1969: The Year Everything Changed
 | |
| Author | Rob Kirkpatrick |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Narrative history |
| Publisher | Skyhorse Publishing |
Publication date | 2009 |
1969: The Year Everything Changed is a narrative history book written by American author and editor Rob Kirkpatrick, published in 2009 by Skyhorse Publishing.
Synopsis
Divided into four parts that correspond with the four seasons of the year, the book chronicles the history of 1969 in American society and culture. The author delves into such events as the New York Jets' historic Super Bowl victory, Richard Nixon's inauguration, the birth of punk music and the first Led Zeppelin tour, the publication of The Godfather and release of Easy Rider, the Santa Barbara oil spill and the Cuyahoga River fire, the Battle of Hamburger Hill, the People's Park and Stonewall riots, the Apollo 11 moon landing, the Chappaquiddick incident, the Woodstock Festival, the Manson Family and Zodiac Killer murders, the Miracle Mets' championship season, the peace movement and the birth of the Weathermen, the Days of Rage, the Occupation of Alcatraz, the murder of Fred Hampton, and the Altamont Free Concert.
Book table of contents
- Selected Timeline
- Preface: Revolution, Apocalypse, and the Birth of Modern America
- Part I: Winter’s Children
- 1 Nixon’s Coming
- 2 Something in the Air
- 3 The New Sounds
- 4 Super Jets
- 5 The American Family
- Part II: Revolution in Springtime
- 6 America Undressed
- 7 A Whole New Ball Game
- 8 Poison Ivy
- 9 1, 2, 3, What Are We Fighting For?
- 10 The Green Mind
- 11 Stand!
- Part III: The Summer of Impossible Dreams
- 12 Walking in Space
- 13 The Mists of Camelot
- 14 Shaking the Cage
- 15 West Coast Killers
- 16 An Amazin’ Summer
- 17 Heaven in a Disaster Area
- Part IV: Autumn Apocalypse
- 18 “There Are No Words”
- 19 Nixon’s War
- 20 Days of Rage
- 21 Cowboys and Indians
- 22 The Hippie Apocalypse
- Afterword: Future Shock - The Seventies and Beyond
- Bibliography
Reviews
1969 received positive reviews upon its publication. In a two-page article in USA Today on January 26, Craig Wilson commented, "The subtitle of his new book, 1969: The Year Everything Changed, may sound hyperbolic, but Kirkpatrick makes a good case that it was a year of 'landmark achievements, cataclysmic episodes and generation-defining events.'"[1] Booklist called it "A riveting look at a pivotal year,"[2] and in an e-newsletter to subscribers, The History Channel Magazine described it as "a compelling account of the historic year."[3] Library Journal praised the writing, saying, "Kirkpatrick treats the tumultuous events of 1969 with the skills of a journalist, a historian, a sociologist, and a sportswriter and manages to insert moments of lightness and triviality into his grand tour. He writes as easily about jazz-pop as about the rise of the American Indian Movement," and added, "Nostalgic for some, revelatory for others, this is a worthy addition to the literature of the 1960s."[4]
References
- ↑ Wilson, Craig (January 26, 2009). "'1969': The year, and a book, that defined an era". USA Today.
- ↑ "1969: The Year Everything Changed" (review), Booklist, January 1 & 15, 2009
- ↑ "The Year Everything Changed," The History Channel Magazine e-newsletter to History Channel Club, January 12, 2009.
- ↑ Thomas A. Karel, "1969: The Year Everything Changed" (review), Library Journal, February 1, 2009.