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Average customer rating:

Awesome
A fun history but a fun historian
1968 Revisited
1 star: The Review That Rocked this Book
Informative and Encompassing

1968: The Year That Rocked the World
Mark Kurlansky
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0345455819
Release Date: 2003-12-30

Amazon.com

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

Book Description

In this monumental new book, award-winning author Mark Kurlansky has written his most ambitious work to date: a singular and ultimately definitive look at a pivotal moment in history.

With 1968, Mark Kurlansky brings to teeming life the cultural and political history of that world-changing year of social upheaval. People think of it as 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 birth of the women’s movement, and the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union. From New York, Miami, Berkeley, and Chicago to Paris, Prague, Rome, Berlin, Warsaw, Tokyo, and Mexico City, spontaneous uprisings occurred simultaneously around the globe.

Everything was disrupted. In the Middle East, Yasir Arafat’s guerilla organization rose to prominence . . . both the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Biennale were forced to shut down by protesters . . . the Kentucky Derby winner was stripped of the crown for drug use . . . the Olympics were a disaster, with the Mexican government having massacred hundreds of students protesting police brutality there . . . and the Miss America pageant was stormed by feminists carrying banners that introduced to the television-watching public the phrase “women’s liberation.”
Kurlansky shows how the coming of live television made 1968 the first global year. It was the year that an amazed world watched the first live telecast from outer space, and that TV news expanded to half an hour. For the first time, Americans watched that day’s battle–the Vietnam War’s Tet Offensive–on the evening news. Television also shocked the world with seventeen minutes of police clubbing demonstrators at the Chicago convention, live film of unarmed students facing Soviet tanks in Czechoslovakia, and a war of starvation in Biafra. The impact was huge, not only on the antiwar movement, but also on the medium itself. The fact that one now needed television to make things happen was a cultural revelation with enormous consequences.

In many ways, this momentous year led us to where we are today. Whether through youth and music, politics and war, economics and the media, Mark Kurlansky shows how, in 1968, twelve volatile months transformed who we are as a people. But above all, he gives a new understanding to the underlying causes of the unique historical phenomenon that was the year 1968. Thoroughly researched and engagingly written–full of telling anecdotes, penetrating analysis, and the author’s trademark incisive wit–1968 is the most important book yet of Kurlansky’s noteworthy career.

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In this monumental new book, award-winning author Mark Kurlansky has written his most ambitious work to date: a singular and ultimately definitive look at a pivotal moment in history. With 1968, Mark Kurlansky brings to teeming life the cultural and political history of that world-changing year of social upheaval. People think of it as 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 birth of the women¿s movement, and the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union. From New York, Miami, Berkeley, and Chicago to Paris, Prague, Rome, Berlin, Warsaw, Tokyo, and Mexico City, spontaneous uprisings occurred simultaneously around the globe. Everything was disrupted. In the Middle East, Yasir Arafat¿s guerilla organization rose to prominence . . . both the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Biennale were forced to shut down by protesters . . . the Kentucky Derby winner was stripped of the crown for drug use . . . the Olympics were a disaster, with the Mexican government having massacred hundreds of students protesting police brutality there . . . and the Miss America pageant was stormed by feminists carrying banners that introduced to the television-watching public the phrase ¿women¿s liberation.¿ Kurlansky shows how the coming of live television made 1968 the first global year. It was the year that an amazed world watched the first live telecast from outer space, and that TV news expanded to half an hour. For the first time, Americans watched that day¿s battle¿the Vietnam War¿s Tet Offensive¿on the evening news. Television also shocked the world with seventeen minutes of police clubbing demonstrators at the Chicago convention, live film of unarmed students facing Soviet tanks in Czechoslovakia, and a war of starvation in Biafra. The impact was huge, not only on the antiwar movement, but also on the medium itself. The fact that one now needed television to make things happen was a cultural revelation with enormous consequences. In many ways, this momentous year led us to where we are today. Whether through youth and music, politics and war, economics and the media, Mark Kurlansky shows how, in 1968, twelve volatile months transformed who we are as a people. But above all, he gives a new understanding to the underlying causes of the unique historical phenomenon that was the year 1968. Thoroughly researched and engagingly written¿full of telling anecdotes, penetrating analysis, and the author¿s trademark incisive wit¿1968 is the most important book yet of Kurlansky¿s noteworthy career.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome.......2007-01-12

Mark Kurlansky's 1968 is a well-researched and surprisingly balanced account of 1968 and the preceding years. Kurlansky combines stories with accurate generalizations about the motivations of the time. He does not minimize the motivations, however. He recognizes the different movements and the history behind them creating a multi-faceted picture of the 1960s. The main reason I enjoyed this book is its international focus. The Polish student movement is covered as well as Dubcek and the Czechloslovakian revolution. This is not another book about hippies, Timothy Leary, and the Civil Rights movement. 1968 is much more significant and its international element is not only unique but shows the zeitgeist of the 60's. A great read for anyone with an interest in history or media.

A fun history but a fun historian.......2006-12-14

Kurlansky is usually known for writing more off the wall histories so I was fairly surprised to see this one. Despite his eclectic nature this book is very well done and really highlights how 1968 was a defining year for the world. From riots in the United States to the Prague Spring Kurlansky goes through the traumatic events of the year. He ties them together and although he does not offer a definite thesis it still makes for interesting reading.

1968 Revisited.......2006-07-18

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.

1 star: The Review That Rocked this Book.......2006-07-05

If we are to draw equivalent lessons from both the Prague Spring and street protests in the U.S., as Kurlansky attempts in this book, the connection should depend on more than that they simply occured in the same year. The reader is owed specifics, yet is rewarded with little more than vague platitudes. Prague was a protest against a government which not only lacked representation and dissent, but prohibited it. Chicago et al were protests against decisions made by a representative government, however flawed, resulting from open debate. A bigger difference could hardly be imagined. But Kurlansky does see striking differences, albeit only in the post-1968 world. The Soviet bloc began it's decent to oblivion, while the capitalist West avoided the same. His disappointment in the latter is not hard to glean, though what manner of "revolution" he envisions is never rendered to specifics, likely for good reason. But who needs details when false equivalencies and empty platitudes will do?

Informative and Encompassing.......2006-06-27

Having been born in the spring of 1968, I find myself drawn to finding out about the chaos rampant in that particular time of history. Naturally, Mark Kurlansky's 1968: The Year That Rocked the World appealed to me when I first saw it. For me, it's quite comprehensive not only in the activities it bears witness to in 1968, but also in giving background information about how these world-changing events came into play in the first place. Because of Kurlansky's book, I now have a better grasp of more than just the American civil rights fight, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, more than the seemingly endless Vietnam War. The author reports what was happening in nearly every corner of the globe: from America to Czechoslovakia and Poland, Israel to Mexico, Canada to Africa. Kurlansky uses economics, politics and government, religion, and especially worldwide student protests to round out his view of 1968. I recommend his book to anyone who would like a good overall understanding of how and why the year 1968 stands out as one of the major turning points in world history, with an aftermath that can still be felt nearly forty years later.

1968 The Year That Rocked The World (1968 The Year that Rocked the World, 1st)

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1968 The Year That Rocked The World (1968 The Year that Rocked the World, 1st)

Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Wild history.(Book Review): An article from: American Scholar

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Wild history.(Book Review): An article from: American Scholar
Todd Gitlin
Manufacturer: Phi Beta Kappa Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00082BXRO
Release Date: 2005-07-31

Book Description

This digital document is an article from American Scholar, published by Phi Beta Kappa Society on March 22, 2004. The length of the article is 2005 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Wild history.(Book Review)
Author: Todd Gitlin
Publication: American Scholar (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2004
Publisher: Phi Beta Kappa Society
Volume: 73 Issue: 2 Page: 146(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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1968: The Year That Rocked the World
Mark Kurlansky
Manufacturer: Jonathan Cape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OOU1K6

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