about the books
GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS OR THE NIGHTMARE: New York City in the 1970s and 1980s PART I
Garden of Earthly Delights or The Nightmare” is, ostensibly, a memoir of my time during that tumultuous period in New York City.
However, I am just a bit player, a minor supporting actor, and the real hero is New York City. Like Lawrence Durrell’s, Alexandria, the City takes center stage. It is a living organism- parts wither and die, and other parts grow strong and vibrant.
This book is about Manhattan; book two, which will be published later this year, is about the other boroughs of New York City.
I have written a “deconstructed” memoir, using straightforward narrative, stream of consciousness, dream visions and poetry. I have included short stories, history, social commentary, my photographs, soapbox ranting and real-life adventures to create a “magic realism Weltanschauung” that captures the awe I felt living there.
Share with me my “Remembrance of Things Glorious
GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS OR THE NIGHTMARE: New York City in the 1970s and 1980s PART II: RETURN OF THE OUTER BOROUGHS
A Gritty, Darkly Humorous Journey Through New York City’s Forgotten Streets
In Garden of Earthly Delights or The Nightmare: Part II – Return of the Outer Boroughs, author Gordon Schwerzmann takes readers deep into the untold stories of New York City’s 1970s and 1980s — decades when the outer boroughs burned, communities fractured, and dreams either flourished or went up in smoke.
Through a vivid blend of memoir, photography, historical insight, and razor-sharp wit, Schwerzmann paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of life beyond Manhattan’s glittering skyline. From the devastating fires of the South Bronx to the punk clubs of Williamsburg, from Staten Island’s quiet struggles to the wild ride of Coney Island’s Cyclone, every chapter captures the chaos, resilience, and eccentric humanity of a city on the edge.
Meet artists and outcasts, firefighters and fixers, dreamers and hustlers — each one a puzzle piece in the author’s sprawling, stream-of-consciousness mosaic. Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, these interconnected vignettes reveal a side of New York you won’t find in tourist guides or glossy magazines.
If you love gritty urban history, colorful true stories, and an unfiltered look at the people who make a city tick, this book will take you there — to the backstreets, stoops, and smoky bars where the real New York lives.
Step into the nightmare. You might just find the garden.
Stoner to Seeker: The Photographs: Volume 1: Bangladesh & Nepal
STONER TO SEEKER: VOLUME I: THE PHOTOGRAHS is my impression of two of the most fascinating countries in Asia.
Bangladesh is a brand-new country and I was there just a few months after they won their hard fought independence from Pakistan. I have photographed students, small businessmen, fishermen and villagers showing how they realize their hopes and dreams for this verdant paradise.
Kathmandu, Nepal is the last stop on the overland Hippie Trail from Europe to Asia. What we found was a medieval country and it is the people, places and way of life of this mystical land that I recorded with my camera.
I have documented a time, the 1970s, before the all-pervading Western culture, the Economic Miracle and the geo-political revolutions changed Asia irrevocably.
This is my photographic vision of Asia, a bright shining candle before the winds of change extinguished it forever.
Sojourner to Stoner: The Journal
Sojourner to Stoner: The Journal” is my record of Southeast Asia in the 1970s. I spent over a year as an officer in the U.S. Army in South Korea and close to two years travelling throughout Asia, first as a backpacker and later as a Hippie (yippee-ki-yay or more appropriately, hippie-ki-yay).
This Journal (YING) is a companion piece to my photography books surprisingly also called “Sojourner to Stoner. The Photographs” (YANG) (You must buy the two books together: otherwise. the Universe will be out of balance and there will be chaos everywhere. or as Bill Murray quipped,
“Cats and Dogs sleeping together”).
I have documented a time, the 1970s, before the all-pervading Western culture (sex, drugs, and rock and roll in Levi’s} and The Economic Miracle changed Asia irrevocably,
The book is written from a traveler (Sojourner for Stupids) and a stoner (Don’t Bogart that Bong) Perspective.
Communism. Western culture and the traditional way of life are all fighting for the Soul of Asia, This is my vision of Asia, a bright (albeit smokey) beam of fight from a star that has already vanished.
Stoner to Seeker: 1970s Asian Hippie Trail
I arrived in India a stoned freak. India was the pot of gold at the end of the hippie rainbow trail that stretched from London to Goa and Kathmandu. We were the “Freak Nation”, everything was possible, we could change ourselves and society with love and understanding.
India bewitches you with its beauty: technicolor deserts, pristine beaches, majestic mountains and lush verdant jungles; this is the Yin of India. The Yang, the other India, is grinding poverty, overcrowded chaotic cities and resigned acceptance of your place in society.
However, it was the people I met along the way that changed me. The Indian people opened me to new revelations on religion and what is really important; an alternative way of life to our Western culture and materialism. The Nepalis were blissfully living in a medieval society, where religion was a daily part of life, while the Bangladesh students were struggling to make “A Brave New World” out of the horror and chaos of the Independence war. The freaks, religious seekers, and lovers along the way were guideposts on my “Pilgrim’s Progress” to understand what I really wanted out of life. Join me on my Magic Carpet ride, to paraphrase Proust, “In Search of Glorious Time”.
From Soldier to Sojourner: Travelling on the 1970S Asian Freak Trails
“Soldier to Sojourner” is my photographic impression of North Asia in the 1970s. I spent over a year as an Officer in the U.S. Army in South Korea and close to two years travelling throughout Asia first as a backpacker and later as a freak.
These photographs are a companion piece to my written travel journal, surprisingly also called “Soldier to Sojourner”, but these images are not “comic book” illustrations of the written words. The people, places, and events I photographed “through a lens darkly” have an independent life of their own (My God, the Monster lives!)
I have documented a time, the 1970s, before the all-pervading Western culture (Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll in Levi’s) and The Economic Miracle changed Asia irrevocably.
Each day in my journey brought new enchantments, incredible beauty, sordid ugliness, joy, and suffering that I tried to capture with my camera.
The Asia of Conrad and Maughan is gone, and the war-torn Asia of Vietnam will also pass; every generation discovers a “new”, exotic Asia: This is my snapshot vision of Asia. Enjoy!
Sojourner to Stoner: the Photographs: Traveling on the 1970S Asian Hippie Trails
“Sojourner to Stoner: The Photographs “is my impression of Southeast Asia in the 1970s. I spent over a year as an officer in the U.S. Army in South Korea and close to two years traveling throughout Asia, first as a backpacker and later as a Hippie (yippee-ki-yay).
“The Photographs” are a companion piece to my written book, called with great imagination: “Sojourner to Stoner: The Journal”
I have documented a time, the 1970s, before the all-pervading Western culture (sex, drugs, and rock and roll) and The Economic Miracle changed Asia irrevocably.
The book portrays the lives of ordinary people and their unique cultures, religions and traditional ways of life.
The Asia of Conrad and Maughan is gone, and the war-torn Asia of Vietnam will also pass.
This is my time-capsule vision of Asia, a bright shining light from a galaxy far far away that has already disappeared.
Soldier to Sojourner: The Journal
“Soldier to Sojourner: The Journal” is my impression of North Asia in the 1970s. I spent over a year as an officer in the U.S. Army in South Korea
and close to two years traveling throughout Asia, first as a backpacker and later as a Hippie (yippee-ki-yay).
This Journal is a companion piece to my photographic book, surprisingly also called “Soldier to Sojourner: The Photographs” (Two books for the price of two books. Such a deal!)
I have documented a time, the 1970s, before the all-pervading Western
culture (sex, drugs, and rock and roll in Levi’s) and The Economic Miracle changed Asia irrevocably.
The book is written from a soldier (At Ease) and traveler (Sojourner for Stupids) viewpoint.
Each day in my journey brought new enchantments, incredible beauty, sordid ugliness, joy, and suffering that I tried to capture in words.
The Asia of Conrad and Maughan is gone, and the war-torn Asia of Vietnam will also pass.
This is my vision of Asia, a bright shining light from a galaxy far far away that has already disappeared.
Stoner to Seeker: the Photographs Ii: Volume Ii: India Traveling on the 1970S Indian Hippie Trail Hippie Ki Yay!
“STONER TO SEEKER: PHOTOGRAPHS OF INDIA”
India is the pot of gold at the end of the hippie rainbow Here you can lose or find yourself. You have absolute freedom: you can be transformed into a new spiritual being or be transfixed into a drooling, nodding off junkie.
“Stoner To Seeker: The India Photographs” chronicles Indian life in the 1970s. I spent a year and a half traveling all over the Indian subcontinent recording lives, hopes, dreams, and sorrows. India is the most fascinating country in the world where religion, western consumer culture, communism and a traditional way of life are all competing for the soul of India.
I was “a stranger in a strange land” and I tried to record that exoticism and awe in my photographs and with written words in my companion Journal.
I arrived in India as a stoned freak (hippie-ki-yay) and through my experiences of interacting with students, merchants, intellectuals, sahhus and fellow freaks became a siddhartha, exploring religions, philosophies, and other worldliness approaches to life’s goals.
This is my vision of India, a bright multi-colored prism of light as seen through a lens darkly.
NEW WORLDS, NEW RACES, NEW RELIGIONS: PHOTOGRAPHS OF GUATEMALA, PERU, AND BRAZIL IN THE 1970S
A disappearing world. A timeless record. A journey you’ll never forget.
In this breathtaking photographic collection, Gordon R. Schwerzmann captures the final moments of traditional life in Guatemala, Peru, and Brazil in the 1970s, before globalization forever altered their landscapes, cultures, and beliefs.
Travel through bustling Guatemalan markets, sacred Incan sites, Amazonian villages, and the vibrant streets of Salvador as ancient traditions, Indigenous identity, and spiritual rituals come to life through powerful imagery and vivid historical insight.
This is more than photography.
- It is a cultural time capsule.
- A tribute to vanishing worlds.
- A celebration of human diversity and the stories that shaped a continent.
Perfect for lovers of travel, history, anthropology, and National Geographic–style exploration, New Worlds, New Races, New Religions invites you into a world that is rapidly fading yet unforgettable.
A stunning journey through heritage, memory, and the heartbeat of Latin America.