Best Selling Books by Jerry Hopkins

Here is Jim Morrison in all his complexity-singer, philosopher, poet, delinquent-the brilliant, charismatic, and obsessed seeker who rejected authority in any form, the explorer who probed "the bounds of reality to see what would happen..." Seven years in the writing, this definitive biography is the work of two men whose empathy and experience with Jim Morrison uniquely prepared them to recount this modern tragedy: Jerry Hopkins, whose famous Presley biography, Elvis, was inspired by Morrison''s suggestion, and Danny Sugerman, confidant of and aide to the Doors. With an afterword by Michael McClure.

Even after his death, Elvis, the King, lives on in his music and in the memories of millions of fans. Finally, a book exposes the real Elvis--the star so many loved, but few truly knew. An extremely gifted man, very giving, and very, very human.

"I could not have written A Cook''s Tour without this book. There is so much I would have missed. So dig in. Enjoy… Eat. Eat adventurously. Miss nothing. It''s all here in these pages." --From the Foreword by Anthony Bourdain Sit down for a meal with the locals on six continents--what they are eating may surprise you. Extreme Cuisine examines eating habits across the globe, showing once and for all that one man''s road kill is another man''s delicacy! "I''ve tried to make this book a guide to how the other half dines and why. Over a period of twenty-five years I''ve augmented my meat-and-potatoes upbringing in the United States to try a wide variety of regional specialties, from steamed water beetles, fried grasshoppers and ants, to sparrow, bison and crocodile. I''ve eaten deep-fried bull''s testicles in Mexico, live shrimp sushi in Hawaii, mice cooked over an open wood fire in Thailand, pig stomach soup in Singapore, minced water buffalo and yak butter tea in Nepal, stir-fried dog tongue, and "five penis wine" in China." --From the introduction by Jerry Hopkins Dive headfirst into food culture from around the world. Join author Jerry Hopkins on a culinary and cultural tour as he explores foods that may seem bizarre, and often off-putting, to us. As he says, "What is considered repulsive to someone in one part of the world, in another part of the world is simply considered lunch." Part travelogue, part cultural commentary and history, and part cookbook (yes, really), with Extreme Cuisine anyone can become an adventurous eater--or at least learn what it''s like to be one. Chapters include: Mammals Reptiles & Water Creatures Birds Insects, Spiders & Scorpions Plants Leftovers

Profiling individual, legendary authors, best-selling author Jerry Hopkins combines his research and his own experiences as a longtime expatriate with an intimate knowledge of Asia and offers us a unique perspective on the impact of Eastern culture in Western literature. From the time of Marco Polo''s trek across the Central Asian desert to the empire of the mighty Kahn, no other place on earth, not the languid South Pacific or even deepest, darkest Africa has so challenged and enchanted the Western imagination as have the fabled lands of the East! However soaked in blood its history and no matter how unsettling its social conditions and poverty, Asia has never lost its irresistible attraction or mystic. It has long been an inspiration for Western novelists, so much so that more than 5000 novels have been set in Asia in the English language alone. Storied names like Rudyard Kipling, Joseph Conrad, Pearl S. Buck, George Orwell, Graham Greene, E.M. Forster and many more have used their experiences in Asia as a vibrant backdrop for some of the world''s most famous works of literature.

This gastrological romp shares tales of gustatory tidbits from six continents. Weaving history and autobiography, author Jerry Hopkins regales with an array of startling facts about the world''s eating habits. Strange Foods begins with rat tales from the Roman Empire and imperial China and continues on to stories form locales where rat remains a mouth-watering hors d''oeuvre or hearty entrée today. There are at least 40 serving suggestions for crocodile alone! And there are more than 250 photographs from acclaimed photographer Michael Freeman, whose aim is true and who eats what he shoots. This is gonzo food writing that''s sure to change your mind, if not your palate.

Jim Morrison, lead singer of the Doors, has achieved a bizarre cult status since his death in 1971. Morrison was one of the most popular and controversial figures to emerge during the sixties; described as an ''erotic politician'', poet, shaman, Dionysian drunk, his style and influence have grown steadily in the twenty years since his death, so that the real man has gradually disappeared behind the legend. Now, in The Lizard King: The Essential Jim Morrison, Morrison''s biographer Jerry Hopkins, co-author of No One Here Gets Out Alive, reassesses Jim''s life and provides fresh insights into him as a human being rather than the myth that he has become. But this reassessment is only part of this remarkable book. At its heart is a series of interviews with Jim Morrison by journalists including Hopkins himself, Ben Fong-Torres, John Tobler, Bob Chorush, Salli Stevenson, Richard Goldstein and the late John Carpenter, Morrison shows himself to have been articulate, intelligent and witty. Published uncut, these interviews provide a unique insight into a man who consciously created his own myth, then lived to regret it. Stripping bare the facts from the fantasies of Jim''s death in Paris in 1971, and taking a long hard look at what has happened since to the people who he left behind, The Lizard King: The Essential Jim Morrison brings sharply into focus the broken dreams and unreachable ideals of one of the sixties'' most enduring icons.

A biography of the rock guitarist whose short but powerful career was highlighted by a legendary performance at Woodstock in 1969.

It is well known that Elvis loved Hawai''i. Not only did he perform in the islands in three decades, making movies and performing concerts, this was the King of Rock and Roll''s favourite vacation spot. Elvis in Hawai''i guides readers through the King''s relationships with the islands in a fully-illustrated story, using over 100 photographs, many previously unpublished and memorabilia from personal collections.

In the colorful tradition of Orwell and Hemingway, Jerry Hopkins recalls his first decade as a Bangkok expatriate by profiling twenty-five of the city''s most unforgettable characters. In 25 vivid profiles, Hopkins explores what motivates people to leave home and the unforeseen adventures that can befall them once abroad. Hopkin''s knack for the biography is evident in his coverage of individuals ranging from famous performers to ordinary businesspeople. The 25 true stories include the lives of: The Real Colonel Kurtz? --An American soldier who allegedly was the model for Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. The Oscar Winner --An acclaimed screenwriter who moves to the city of Bangkok to die. Urban Gorilla Priest --A Catholic priest who founded Mercy Centre in one of the city''s harshest slums. The Odd Couple -- A circus clown turned computer programmer turned restaurateur. Professor Elephant-- A documentary filmmaker living with elephants. All of these individuals "escaped" to Thailand to re-invent themselves and live out their fantasies in one of the world''s most notorious cities. Bangkok Babylon shares their exciting true stories, many of which are stranger than fiction.

"Wanna stand in the face of a charging elephant, get hit by a motorcycle, eat giant water bugs, blowtorch your mouth on some of the hottest chili peppers on earth, then go watch a sex change operation? Of course you don''t, but, happily, Jerry Hopkins has done all that and more--lots more--in this darkly humorous, deeply affectionate, clear-eyed but never patronizing portrait of Thailand, his adopted home. Highly recommended." --Tim Cahill, author of Lost in My Own Backyard, Hold the Enlightenment and Jaguars Ripped My Flesh "After over a decade in the country, Hopkins knows and loves his subject dearly--that much is obvious--and his vivid portrait projects that love from every page." --Jann Wenner, editor and founder of Rolling Stone Magazine "A loving expose of everything that''s wonderful about Thailand, and much that isn''t. Should be required reading for all newcomers." --Joe Cummings, author of the Lonely Planet Thailand Guide Writer Jerry Hopkins came to Thailand for a visit in the 1980s, and ended up a permanent resident with a temporary visa--a big, white farang haunting the bars and back alleys of Bangkok. His essays explore the mystery and mayhem of "The Land of Smiles" to hilarious--and sometimes disturbing--effect. Travel with him to a place where whisky is rum, water buffaloes are gay, insects are dinner, dildos are lucky charms, and your wildest adolescent fantasies can come true (for a nominal fee).

"Tiger penis soup? Rhino horn on the oyster half shell? Give me a break!" So says bestselling author Jerry Hopkins as he meets the people, visits the places, and "road tests" dozens of Asia''s most popular aphrodisiacs in the first definitive survey of the region''s best and worst "turn-on''s." Expanding the usual definition to include lotions as well as potions, sex toys and aromatherapy, music and massage, exotic Asian belief systems, pornography and a variety of surgical procedures, he travels from his home in Bangkok to Tokyo, Jakarta, Hong Kong and Kathmandu in search of the region''s most exciting pick-me-ups. Along the way, he discovers that Asia was first in the development and prescription of aphrodisiacs, first in pornography and sex toys, and first in breast and penis enhancement surgery. In this exhaustively researched and often hilarious investigation of a subject that has held the world enthralled for thousands of years, the author discovers that Asia has been-and still is-in the lead when it comes to the promise of sexual enhancement. And to his surprise, he also finds several things that work.

A book of photographs of Elvis Presley in Hawaii.