AmericanBad Ass

Alan P Privitt

A Marine, a roofer, and four years on the streets of Los Angeles. One man tells it his way and names what he saw.

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A memoir with its elbows out

It starts with Prohibition and Nixon and ends in a mission courtyard. In between, Alan Privitt takes you through the Los Angeles most people drive past.

From a 1994 run-in with the L.A. County Sheriff, to a night on a ventilator when a voice told him to wake up, to the castor bean fields around Pico Rivera that he watched disappear, Privitt writes the way he talks: direct, funny, sometimes angry, and honest about what he can't prove.

He has no proof and says so. What he has is four years of watching, and a conviction that someone should be asked the questions he is asking.

History repeats

Prohibition made the mob. The drug war made the cartels. Privitt asks how long the country will keep running the same play, and argues for decriminalizing use.

The streets

Tents, missions, open-air markets and the people nobody counts. A first-hand view of homelessness and the opioid crisis in Southern California.

The fields

The castor bean plants that kept vanishing, who might be taking them, and why he believes the answer matters to everyone in the region.

The faith

Raised Catholic, an altar boy, a Bible salvaged from a tent, and a hospital bed where he felt something pulling him upward.

I have no reason to lie.
Alan P Privitt, American Bad Ass
Alan P Privitt, a long-haired, white-bearded man in a tie-dye peace-and-love shirt
Alan P Privitt, author and retired roofer.

Meet Alan

Born in 1959 at White Memorial Hospital, the youngest of three children, and raised in Pico Rivera.

He attended both Catholic and public schools, and on his 17th birthday he joined the U.S. Marine Corps. He served seven years and left as a Sergeant. Two of those years were in Okinawa, Japan, where he studied martial arts.

After the service he worked in roofing until he retired. He is now enjoying what he calls the best life, and he has put his story on paper.

  1. 1959Born at White Memorial Hospital
  2. Pico RiveraYoungest of three. Catholic and public schools
  3. Age 17Joins the U.S. Marine Corps
  4. OkinawaTwo years studying martial arts
  5. SergeantSeven years of service
  6. Roofing, then retirementAnd now, an author

Read the opening

Chapter One, “Does History Repeat Itself?”, sets up everything that follows.

Chapter One

Does history repeat itself?

Do you believe in history repeating itself? I do. We see it in events such as World War I and World War II, Hitler, Napoleon, and the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. There are countless examples throughout history that show us how similar patterns can emerge again and again.

The government tried to take something away from the American people. The people responded by finding ways around the law. They disobeyed the act, and the speakeasies that flourished during Prohibition became widespread.

They took out Pablo Escobar, but removing one powerful figure did not eliminate the problem. If anything, it showed the cartels that they needed to become more efficient and adaptable.

The demand remained, and where there is demand, someone will find a way to supply it.

What early readers say

Four beta readers, four different angles: a military memoir fan, an investigative editor, a homelessness and social services professional, and a developmental editor. Tap any review to jump straight to it.

Get your copy

Paperback

The full book with the front-to-back cover as shown, 185 pages.

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eBook

Read it on any phone, tablet or e-reader the moment you buy it.

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Signed copy

Signed by Alan and shipped to you. Limited first run.

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American Bad Ass Book

American Bad Ass – Featured Article

A Marine, a Roofer, and a Survivor:
Meet Alan P. Privitt, Author of American Bad Ass

A raw, funny, fearless memoir of survival, faith, and second chances—from a seven-year Marine Corps sergeant who has lived through the streets, the system, and experiences he still can't explain.

Some books are written by authors. Others are written by people who simply refuse to stay quiet. American Bad Ass, the debut memoir from U.S. Marine Corps veteran Alan P. Privitt, is firmly the second kind.

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