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9780812993189 English 0812993187 ""It is nearly impossible to imagine how apocalyptic America felt in the last years of the 1960s..." During the academic calendar year of 1969 and 1970, there were 9000 protests and 84 acts of arson or bombings at schools across the country. Two and a half million students went on strike, and 700 colleges shut down. Witness to a Revolution, Clara Bingham's oral history of that year, brings readers into this moment when it seemed that everything was about to change, when the anti-war movement could no longer be written off as fringe, and when America seemed on the brink of a revolution at home, even as it continued to fight a long war abroad. -This unique oral history of the late 1960s tells of the most dramatic events of the day in the words of those closest to the action--activists, organizers, criminals, bombers, policy makers, veterans, hippies, and draft dodgers. -These chapters are narrative snapshots of key moments and critical groups that sprung up in some of the most turbulent years of the 20th century. As a whole, they capture the essence of an era. -They questioned and challenged nearly every aspect of American society--work, capitalism, family, education, male-female relations, sex, science, and wealth--and many of their questions remain important. -A sampling of insights: how the killing of four students at Kent State turned a straight social worker into a hippie overnight; how the draft turned Ivy League-educated young men into fugitives and prisoners; how powerful government insiders walked away from their careers; how Vietnam vets came home vowing to stop the war; how, in the name of peace, intellectuals became bombers; how alienation from the establishment and the older generation compelled people to drop out, experiment with psychedelic drugs, and live communally; and how the civil rights and antiwar movements gave birth to feminism.", A riveting oral history of America in the turbulent year when the sixties ended, the seventies began, and the nation teetered on the edge of revolt, "Witness to the Revolution" brings readers back to a moment when America seemed on the brink of a civil war at home, even as it continued to fight a long, futile war abroad. Today, when America is once again enmeshed in confrontation, distrust of the government, and concern about the direction of the country, the insights contained in this book are more relevant than ever., The electrifying story of the turbulent year when the sixties ended and America teetered on the edge of revolution As the 1960s drew to a close, the United States was coming apart at the seams. The American death toll in Vietnam was approaching fifty thousand, and the ascendant counterculture was challenging nearly every aspect of American society from work, family, and capitalism to sex, science, and gender relations. "Witness to the Revolution," Clara Bingham s unique oral history of that tumultuous time, unveils anew that moment when America careened to the brink of a civil war at home, as it fought a long, futile war abroad. From August 1969 to August 1970, the nation witnessed nine thousand protests and eighty-four acts of arson or bombings at schools across the country. Two and a half million students went on strike and seven hundred colleges shut down. It was the year of the My Lai massacre investigation, the Cambodia invasion, Woodstock, and the Moratorium to End the War. Woven together from one hundred original interviews, "Witness to the Revolution "provides a firsthand narrative of that period of upheaval through the words of those closest to the action the activists, organizers, radicals, and resisters who manned the barricades of what Students for a Democratic Society leader Tom Hayden called the Great Refusal. We meet Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn of the Weather Underground; Daniel Ellsberg, the former Defense Department employee who released the Pentagon Papers; feminist theorist Robin Morgan; actor and activist Jane Fonda; and many others whose powerful personal stories capture the essence of an era. We witness how the killing of four students at Kent State turned a straitlaced social worker into a hippie, how the civil rights movement gave birth to the women s movement, and how opposition to the war in Vietnam turned college students into prisoners, veterans into peace marchers, and intellectuals into bombers. With lessons that can be applied to our time, "Witness to the Revolution" is more than just a record of the death throes of the Age of Aquarius. Today, when America is once again enmeshed in racial turmoil, extended wars overseas, and distrust of the government, the insights contained in this book are more relevant than ever. Advance praise for "Witness to the Revolution" Vivid, compelling, and addictively readable, Bingham has captured the lightning of the 1960s in a jar, where it blows the reader s socks off. Whether you lived through this period or want to know what you missed, this is a popular history everyone should read. Jane Mayer, author of "Dark Money" The cities and campuses were blowing up, the races and generations were at war, sex, drugs, and violence gripped our young. How the hell did that happen? Bingham, a gifted reporter with a great sense of story, tells us in this moving, funny, horrifying, clarifying book. This is the best sixties book since "Edie." Evan Thomas, author of "Being Nixon" "Witness to the Revolution"takes you to the exact spot where the wave of the sixties, the Movement, and the Age of Aquarius crested. You can almost smell the tear gas. Nick Turse, author of "Kill Anything That Moves" A remarkable oral history, deftly weaving together vivid characters, traumatic events, and fractious movements. As we stand again as witnesses to a vertiginous period of change and challenge, Bingham s book is powerfully relevant. Above all, it is a vibrant and critical guide to a time that changed our nation forever. Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of "The Nation""
9780812993189 English 0812993187 ""It is nearly impossible to imagine how apocalyptic America felt in the last years of the 1960s..." During the academic calendar year of 1969 and 1970, there were 9000 protests and 84 acts of arson or bombings at schools across the country. Two and a half million students went on strike, and 700 colleges shut down. Witness to a Revolution, Clara Bingham's oral history of that year, brings readers into this moment when it seemed that everything was about to change, when the anti-war movement could no longer be written off as fringe, and when America seemed on the brink of a revolution at home, even as it continued to fight a long war abroad. -This unique oral history of the late 1960s tells of the most dramatic events of the day in the words of those closest to the action--activists, organizers, criminals, bombers, policy makers, veterans, hippies, and draft dodgers. -These chapters are narrative snapshots of key moments and critical groups that sprung up in some of the most turbulent years of the 20th century. As a whole, they capture the essence of an era. -They questioned and challenged nearly every aspect of American society--work, capitalism, family, education, male-female relations, sex, science, and wealth--and many of their questions remain important. -A sampling of insights: how the killing of four students at Kent State turned a straight social worker into a hippie overnight; how the draft turned Ivy League-educated young men into fugitives and prisoners; how powerful government insiders walked away from their careers; how Vietnam vets came home vowing to stop the war; how, in the name of peace, intellectuals became bombers; how alienation from the establishment and the older generation compelled people to drop out, experiment with psychedelic drugs, and live communally; and how the civil rights and antiwar movements gave birth to feminism.", A riveting oral history of America in the turbulent year when the sixties ended, the seventies began, and the nation teetered on the edge of revolt, "Witness to the Revolution" brings readers back to a moment when America seemed on the brink of a civil war at home, even as it continued to fight a long, futile war abroad. Today, when America is once again enmeshed in confrontation, distrust of the government, and concern about the direction of the country, the insights contained in this book are more relevant than ever., The electrifying story of the turbulent year when the sixties ended and America teetered on the edge of revolution As the 1960s drew to a close, the United States was coming apart at the seams. The American death toll in Vietnam was approaching fifty thousand, and the ascendant counterculture was challenging nearly every aspect of American society from work, family, and capitalism to sex, science, and gender relations. "Witness to the Revolution," Clara Bingham s unique oral history of that tumultuous time, unveils anew that moment when America careened to the brink of a civil war at home, as it fought a long, futile war abroad. From August 1969 to August 1970, the nation witnessed nine thousand protests and eighty-four acts of arson or bombings at schools across the country. Two and a half million students went on strike and seven hundred colleges shut down. It was the year of the My Lai massacre investigation, the Cambodia invasion, Woodstock, and the Moratorium to End the War. Woven together from one hundred original interviews, "Witness to the Revolution "provides a firsthand narrative of that period of upheaval through the words of those closest to the action the activists, organizers, radicals, and resisters who manned the barricades of what Students for a Democratic Society leader Tom Hayden called the Great Refusal. We meet Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn of the Weather Underground; Daniel Ellsberg, the former Defense Department employee who released the Pentagon Papers; feminist theorist Robin Morgan; actor and activist Jane Fonda; and many others whose powerful personal stories capture the essence of an era. We witness how the killing of four students at Kent State turned a straitlaced social worker into a hippie, how the civil rights movement gave birth to the women s movement, and how opposition to the war in Vietnam turned college students into prisoners, veterans into peace marchers, and intellectuals into bombers. With lessons that can be applied to our time, "Witness to the Revolution" is more than just a record of the death throes of the Age of Aquarius. Today, when America is once again enmeshed in racial turmoil, extended wars overseas, and distrust of the government, the insights contained in this book are more relevant than ever. Advance praise for "Witness to the Revolution" Vivid, compelling, and addictively readable, Bingham has captured the lightning of the 1960s in a jar, where it blows the reader s socks off. Whether you lived through this period or want to know what you missed, this is a popular history everyone should read. Jane Mayer, author of "Dark Money" The cities and campuses were blowing up, the races and generations were at war, sex, drugs, and violence gripped our young. How the hell did that happen? Bingham, a gifted reporter with a great sense of story, tells us in this moving, funny, horrifying, clarifying book. This is the best sixties book since "Edie." Evan Thomas, author of "Being Nixon" "Witness to the Revolution"takes you to the exact spot where the wave of the sixties, the Movement, and the Age of Aquarius crested. You can almost smell the tear gas. Nick Turse, author of "Kill Anything That Moves" A remarkable oral history, deftly weaving together vivid characters, traumatic events, and fractious movements. As we stand again as witnesses to a vertiginous period of change and challenge, Bingham s book is powerfully relevant. Above all, it is a vibrant and critical guide to a time that changed our nation forever. Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of "The Nation""