jjares reviewed The 1960s (Cultural History of the United States Through the Decades) on + 3413 more book reviews
Having lived during these turbulent 10 years, I appreciated the fact that things seemed to be reported in a rather even-handed fashion . Although aimed towards 9 to 12 year-olds, I found this tome very interesting. It did a wonderful job of looking over the panorama of a very upsetting era. I was disappointed with the large number of black-and-white (instead of color photos).
The author makes a point of saying that the 1960's opened with happiness. A young president and his wife occupied the White House and many referred the presidency as Camelot. The euphoria ended with John Kennedy's death. I was a junior in high school (American History class, to be exact) when the news came.
Then, it seemed as if the country was coming unglued: another Kennedy murder, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, rioting over civil rights and the Vietnam War. It was the first time war was shown literally as it happened and US citizens didn't like what they saw.
I remember feeling very frightened about what was happening. Things that had made sense suddenly changed. People we thought were leading our country sounded like regular liars on TV (LBJ, General Westmoreland, etc.).
This volume offered a useful chronology of the decade; provided the books used and offered suggestions for further reading.
The author makes a point of saying that the 1960's opened with happiness. A young president and his wife occupied the White House and many referred the presidency as Camelot. The euphoria ended with John Kennedy's death. I was a junior in high school (American History class, to be exact) when the news came.
Then, it seemed as if the country was coming unglued: another Kennedy murder, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, rioting over civil rights and the Vietnam War. It was the first time war was shown literally as it happened and US citizens didn't like what they saw.
I remember feeling very frightened about what was happening. Things that had made sense suddenly changed. People we thought were leading our country sounded like regular liars on TV (LBJ, General Westmoreland, etc.).
This volume offered a useful chronology of the decade; provided the books used and offered suggestions for further reading.
