America's Uncivil Wars: The Sixties Era from Elvis to the Fall of Richard Nixon

This is the most balanced account of the 60s I've ever read. Too many authors are caught up in their own experience or continue to fight the battles of the era. America's Uncivil Wars recognizes that the 60s were more a generational experience than a discrete period of time. I fully agree with the division into three periods from 56-64, 64-68, and 68 through Watergate. A driving sense of narrative moves the book from event to event and brings to life the wide range of personalities who gave the 60s their flavor. The background material on the 50s and the growing attacks on consensus culture are rich and engagingly told. And no other book I've read gives such prominence to feminists, the Red and Brown Power movements, environmentalism, and Gay Rights. Conservative student and political movements get their due as well. My only regret is that the book, like the 60s, had to end because this is a good read.