Reviews
“They don’t make guys like this anymore . . . high-spirited sleaze, overeducated yokelry, and intensely American egalitarian humor . . . gloriously told . . . surprisingly intelligent” — SF Weekly
”Mike Edison is my new hero… brash, irreverent, funny as hell… proof positive that one can be both edgy and erudite, lowbrow and literate, and take joy in the unbridled pleasures of the id without sacrificing the higher mind.” — Popmatters.com
“Barrels of Jim Beam, bales of pot, and sheets of acid are consumed… cooler than Toby Young and more credible than James Frey. You can be my big brother any day.” — Bookforum
“A laugh-a-minute joyride through the back alleys of pre-internet sleaze culture.” — Daniel Clowes, author of Ghostworld
“A guy who cannot stomach self-delusion, pretense, or hypocrisy, and who’s intent on exercising his First Amendment right to free speech…. Edison’s writing style is a gonzo-type rush…” — BOSTON PHOENIX
“Will have you alternately enying Edison and being glad you’ve avoided such encounters.” — New York Daily News
“A blazing hot epic of the absurd… The author embodies the dadaism of Frank Zappa, the encyclopedic pop culture powers of Chuck Klosterman, and the goofball temerity of a pro-wrestler…Although rife with all the in-your-face sarcasm and attitude you’d expect from a guy who performed with GG Allin and Reagan Youth, the story reveals a professional and a gentleman…. The writing is unrelentingly smart and funny… The chapters have a delicious ache to them, not just because Edison’s life is so enviably fabulous, but because he experienced the grittier, cooler, more dangerous cities like New York, New Orleans, and Las Vegas before they were sterilized. The vicarious thrill is real.” — The Brooklyn Rail
“Fucking awesome.”— URB Magazine
“An engaging sardonic guide to some of magazinedom’s more disreputable territories.”— Entertainment Weekly
“A beer-sozzled, speed-cranked nail bomb of a book—what everybody’s Saturday night should be like.”— Kirkus (starred review)
“A rogue’s journey that mesmerizes and charms readers with its exuberant rampage through the worlds of punk rock, pro wrestling, and hardcore pornography… These encounters are delivered in an energetic, chatty prose – though when the mood strikes, Edison can turn out crisp, poetic sentences or tug a heartstring or two. He is blessed with the ability to swiftly nail down characters in indelible, often hilarious descriptions… Edison makes zero effort at political correctness, wallowing gleefully in profanity, not giving a shit if his riotous ass-kicking reads as uncool to the post-rock, venti-latte set. How could anyone fail to enjoy a book with chapter titles like “The Creature from Temple Beth Shalom” and “Those Tits Are Taking Food out of My Children’s Mouths!”? — The Rumpus
“It seems there isn’t a vice Edison hasn’t waggled his toes in … and if he’s not knocking back shots with Evel Knievel in Vegas he’s toking alongside Ozzy Osbourne at a High Times photo shoot. The saving grace is that Edison is smart enough to mix in a healthy dose of self-deprecation while relating his exploits, even going so far as to expertly tug on your heartstrings by taking you step-by-step through the love affair that shattered his heart (yes, he has one).” — Blurt
“Truly a sage among independent voices… Edison glides along the edges of society with an intense dose of wit and a startling eye for the insane… a testament to a life lived full-speed ahead on the edges of propriety. Take a trip to a land of insanity and absurdity with an irreverent master at the top of his game.” — Atlanta Metro Spirit
“Edison seems to have nine lives and enjoys every moment of each of them to the fullest . . . His journey takes him around the world, but he always returns to magazine writing, and his insider scoop on these bizarre workplaces is what, finally, makes this memoir truly memorable.”— Penthouse
Mike Edison is a rock’n’roller, pornographer, wrestling journalist, hedonist, confidante of GG Allin, Beatles-hater, fierce First Amendment protector ,,, a damn funny storyteller, too. Like the great pro wrestlers of old, Edison admits to being prone to hyperbole but his stories are so insane they have to be trueI Have Fun…documents Edison’s life in a very hilarious, smart ass but never jaded way. He gives the reader many life lessons (dating advice in the porn world, the best places to dine in Spain) and preaches the word of rock and roll. — Life in a Bungalo
“His sharp opinions/observations on religion, relationships, drugs, booze, pornography, rock’n'roll, and politics were dead on for this reviewer, I won’t hesitate to call Mike Edison the Hunter S. Thompson of my generation!” — Lowcut, Your Rock’n'Roll Resource
“I Have Fun Everywhere chronicles Edison’s twenty-something, ’90s rampage through the second tier publishing world of male-American fetishes (wrestling, porn, drugs), his first-person explorations into rock n’ roll excess … and a sliver of a love story that feels more like a kick in the balls than a kiss on the lips.” — Secrets of the City
“[Edison] is to trash culture what Einstein was to physics.. the man is incapable of writing a dull sentence or paragraph.” — Lively Arts
“If you are looking for a story with any kind of redeeming social value, you will not find it here.” — Witchita Examiner
“If you have any interest in pot, pornography, punk rock, or professional wrestling, just buy this fucking thing.” — Nick Tosches
