1968 In America: Music, Politics, Chaos, Counterculture and the Shaping of a Generation

Rating:
Summary: A misleading title, but a good book for political buffs
Review: Charles Kaiser's "1968 In America" is going to be a big disappointment to those who bought it thinking that they would learn a great deal about the culture and music of the sixties. Only one chapter of the book looks at the music and counterculture of the sixties in any detail, and the other chapters only briefly mention them. Anyone who wants to learn more about sixties music and the counterculture should look elsewhere. But if you're a political buff like me then this book should be a delight. The great majority of this book is taken up with describing the bitter fight for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 1968. It was a fight that came down to four men: President Lyndon Johnson, whose policies in Vietnam had turned many Americans against him(especially the young), but who still had the support of the old-fashioned big-city mayors who used to run the Democratic Party, but whose influence even in 1968 was declining. Waiting in the wings if Johnson withdrew was his talkative Vice-President, Hubert Humphrey. But the real focus of the book is on Eugene McCarthy, the eloquent, intellectual, but also enigmatic and curiously passive Senator from Minnesota. Many people disliked McCarthy and considered him to be a snob and too "lazy" to be President, but as Kaiser demonstrates it was McCarthy who had the guts to join the antiwar movement and oppose Johnson when most of the "experts" thought it was political suicide. McCarthy's gamble paid off when he nearly defeated Johnson in New Hampshire, giving the President a death blow which led to his sudden withdrawal from the campaign a couple of months later. However, McCarthy's surprise showing led Bobby Kennedy, the "Prince-in-Waiting" to enter the race. This triggered a bitter, no-holds-barred war of words and emotions between McCarthy and Kennedy and their supporters. In the end this fight became so nasty that it would probably have prevented either man from beating Vice-President Humphrey at the Democratic Convention. But then Kennedy's murder in Los Angeles in June 1968 following his narrow victory over McCarthy in the California primary changed the race all over again, and gave, Kaiser argues, McCarthy one last chance to win the nomination. Typically, McCarthy procrastinated and quoted poetry while Humphrey wooed the delegates he needed to win. The book loses much of its passion after that, and Kaiser's description of the fall campaign between Humphrey and his Republican opponent, Richard Nixon, isn't nearly as interesting as his descriptions of the McCarthy-Kennedy feud. In short, if you like politics you'll love this book, and if you don't - well, then don't buy it.

Rating:
Summary: Big Subject -- Tiny Book
Review: Does a good job of presenting the outlook of a white, Jewish, liberal college student living in New York in 1968. There is nothing wrong with that in itself but Kaiser's frame of refernce and the material he choses covers are hardly large enough to warrant "The Shaping of a Genertion" claim in the title. "1968 on The Upper West Side: Music, Democratic Politics and the Shaping of Charles Kaiser" would seem a more apt title.

Despite this narrow focus, what Kaiser does cover is written about in an adequate, if somewhat bland, journalistic style.

Rating:
Summary: A misleading title, but a good book for political buffs
Review: I finished this book fairly quickly, and I came away from it feeling like I had a decent overview of the atmosphere in America during 1968, but that I had not learned anything other than the basic facts of what went on. In my opinion, Kaiser fails to go in-depth enough into any one subject (except the McCarthy campaign) to give the reader a true understanding of what it must have felt like to be there. I was born in 1982, so I was not there, and I still feel like I lack an understanding of the attitudes and events of the time. Also, I agree with the other reviewer that the title is misleading. This book is not about music or the counterculture or really even the shaping of a generation. It is about the presedential campiagn of 1968, and specifically the McCarthy campaign. If someone wanted a more of a cultural account that is specific and goes in depth into the feelings and conflicting spirits that characterized that turbulent year, I would recommend they look elsewhere, as I will.

Rating:
Summary: 1968
Review: The title is misleading. 1968: Music, Politics, Chaos, Counterculture and the Shaping of a Generation purports to be much more than what it is. That's not to say that what it is is bad. It's simply not a universal history or thorough account of the events of that most turbulent of years.

As stated by other reviewers, the book is centered around the inscrutable Gene McCarthy and his run for the Democratic nomination. Even if you're not a Democratic you'll find that account enjoyable and highly readable.

Where the writing does suffer is when it moves away from the political events of '68. The musical coverage is facile at best. You could get more information from Rolling Stone magazine about the history of 60's rock.

Where Kaiser excels is in recreating the atmosphere of the time. The Chicago convention, the Bobby Kennedy shooting, the Columbia riot are all well rendered and entertaining.

Kaiser never deigns to deep intellectual analysis of why things happened or what they meant. 1968 is very much a popular history. For serious students of the era it offers only the chance to live in the skin of some of those who rode the roller coaster that was the sixties. Enjoyable but light.

Rating:
Summary: A great look @ 1968, the year that shaped the generation
Review: This book gives a great outline of 1968-- specifically the antiwar movement at Columbia University starting on April 23, 1968. This was my primary reason for buying the book, and for this, it was well worth it. A lot of ground is covered in the book, and I found all of it intresting-- the Vietnam war (Tet Offensive), history of music, LBJ... 1968 In America will prove very enjoyable to anyone who finds great intrest in the history of the 60's! Note: the book is told from the perspective of a liberal jew, so if you're looking for pure chronicling of the year, it's not what you're gonna get.