Description
It has been called the year that changed everything, the postwar watershed in which the forces that shaped public and private life erupted, everywhere and all at once--New York, Paris, Prague, Mexico City. Beginning with the Tet Offensive in Vietnam in January and continuing through the inauguration of Richard Nixon as president the following January, 1968 witnessed the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the Democratic Convention in Chicago, and the irresistible rise of a rebellious spirit that questioned every form of authority. Each month brought a fresh wave of upheaval with shared undercurrents---deep frustrations, bold aspirations, and a growing conviction that change, whether peaceful and violent, was inevitable. Political unrest, civil rights struggles, anti-war protests, generational shifts: the causes were manifold and complex, yet their convergence was unmistakable. Alexander Bloom captures the explosive energy of a world in upheaval, illuminating how the events of 1968 were driven by youth movements, inspired by music and the subversive pull of countercultural ideals, all of which transcended borders. In Prague, young people tuned into Western radio, embracing the same sounds and messages reverberating through London and San Francisco. Styles of dress, personal expression, and radical ideals spread rapidly, fueled by an expanding media. The revolution was in fact being televised, making distant struggles immediate and personal, and turning local movements into global moments. Together, these forces made 1968 a year unlike any before or any since. For many, it felt as if the ground beneath them had shifted. Political and social transformation seemed not just possible but imminent, across the nation and around the world. Not all the promises or expectations of that year bore fruit and the backlash it generated remains with us. Still, it marked an irrevocable turning point in world history. In 1968, the world didn't just change---it shook to its core.
Table of Contents
Introduction: 1968-The Year The World ExplodedPart I: The 1960s: Movements in Time and Space 1. "Rumblings Beneath the Surface Calm": The 1950s as an Introduction to the 1960s2. Civil Rights3. The Student Movement and the New Left4. Vietnam5. The War at Home6. Race and Race Thinking at Mid-Decade7. The Counterculture8. The Women's Movement 9. The “Crossover Point”: 1967-Coming to Terms with the 60s Part II: When the World Seemed To Explode10. Saigon: The Tet Offensive 11 Portsmouth: The Democrats Divide-McCarthy, Kennedy, and LBJ 12 Martin Luther King: The Road to Memphis 13. Prague Spring 14. New York: The Columbia Strike 15. The Paris Student Strike 16. Robert Kennedy: The Road to Los Angeles 17. Washington: The Poor People's Campaign18. Prague Summer19. All Roads Lead to Chicago 20. Atlantic City: No More Miss America! 21. Mexico City: Olympic Glory and Wholesale Massacre 22. Epilogue: The Ebb TideConclusion: The Year That Shook The World Index
