1968: The Year That Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky
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Book Reviews of 1968: The Year That Rocked the World
Book Review: Extremely hard to put down
Summary: 5 Stars
Very hard book to put down. Some chapters were enthralling because I nostalgically recall being moved by significant events as I lived through them. Others because they describe 1968 protest movements in Mexico, Poland, Spain, Italy, the UK and other countries that I was previously unaware of. One thing Kurlansky makes absolutely clear in this book - the student movement in 1968 was global - students around the world believed they could genuinely change a corrupt, authoritarian society for the better. And students in different countries learned from, copied and supported movements in other countries. The background Kurlansky gives of social forces (for example the civil rights movement and small democracy movements in Eastern Europe) that laid the groundwork for what happened in 1968 was also extremely helpful.
There seem to be two main themes in this book 1) that the secret to a successful social movement in getting media attention and 2) that the secret to getting media attention is violence.
Kurlansky starts by describing how Martin Luther King - American's pre-eminent non-violence guru - deliberately used violence to get media attention for his civil rights marches. Usually what would happen was a black woman marcher would slap or punch a cop - knowing the extremely violent retaliation this would provoke. Which would ensure the march made the 6 o'clock news that night. King quickly learned that marches that went off totally peaceably never got covered. And he knew that widespread media coverage was essential to get the federal government to enforce existing civil rights laws - that they simply didn't enforce.
Kurlansky makes clear that the French students in their general strike, SDS, the Yippies and the students who occupied Columbia were all very savvy about the importance of violence in attracting news coverage - and the importance of media coverage in winning their cause. In most cases, however, the strategy was to provoke the police into violence - which in 1968 wasn't hard to do.
Kurlansky also feels the women's movement was born in 1968. For a man, he has quite a clear grasp of what the experience of oppression is like for women - that it actually shares some elements of slavery. He describes the frustration of women activists with the way they were treated in the civil rights (including Martin Luther King's frank sexism) and antiwar movement in a sensitive and historically accurate way - as well as the early split between the "politicos," who opposed consciousness raising for fear of alienating men, and the "radicals," who felt true liberation could only happen if women became fully conscious of the sexist slights they experienced on a daily basis from men.
The part of the book I found most interesting concerned the Prague spring (characterized by new student, artistic and press freedoms) and the bravery of one 72 year old Czechoslovakian moderate named Ludvik Svoboda. Svoboda adamantly refused to let the Soviets set him up in a puppet government to replace the pro-democracy Dubcek. The Russians' inability to establish a proxy government was what forced them to invade, which Kurlansky believes was the beginning of the end for the USSR. Because they totally lost credibility, not only in Eastern Europe but in many other former pro-Soviet countries.
Book Review: GOOD HISTORY OF A UNIQUE EVENTFUL YEAR
Summary: 5 Stars
Having heard much of the separate events occured in 1968, it was interesting to see a well written attempt to unify the events into one coherent theme. The author describes in detail the background to each event and the actions taken by the main leaders of such movements -- a unifying theme seems to be that the movements were almost self driven, with figureheads at the top with no true leadership. Also part of the unifying theme was that these movements were led by students, who for the first time were aware of other student movements around the world and seem to not want to be left behind.
The stories focus on the communist bloc (Poland and Czechoslovakia), where there was strong repression of the student movement. The problem, for example, in Poland, was that the students were mostly the children of the Communist Party leaders, so the clashes put on opposite sides different generations of the same people. Such seemed to be the case in the Czech case as well.
The movements in France were also astounding in their magnitude, with leaders who did not lead much, but getting to a complete paralysis of the country and the downfall of many in the government. Movements in the US, especially at Berkeley and Columbia, has strong effects on the American psyche, as the war in Vietnam went on and civil rights movements were heating up and taking a turn towards violence (away from Martin Luther King and into the Black Panthers). The killing of Bobby Kennedy was also a significant event to shape the election year in the US.
I highly recommend this book to those interested in history -- it puts many events in perspective. The Prague Spring, for example, is much more well understood knowing the Communist party dynamics at the time and the international student movement raging on in the west. One should have a good time reading it, while we hope another such year occurs in our lifetimes.
Book Review: 1968 Revisited
Summary: 5 Stars
Mark Kurlansky's well researched book reflects the year he writes about: most of those who revile civil disobedience have found the book lacking; most of those who believe 1968 was a major hurdle for full democratic participation by all have found the book worthwhile. 1968 was a polarizing year; it still is, right here.
What the author has accomplished in this book goes beyond mere opinion of the import of 1968; he has provided extraordinary details, both domestic and international, that help all readers better understand a year that's much more than another footnote in history. The author has used vivid descriptions and unusual insights to help readers form more objective opinions about both the year and the era.
This book deserves five stars, if for no other reason than the craft and clarity with which it's written.
Book Review: STIRRED SOME NOSTALGIA
Summary: 5 Stars
This was a great read. It will be especially enjoyed by those of us who are old enough to remember some of the events and characters of that momentous year.Book Review: A Year of Beginnings and Battles
Summary: 4 Stars
The Tet Offensive occurred early in 1968. From the military standpoint, this incident was a failure, but the long term results were quite the opposite, as it helped galvanize American anti-war opinion. The effects of the Tet Offensive, one of the events chronicled in Mark Kurlansky's book 1968, seem to be symbolic of the year in general. It was a year of failure, but it paved the way for major changes.
The anti-war movement, probably the single biggest topic in the book, is a good example. While the movement gained significant strength, it would still be years before the Vietnam War would end. Similarly, the Czech resistance to Soviet incursions would end disastrously, but would also be one of the incidents that would eventually lead to the fall of the Warsaw Pact and the USSR.
There were plenty of other things that happened in that year, some good and many bad. Kurlansky puts forth a good argument that 1968 was a pivotal year. Of course, movements rarely comply with man-made items like calendars, but the occurrence of a presidential election (and the Olympics) did help make 1968 distinctive from either 1967 or 1969.
Kurlansky is up-front as to where his biases are, and it is clear where his sympathies lie. My only real issue with the book is the same one I had with his earlier book, Salt: while he moves in a general chronological order, he also skips around a lot and I think his focus suffers a bit as a result. But in general this is a very good book, well written and meriting a high four stars. This may not be fully objective history, but it is good recent history.