1968: The Year That Rocked the World

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.

Mark Kurlansky has written the most important book ever published about one of this nation's most galvanizing, divisive, and imposing years in modern history. Baby boomers who lived through this history as college students will discover context and multi-faceted details about how this year changed them indelibly. Younger readers will gain a richer understanding about how the events of 1968 benefit them today, including feminism, racial integration, and a healthy distrust of powerful elites. (Imagine what it was like to be expelled from college because you openly cohabitated with your romantic partner.) The book breaks through U.S. ethnocentricity about this remarkable year by presenting graphic images of 1968 from Paris to Prague and Mexico City to the former Soviet Union. The author demonstrates without apology or hesitation that 1968 was a worldwide cultural revolution that today benefits all Western societies and has brought greater freedom and social equality to countless people. Kurlansky is to be praised, not criticized, for his extraordinary accomplishment, the painstaking research, and an enjoyable writing style that injects humanity into historical details.

Though I wouldn't be born for years after the tragic night they killed Bobby Kennedy, I remember it well. My father was there. Nineteen Sixty-Eight was a watershed year for him as it was for Amercia and the world. Not only did Bobby lose his life that year, but Martin did too. It was also the year of the siege of Khe Sanh and the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, that war America wanted to forget even while it was still going on. It was a year of riots in both the aftermath of Mr. King's assassination and in Chicago at the Democratic Convention. Mr. Dubcek rose and fell in Czechoslovakia, Mr. Nixon became president, we saw TV from space and U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised black-gloved fists in protest during the medals ceremony at the Olympic games in Mexico City.All of this and more I'd been raised with, had learned at my father's knee when I was a child, reminded of again at his side when I was a girl and later when I was a young woman. These events shaped him, made him into a wonderful liberal, always willing to give the shirt off his back to help a stranger in need. But my dad's gone now and I haven't thought about 1968 in years, not until I saw this wonderful book in my local bookstore.Mr. Kurlansky has delivered a book that brought back my dad, a book for all of us who were born so long after the fact and a book, I believe, that is must reading even for all of those who lived during that turbulent year that rocked the world. It's a year worth remembering, worth learning about, worth knowing.

Every college professor will tell you that history is more than a study of dates and events. Only by looking at the long term and greater societal trends can true understanding be gained. Mark Kurlansky proves this belief dramatically wrong in his newest, and best work to date, 1968. The research alone must have taken years, to say nothing of the narrative flow and care in crafting the book. What happened to make this one year so important? How about Vietnam in full swing complete with the Tet Offensive, the Nigerian oil war, Czechoslovakia moving toward democracy only to be invaded by the Soviets, Muhammad Ali being convicted of draft evasion, student demonstrations of every kind from Mexico to France, Martin Luther King being assassinated, Cuba perceived as the most exciting nation in the world, Robert Kennedy looking like the next president only to be killed, the cartoon-like atmosphere of the Democratic Party Convention in Chicago including seventeen minutes of televised police brutality, the Black Power salutes of Olympic medal winners, and the orbiting of the moon by Apollo 8? And most amazingly, Kurlansky ties it all together; interconnecting the many separate and diverse movements and moments and showing how they affected one another. He also retains the human touch with numerous quotations and interviews with the people who were there. This is history, pure and untainted, as close as you are likely to get without experiencing it. It is often said that those who lived through historical events are unaware of their importance until afterward, but 1968 shows how so many participants were very aware that "the whole world is watching" and they acted accordingly. This book is a must read for those who were there, and even more so for those who weren't. One more good book, and you can shelve Kurlansky right next to Bradley or Ambrose.

This wonderful new account of the year 1968 gives one a whirlwind tour through the upheavals of that seminal year. From Cuba to China to Czechslovakia and Poland this boo does it all. A wide survey of everything from the Chicago 7 to the role of TV and disappearance of mini-skirts. Kurlansky is the master of story telling. He weaves in topics like the Jewish role in the Polish protests of 68', the Biafran war in Nigeria and the shooting of protestors in Mexico. Every subject is covered thoroughly so that you know the characters and feel the times. This is simply a very readable interesting account of a year that changed the world and still affects how we think about 20th century history.