The Sixties at 40

Resumen del libro

Millions of people were involved in or influenced by the protest and social change movements of the 1960s. Today, they are moms, dads, even grandparents. They are teachers, architects, artists, entrepreneurs. Having intimations of mortality, they are searching for their identities what formed them, and why they have become who they are.

Based on recent interviews, this unique sixties book brings together the voices of the Left leaders who spawned the sixties movements. Many remain activists today, and experience and the passage of time allow them to transcend nostalgia to form more realistic perspectives on past, present, and future. They discuss the civil rights and antiwar movements, the political outcome of the sixties, patriotism, terror, and the role of young people in the future. Important gains were made during the sixties, but there were many setbacks, too, that influence today's voters, leaders, candidates, and our day-to-day realities. The sixties of this book are not simply a sweet memory of marijuana and album rock; there were many casualties, including innocence and youthful idealism.

Agger concludes with reflections on the possibilities of a next Left, which was already faintly visible in young people's massive support of Obama's presidential candidacy.


Includes wide-ranging interviews with leaders of the New Left: Tom Hayden, Bob Moses, Mark Rudd, Cleveland Sellers, Frances Beal, Casey Hayden, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, and more.
Links the sixties to America today more than any other book
Presents a timeline of events during the sixties that orients younger readers to the decade's unfolding narrative
More than 50 photos and documents