People of the Rainbow: A Nomadic Utopia

By Michael I. Niman

Book Overview

Since 1972 the Rainbow Family of Living Light, a loosely organized and anarchistic nomadic community, has been holding large gatherings in remote forests to pray for world peace and create a model of a functioning utopian society. Michael I. Niman's People of the Rainbow, originally published in 1997, was the first comprehensive study of this countercultural group and its eclectic philosophy of environmentalism, feminism, peace activism, group sharing, libertarianism, and consensus government. It is a book yet to be superseded.

This second edition of Niman's compelling and insightful work brings the Rainbow story up to date with a new introduction and two extensive new epilogues. While the big annual Rainbow "Gatherings" have drawn fewer numbers in recent years, Niman notes, the Rainbow ethos has in many ways migrated to the mainstream, as Rainbow notions about alternative medicine and environmental sustainability, for example, have gathered wider acceptance and influenced the national dialogue. Meanwhile, Rainbow movements in other regions, from Eastern Europe and the Middle East to Asia and Australia, are thriving.

In addition to addressing changes within the Rainbow Family and its complex relationship to "Babylon" (what Rainbows call mainstream culture), the book's new material explores the growing harassment Rainbows now face from U.S. law enforcement agencies--especially those associated with the National Forest Service. As Niman contends, this particular saga of a U.S. bureaucracy at war with its own citizens is a subplot in the larger--and disturbing--story of how the relationship between Americans and their government has changed during the first decade of the twenty-first century.

In its nuanced portrait of an intriguing subculture, its successes, and its limitations, People of the Rainbow remains a significant contribution to the study of utopian communities in the United States and their ongoing legacy.

Michael I. Niman is a professor of journalism and media studies in the Communication Department at Buffalo State College in New York.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 157233746X
• ISBN13: 9781572337466
• Release Date: August 2011
• Publisher: University of Tennessee Press
• Length: 370 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Truthful, it gets past hype and glamor and gets to the facts

As part of a church that is ministering to Rainbow People and helping the "rejected of the rejected" come to Father God who is there for them, this gives some insights into structure and issues for understanding folks within the Rainbow culture. This is a very well researched, structured and written piece of work.

This is the best book available on the Rainbows

Michael Niman's book is the most objective and comprehensive study to date of the Rainbow Family of Living Light. Professor Niman utilizes numerous interviews with Family members, Forest Service officials, and other participants to present a well-rounded view of a complex social system. Of particular interest will be his comparison of the Rainbow Family to other Utopian societies of the past and present.

Very readable and enjoyable piece of non-fiction

Having been to a few Rainbow Gatherings in my past, Niman's book caught my interest. However the book is not written only for those familiar with the Rainbow Familiy. Using a combination of participant observation and comparison to other utopian societies, Niman shows the complexity of this community of choice.