From Camelot to Kent State : The Sixties Experience in the Words of Those Who Lived It

No decade in American history continues to fascinate us like the Sixties. No decade combines such hopeful idealism with such violence and disillusionment, or witnesses such profound political, cultural, and personal upheavals. And no decade benefits more from being seen through the eyes of those who experienced firsthand the shocks and revelations that still reverberate today. Newly revised and updated, with an expanded introduction, From Camelot to Kent State tells the story of ten of the most dramatic years in the life of America-and of fifty-nine men and women who lived through those years. In their own words, civil rights activists, soldiers who fought in Vietnam, anti-war protesters, student radicals, feminists, Peace Corps workers, and many others take us inside the major events and movements of the period. Far from a dispassionate history of the Sixties, these stories bristle with the tension and immediacy of lived experience. How did it feel to wake up into step out of a helicopter into a Vietnamese jungle; to ride south on a freedom bus, to march on the Pentagon; to take over a college administration building; to hear Jimi Hendrix play the national anthem at Woodstock; to attend the first consciousness-raising meetings for women at the Bread and Roses cafe? This captivating oral history will let you know. Included are first-hand accounts from both the famous-including Eldridge Cleaver, Abbie Hoffman, Philip Berrigan, and John Lewis-and the ordinary men and women who were swept up in major historical events, From Camelot to Kent State offers a uniquely valuable view of a decade that forever changed the history and consciousness of America. Library Journal What motivated you to act the way you did in the Sixties? What did you actually do? What are your feelings now? The authors of this oral history asked these questions, and the edited responses ``give some idea of what it was like to be living then.'' They interviewed activists in civil rights, the Vietnam War and the protest movement, student mobilization, and the counterculture. Though there is some repetition and extraneous material, the book offers such highlights as John Lewis's brief memoir of his experiences in civil rights sit-ins and SNCC. The book exudes the hopeful spirit and bitter disappointments of the time. Jack Forman, Mesa Coll. Lib., San Diego No decade in American history continues to fascinate us like the Sixties. No decade combines such hopeful idealism with such violence and disillusionment, or witnesses such profound political, cultural, and personal upheavals. And no decade benefits more from being seen through the eyes of those who experienced firsthand the shocks and revelations that still reverberate today. Newly revised and updated, with an expanded introduction, From Camelot to Kent State tells the story of ten of the most dramatic years in the life of America-and of fifty-nine men and women who lived through those years. In their own words, civil rights activists, soldiers who fought in Vietnam, anti-war protesters, student radicals, feminists, Peace Corps workers, and many others take us inside the major events and movements of the period. Far from a dispassionate history of the Sixties, these stories bristle with the tension and immediacy of lived experience. How did it feel to wake up into step out of a helicopter into a Vietnamese jungle; to ride south on a freedom bus, to march on the Pentagon; to take over a college administration building; to hear Jimi Hendrix play the national anthem at Woodstock; to attend the first consciousness-raising meetings for women at the Bread and Roses café? This captivating oral history will let you know. Included are first-hand accounts from both the famous-including Eldridge Cleaver, Abbie Hoffman, Philip Berrigan, and John Lewis-and the ordinary men and women who were swept up in major historical events, From Camelot to Kent State offers a uniquely valuable view of a decade that forever changed the history and consciousness of America. "Newly revised and updated and with an expanded introduction, From Camelot to Kent State tells the story of ten of the most dramatic years in the life of America - and of fifty-nine men and women who lived through those years. In their own words, civil rights activists, soldiers who fought in Vietnam, anti-war protesters, student radicals, feminists, Peace Corps workers, and many others take us inside the major events and movements of the period. Far from a dispassionate history of the Sixties, these stories bristle with the tension and immediacy of lived experience. How did it feel to step out of a helicopter into a Vietnamese jungle, to ride south on a freedom bus, to march on the Pentagon, to hear Jimi Hendrix play the national anthem at Woodstock, to attend the first consciousness-raising meetings for women at the Bread and Roses Cafe? This captivating oral history will let you know."--Jacket This text tells the story of ten of the most dramatic years in the life of America, and of 59 men and women who lived through those years. Stories featured include those of civil rights activists, soldiers who fought in Vietnam, anti-war protesters, student radicals and feminists. It was one of those times in our society when it looks as though everything is going to come into focus, when there will be common goals and people will be galvanized as a country to work for those goals.