A vividly readable, powerfully argued revisionist history of the 1960s
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'A page-turner...an eye-opener...a remedy against sloppy nostalgia.' -- Times Literary Supplement
'DeGroot does an impressive job of boiling down complex events, from the Vietnam War to China's Cultural Revolution.'
-- Metro
'His cool, clipped sentences disentangle fact from myth. Refreshing' -- Scotland on Sunday
'It is refreshing to read [a book] that takes a mercifully clear-sighted view of the decade.' -- Literary Review
'It's an argument that baby boomers may find hard to swallow but, such is DeGroot's erudition and analytic precision.'
-- Choice
'The 60s Unplugged is a fabulous history of the decade that lacks the usual nostalgia.' -- The Bookseller
'This is a really important book to put perspective on such a formative decade and remove some of the romance.' -- Bookseller
'[a] highly entertaining and accomplished survey...' -- Oxford Times
`An engagingly languid, world-weary style and some fascinating insights . . . There are many good things in this book.'
-- Guardian
'DeGroot does an impressive job of boiling down complex events, from the Vietnam War to China's Cultural Revolution.'
-- Metro
'His cool, clipped sentences disentangle fact from myth. Refreshing' -- Scotland on Sunday
'It is refreshing to read [a book] that takes a mercifully clear-sighted view of the decade.' -- Literary Review
'It's an argument that baby boomers may find hard to swallow but, such is DeGroot's erudition and analytic precision.'
-- Choice
'The 60s Unplugged is a fabulous history of the decade that lacks the usual nostalgia.' -- The Bookseller
'This is a really important book to put perspective on such a formative decade and remove some of the romance.' -- Bookseller
'[a] highly entertaining and accomplished survey...' -- Oxford Times
`An engagingly languid, world-weary style and some fascinating insights . . . There are many good things in this book.'
-- Guardian
Book Description
In this compelling book, Gerard DeGroot overturns the generally held belief that the sixties was a time of peace, love and understanding, of power to the people, freedom and new dawns. In fact, as he reveals, the decade was as much marked by mindless mayhem, shallow commercialism and unbridled cruelty as it was by wearing flowers in your hair and embracing your fellow man. How many of us, reflecting on those times, think about Sharpeville, the Gaza Strip, Vatican II, Biafra, Jakarta or the Cultural Revolution? Far from being a decade of opening doors, DeGroot argues convincingly that it was, rather, a decade in which they were slammed firmly shut, in which revolution was never on the cards, a time where chauvinism and cynicism got the better of hope and tolerance. Thought-provoking, persuasive and never less than entertaining, De Groot offers readers the Sixties unplugged, free of the amplifiers and filters that blur our memories and muddy our ability to see the past clearly.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
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The author contends that the Sixties were not as some rose tinted spectacle wearers would have it - peace and love, an unprecedented freedom for youth, opportunities aplenty etc - and that some serious damage went down in the form of violence, tin pot dictatorships, civil riots, assassinations etc.
While that may be true, the 1960s were actually how the people who lived through it, see and remember the decade. Most of youth were not politically interested, nor interested in the country's economy. their accent firmly fixed on the social upheaval taking place of which they were active in.
While some of the events the author chooses to cover are well remembered. they are only so in an "association" sort of way. The real 1960s for me went down at the micro. everyday level - and thats the 1960s that the rose tinters actually went through, remembered and loved.
That said, Degroots book is enjoyable and a trip back to Nostalgia Central - albeit in a different dimension of The Golden Decade.
I recommend it.
While that may be true, the 1960s were actually how the people who lived through it, see and remember the decade. Most of youth were not politically interested, nor interested in the country's economy. their accent firmly fixed on the social upheaval taking place of which they were active in.
While some of the events the author chooses to cover are well remembered. they are only so in an "association" sort of way. The real 1960s for me went down at the micro. everyday level - and thats the 1960s that the rose tinters actually went through, remembered and loved.
That said, Degroots book is enjoyable and a trip back to Nostalgia Central - albeit in a different dimension of The Golden Decade.
I recommend it.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Madrid Lover
A superb antidote to the rose-tinted view of the 60s often trotted out in the media. I lived through the 60s and a lot of what deGroot writes is spot on, especially his view that many of the movements at that time were deeply sexist. I've always felt that the 60s led to the infantilisation of subsequent generations and that much of the radicalism and protest had at its root a 'me me me' philosophy about as sophisticated as that of your average obsterporous 4-year-old. This book has done nothing to change my mind.
By the way, contrary to what another reviewer writes, Ben and Jerry DO do an ice cream called Cherry Guevara. It states on the container, "The revolutionary struggle of the cherries was squashed as they were trapped between two layers of chocolate. May their memory live on in your mouth." As you finish the ice cream you're left with a wooden stick with the words "We will bite to the end!"
By the way, contrary to what another reviewer writes, Ben and Jerry DO do an ice cream called Cherry Guevara. It states on the container, "The revolutionary struggle of the cherries was squashed as they were trapped between two layers of chocolate. May their memory live on in your mouth." As you finish the ice cream you're left with a wooden stick with the words "We will bite to the end!"
5 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By Ms. K. Hall
deGroot's kaleidoscope approach is really interesting and one of the reasons I picked up this book. He takes different aspects of the 60s, loosely groups them together and then writes about particular events/people/subjects in short essays, so there's no straight chronological history writing as such.
He picks up on things that are perhaps less explored in other histories but strangely makes a few glaring omissions, in particular the Manson murders at the end of the decade. This is one of the pivotal events, from the point of view of the 60s hippie idyll going horribly wrong and ushering in a much darker time in the 70s. He could have certainly put it in after his essay about Altamont. Curious as to why he didn't.
deGroot writes angrily about the shortcomings of the people in the 60s - and he finds plenty. When he writes about the free love and drugs culture starting out as a means of true political protest and then becoming not a means to an end but the end itself, he has very interesting and valid points, but they are often written with what seems like a chip on his shoulder.
One extremely annoying thing about this book is when he is writing about the commercialisation of Che Guevara and he spikily writes about Ben & Jerry naming an ice cream after him - Cherry Guevara. Um, no, that would be Cherry Garcia, after the leader of the Grateful Dead. Two totally different people. Just puts the seed of doubt in my mind - what else did he get wrong that I wouldn't know about? And why didn't an editor or fact-checker pick that up?
It's a good book to introduce you to aspects of the 60s that are perhaps being overlooked that you might want to research yourself elsewhere.
He picks up on things that are perhaps less explored in other histories but strangely makes a few glaring omissions, in particular the Manson murders at the end of the decade. This is one of the pivotal events, from the point of view of the 60s hippie idyll going horribly wrong and ushering in a much darker time in the 70s. He could have certainly put it in after his essay about Altamont. Curious as to why he didn't.
deGroot writes angrily about the shortcomings of the people in the 60s - and he finds plenty. When he writes about the free love and drugs culture starting out as a means of true political protest and then becoming not a means to an end but the end itself, he has very interesting and valid points, but they are often written with what seems like a chip on his shoulder.
One extremely annoying thing about this book is when he is writing about the commercialisation of Che Guevara and he spikily writes about Ben & Jerry naming an ice cream after him - Cherry Guevara. Um, no, that would be Cherry Garcia, after the leader of the Grateful Dead. Two totally different people. Just puts the seed of doubt in my mind - what else did he get wrong that I wouldn't know about? And why didn't an editor or fact-checker pick that up?
It's a good book to introduce you to aspects of the 60s that are perhaps being overlooked that you might want to research yourself elsewhere.
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