Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge

The lifestyle of being a bohemian is one-of-a-kind. Depending on your personality and thoughts, it may seem like more or less of a burden. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the bohemian lifestyle, or have read the first edition and are interested in learning more in this second edition, then Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge will answer all of your questions and more. This book contains a plethora of information about everything having to do with the bohemian lifestyle. The authors suspect that there may be more bohemians in the world than we know. They intend to inform the public of nearly every aspect of the bohemian lifestyle and stress that even if your actions don’t align like any of the types of bohemians listed if you have the same values and thoughts, then that counts too. The book starts with a nice preface and introduction to the material about to be presented. Bohemian psychology is first defined, followed by their identification, their love of names for things and people. A breakdown of their lifestyle covers a large part of the book, then is followed by lists of must-read literature, depending on the “type” of bohemian with which you identify. The sum it up, bohemians live a different lifestyle than others, but their beliefs in the environment and the overall betterment of things is nothing to scoff about.

Not having much knowledge of the bohemian lifestyle, I found this book to be informative and the authors to be knowledgeable about what they are presenting. The format of the text is easy to read and includes proper headings and titles to avoid confusion. Within the sections of the book there are aspects of this lifestyle that I agree with and others that I disagree, but so goes life. I was surprised by the many things that this group disagrees with, and the ways in which they make their feelings known. I was also surprised by their lack of modesty! It seems to me that when you see someone who is cool with “letting it all hang loose” all of the time, there’s a good chance that this person would, or should, consider themselves bohemian. I also appreciate their stance on recycling and keeping Mother Earth healthy. Within the various “types” of bohemians, it seemed to me that there were some things that contradicted each other. In that respect, the book confuses me, but other than that, what is presented makes sense. I believe that anyone will gain some knowledge from this book, whether you expect to or not, and find some entertainment in it as well.