Background
Golas was born June 15, 1924 in Paterson, New Jersey. His father died when Golas was four, and his mother later remarried when he was ten, with his stepfather later dying of tuberculosis.
Golas was born June 15, 1924 in Paterson, New Jersey. His father died when Golas was four, and his mother later remarried when he was ten, with his stepfather later dying of tuberculosis.
He attended high school with Allen Ginsberg.
He was the youngest of five children. Thaddeus volunteered for military service in late 1942 and was made Corporal of the 604th Engineer Camouflage Battalion billeted at Camp Campbell in Kentucky. He shipped off to Cardiff, Wales, was stationed in England until August 1944, then in France and Belgium, where he served until December 1944, briefly saw hostilities in the days preceding the Battle of the Bulge.
He returned to the United States after being discharged honorably because of health concerns, and attended New York"s Columbia University where he studied under Jacques Barzun, and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1948.
He first worked as a proofreader for Betty Ballantine, and later became an editor for Redbook Magazine and later worked at Harper & Row as a book representative. He held several publishing related jobs in the Midwest, and finally moved to San Francisco, took LSD, and self-published his book, The Lazy Manitoba"s Guide to Enlightenment.
He was thought of highly by Timothy Leary and Alan Watts. Golas wrote The Lazy Manitoba"s Guide to Enlightenment in relatively accessible language, with the simplicity of the book part of its success.
The Guide"s main thesis was, "Enlightenment doesn’t care how you get there".