Comments on: Wild Animus by Rich Shapero: a Modern Masterpiece?

By: Gaetano X

Gaetano X — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:36:27 +0000

I fount this a dreadful piece of ‘art’.
Free copies were handed out at The Farmers Market at Schmidts inPhilly.

By: Evergreen State College Student

Evergreen State College Student — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:24:46 +0000

The complete box sets were handed out at Evergreen State College in Olympia Washington today. Three guys with a pallet of books. It was obscene.

By: DickinsonCollegeStudent

DickinsonCollegeStudent — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:06:01 +0000

They were handing the book and CD set out today at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. Regardless of the content, which I have not read or listened to yet, it seems to be an effective marketing campaign. The box and CDs have some very interesting art on them, but only time will tell if it is just a facade.

By: JSchattie

JSchattie — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:33:43 +0000

How interesting…. I received this book years ago while leaving a Reel Big Fish concert. Denver must’ve been one of the first distribution cities.

I find it entertaining that they’re still hiring people to hand it out (they’re not volunteers, by the way, they get paid $16 an hour) – I don’t remember the book terribly well, but I remember being amused at how illogical and unbelievable the story was. It felt poorly written to me because of how one-dimensional and unnatural the characters were.

I’d be interested to perform an experiment: write a book and self-publish the way Shapero has. Then, simultaneously, hand it out for free in one half of the country and sell it for more than it’s probably worth in the other half. See what the reviews are, and if having to actually pay for the book creates more intrinsic value than giving it away for free.

By: PITTstudent

PITTstudent — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:27:29 +0000

Just got a copy with the CD’s thrown at me on the University of Pittsburgh campus. Took me a while to figure out what it was. Very professional looking package though. Still thinking of uses for the contents.

By: UCSDstudent

UCSDstudent — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:10:05 +0000

Here’s some wikipedia info on the author and his book. Some of it explains the low quality of the book. And, apparently, he went to UC Berkeley. I don’t get it. Really.

Rich Shapero (1948- ) is an American venture capitalist [1] and self-published writer. He grew up in Los Angeles and attended UC Berkeley.[2] He is a partner at the venture capital company Crosspoint.[3]

Wild Animus
Shapero’s book Wild Animus was released in 2004. He used print-on-demand technology and his own publishing company to create the book, and has given away large numbers of the book for promotional purposes.[4].

A CD, The Ram, that is linked to Wild Animus, was released in 2006. It has, like the book, been given out promotionally in large numbers. Contributing musicians include Marc Ribot, Jim Campilongo, Charles Bissell, Jim Keltner, Iva Bittova, Hutch Hutchinson and Lee Rocker.

His books have been passed out on campuses throughout the northeast. Most copies were immediately discarded.[citation needed]

By: barris

barris — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 06:11:09 +0000

I read about 1/5th of the book and I don’t think it’s that bad. While it isn’t great, I disagree with people who say that it’s not thought-provoking. There are parts of the book that I think are quite profound–they are very rare, but there are one or two paragraphs that I was impressed with. This guy had a trippy time in the mountains and wanted to share his experiences with other people for free…what the flying fuck is wrong with that? If you have ever thought about living in the mountains whilst dropping acid and having sex with a hot blonde girl, then this guy wrote a book about it for you. That’s one of the main joys of reading, to get other people’s perspectives on things you haven’t done yourself.

In addition, the book is a good way to learn new vocabulary words related to the geology, flora, and wildlife of Alaska because it is free and captivating enough to get through a substantial amount of pages in one sitting.

I think that the key to enjoying this book is to cut the author some slack and realize that he GIFTED you this book. Suspend your disbelief and throw him a bone, do not just dismiss him as a crazy dude who thought he was a ram and wanted to jump into a volcano. Otherwise you’re not going to enjoy the book.

By: David Salsa

David Salsa — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:46:24 +0000

I very much enjoyed this book. I did a video review of it on my blog: http://lamentedemcmurphy.blogspot.com/2010/02/wild-animus-more-like-wild-awesomus.html.

It was distributed freely to me in New Jersey.

By: Ram Chaser

Ram Chaser — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 03:56:47 +0000

I just finished the book and admit that it is somewhat odd. But my conclusion is that I would keep this book in my bookshelf. I like the plot of the story and some crazy, illusive expressions in it. A couple of times, I thought I would throw it away… but there is something that kept me come back to the book. I am glad I finished it…and I am planning to re-read someday. Wow!

By: Boston Student

Boston Student — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:00:51 +0000

Got a box set on campus. It included 3 CDs and the book. The music is awful.