in a one day Marathon session.
Best read since in search of captain zero. Great job Allan!!
You have put a smile in my mental health-not-feeling-so-good day.You did it again; I couldn’t put the damn thing down.
The way it worked was every time I started to send off an e-mail I thought "Hey! This could take and hour or more. I could be reading the book!"
A BIZARRE ONE IN ITS ENTIRETY
Mr. Weisbecker:
Thanks. I am now the proud owner of a huge crock of shit: turkeyshit even. There are many symmetries in your work. My favourite symmetry is how the structure of the book so closely parallels your description of the sawmills wave - or at least how my mind felt it. I dropped in with a rush of energy, rode smoothly, mostly with a smile on my face (Parts 1-4, 1 / 2 Part 5). I had felt there was a huge climax coming, but the thing got quite flaccid (other half of part 5, part 6). It’s morbid, but finding out that you’re not dying or already dead was sort of a let down (cool your still with us though*). So I turned back into it, not giving up, and my efforts were met with a great release, and some revelations. Now I’m paddling back out to catch some more waves via your website. Yes, big Mo sat right down with me, and in a way, sort of semi-raped me.
I must comment on some of your own PM… (a line deleted).. The stratagem, know your enemy, comes to mind. One of your lies by omission, which is a general form of denial: The Stanford physicist, Stephon A., has a piled higher and deeper just like the HUYA psycho-docs. I myself have on of these Piled higher and deepers. I prefer to call it a fud (rhymes with could). My pile of shit is in Biochemistry. The thing about true science by those who actually use the scientific method (not psycho-docs) is that we fess-up to not knowing anything about anything. No matter how many papers we publish or explanations we give, we really don’t know how the fuck anything works. But, this is the beauty of life: if it were predictable, it simply would seize to exist. However, if you ever feel the need to investigate some fishy science, just follow the money, really.
I have been with you via the DSPs since I finished reading Zero. I read the book shortly after its publication, so that’s a long time. I even sent a lap-top down to paradise: para escualos de Pavonas. I even have every single one of those DSPs archived, why, I don’t know.
Keep on writing. Sure beats creating peace or some shit.
(his name)
PS: Seriously, you are quite insane. Did you think knowing what you knew before you went and built your home in paradise that you wouldn’t be driven out, if not killed, on short order? (A sentence deleted)
I’ve attached two photos: #1 shows were the book originally would have been after big MO got done with me. #2 shows where I put the fucker after.
(A line deleted)
#
The above reader may not have liked my book (I’m not sure about this), but it sure as hell elicited a reaction, pushed some buttons, no? (At least he wasn’t bored -- boring readers is my greatest fear.)
The following is such a classic that at the end I review the review.
BRIAN’S CLASSIC REVIEW
Allan,
gotta be honest amigote.....IT FUCKIN' SUCKS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! with all due respecto.
.....just got back from Jersey......went to visit the family and your new book was waiting for me when I got home.
.......I can't put the fucking thing down....it is sucking all my attention.....like an interstellar big black hole.......I should be catching up on work, sleep, pokin my wife ,etc. ( pms to blame on that...tu es indemnified ) after dinner yesterday......I cracked it open and have been up all night reading the damn thing till now. I am only half way through it cause I keep getting caught up in all your "loopy" loop tangents........goooooogling, etc. I am only half way through it.....and have to take a break now......I blew off the work day today....it's all your fault.
hands down the most enjoyable book I have ever read......i don't give a shit if you just wrote blah blah blah for the last half of the book.........which I hope you didn't.......
the wife yelled at me and violently threw something too around 4 a.m. today telling me to go in the other room ( I think it was the remote she threw cause earlier today my assistance was needed when she declared an A.P.B.) ....anyway her early morning tirade happened cause I was shaking the bed when I was crackin' up.....I sincerely tried to silence my chuckling......but, did not take into account the moving bed thing......my dogs even growled at me a couple times....cause I kept leaving the room to access my computer......and when I came back the floor has a creak.....that they hate......and I keep forgetting about......your fault too.....
I know I should have waited to send you my comments.......you know read the whole book and such.....
.......... I think if I eat something I could complete the marathon read. ........F you and your tangents man...........I wish I had this on the plane trip...........but, then I couldn't check the web.........here comes da wife...........un momento
....hasta.......I'm going back in..........the wife just said she'll make me some dibs for me....coffee too.....what a woman.......( she just told me she got her period......yeah.......that means she's back......amazing how they can instantly change.......when the flow starts to go...........fuck I rhyming now)
later.............brian
That’s what I call a review.
You gotta love the dogs growling at him image (not once but a couple times):
......and when I came back the floor has a creak.....that they hate......
I love it that Brian has dogs, plural, and that they both, they all [how many does he have?] got as pissed off as his wife and ganged up on him.
But here’s my favorite part:
.........here comes da wife...........un momento
....hasta.......I'm going back in..........
That Brian says more about his married life (and in a Homer Simpson-esque way, about everyone’s married life) than my fucking book bothers me not a bit.
So the above is my review of Brian’s review.
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