1968: The Year That Rocked the World
by Mark Kurlansky
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Book Summary Information
Author: Mark KurlanskyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-01-11
ISBN: 0345455827
Number of pages: 480
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Book Reviews of 1968: The Year That Rocked the World
Book Review: A Concise History of 1968
Summary: 4 Stars
Mark Kurlansky is an author who has written many books. His picture on the jacket suggests he lived through some of the events. This book tells of the many disruptive events of that era, "spontaneous uprisings" occurred around the world. Some of the events occurred in earlier years or were not spontaneous (the Miss America pageant was a show business event). I think the most important events in 1968 was the Gun Control Act and the election of Nixon. The Gun Control law had many paragraphs copied from the Nazi Gun Control law of the 1930s, a form of political oppression that led to lower wages and higher taxes for Americans. Nixon's election was followed by a devaluation of the dollar that slowly consumed the wealth of Americans. Wages were stagnant since 1971. Reagan increased income tax rates for the many (from 9% to 15%). Bush-Clinton proposed and passed NAFTA to destroy manufacturing jobs and good paying jobs.
Why was this done? I surmise it was the after-effect of the Têt Offensive, which turned public opinion against the Vietnam War. American learned the claim that most Vietnamese supported America was a Big Lie (pp.50-60). There was no light at the end of the tunnel. America, with more power, failed as in the First Vietnamese War for Independence against French colonialism. If Têt was a military failure for the Viet Cong it was a political success. Since the American ruling class could no longer expect unconditional support from the American people they began a conscious effort to oppress them. Most American don't want any form of oppression. Its not that the war was brought into the living rooms but that it exposed the lies told to support the war. Various books had been published in prior years to educate the public ("Why Are We in Vietnam?"), and there were educational forums in colleges ("teach-ins"). Holiday attacks in Vietnam went back to 1789 (p.57). Was this a "generational gap" or just new realities not understood by those born around WW One?
Kurlansky discusses the Walker Report (p.368). Who controlled the Chicago police? Was it a "police riot"? Were there agent provocateurs to stir up the crowd? Was there a plot to damage Humphrey's candidacy by bad publicity? [I believe the country would have been better off with Humphrey as President.] Were many minor candidates a scheme to draw off votes for Humphrey (p.363)? Attorney-General John Mitchell (a municipal bond financier) prosecuted the Chicago Eight. The convictions were reversed on appeal. Later Mitchell was convicted for perjury during the Watergate investigation. Watergate was part of a series of acts designed to damage the opposition political party. Nobody mentioned 1968 Chicago as part of this. There is no mention of the devaluation of the dollar by the ban on silver coinage in 1965 and its aftereffects.
The `Bibliography' lists many books (pp.405-412). I think this book tries to cover too much ground, but it serves as a concise history for the general reader.
Summary of 1968: The Year That Rocked the World
To some, 1968 was the year of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Yet it was also the year of the Martin Luther King, Jr., and Bobby Kennedy assassinations; the riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago; Prague Spring; the antiwar movement and the Tet Offensive; Black Power; the generation gap; avant-garde theater; the upsurge of the women?s movement; and the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union.In this monumental book, Mark Kurlansky brings to teeming life the cultural and political history of that pivotal year, when television?s influence on global events first became apparent, and spontaneous uprisings occurred simultaneously around the world. Encompassing the diverse realms of youth and music, politics and war, economics and the media, 1968 shows how twelve volatile months transformed who we were as a people?and led us to where we are today.
Given its broad and vibrant subject, it would be quite difficult for a writer of any proficiency to pen a boring book on 1968, and Mark Kurlansky has indeed pulled together an entertaining and enlightening popular history with 1968: The Year That Rocked the World. With the Vietnam War and Soviet repression providing sparkplugs in the East and West, student movements heated up in Berkeley, Prague, Mexico City, Paris, and dozens of other hotspots. With youth in ascendancy, music, film, and athletics became generational battlegrounds between opposition forces that couldn't be more appalled with one another. Not so fortuitously, the Summer Olympics in Mexico City and a presidential election in the United States conspired to elevate the tension higher as months passed. Kurlansky is skilled at concisely capturing the personalities behind the conflicts, whether they be heartbroken Czech leader Alexander Dubcek as Eastern Bloc troops violently suppress his nation's uprising or respected veteran newsman Walter Cronkite reluctantly editorializing against the war in Vietnam. The author is more than willing to choose heroes (the doomed Robert Kennedy) and villains (victorious presidential candidate Richard Nixon), and clearly sides with the rebels in most cases. In general, Kurlansky is more adept at covering the political front than he is the equally revolutionary arts world, and it's apparent that any chapter in this book could be expanded into a book of its own. One's expectation is that captivated readers will view 1968 as a portal into a deeper exploration of a fascinating time. --Steven Stolder
1960s Books
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