Fugitive Days: Memoirs of an Anti-War Activist [Paperback]

William Ayers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2009

A gripping memoir of America in the '60s, of idealists turned radicals, and of a life lived on the run

In February 2008, in the heat of the Democratic primary elections, speculations began circulating in the media about a connection between presidential hopeful Barack Obama and Bill Ayers, a former member of the radical 1960s group the Weather Underground. In Fugitive Days, Ayers tells the real story of the defining events of the radical '60s. The book is an eyewitness account of a young pacifist who helped found one of the most radical political organizations in U.S. history, and who consequently lived for ten years as a fugitive. In a new era of antiwar activism and suppression of protest, Fugitive Days is more poignant and relevant than ever.

"For anyone who wants to think hard about the social conflagration the Vietnam War produced in the U.S., and more generally about a citizen's obligations in troubled times, Ayers's powerful, morally charged account of a life and a society in the political balance is provocative reading."
—David Farber, Chicago Tribune

"A memoir that is, in effect, a deeply moving elegy to all those young dreamers who tried to live decently in an indecent world. Ayers provides a tribute to those better angels of ourselves."
—Studs Terkel, author of Working and The Good War

Editorial Reviews

Review

[Ayers's] memoir is a breath of fresh air in this self-absorbed age. Ayers discusses his reservations about the use of violence to achieve an end to violence (reservations he held then as well), but he is unrepentant in believing that . . . right-minded people have an obligation to resist unjust wars. . . . There are many lessons still to be learned from such narratives. Recommended.—David Keymer, Library Journal

"[A] gripping and provocative story . . . What is most remarkable about this dramatic and revelatory personal and social history are the always urgent questions it raises about compassion and freedom, responsibility and community, and the conundrum of how to bring about much-needed change."—Booklist, starred review

"A challenging, moving, and troubling account . . . Ayers writes well, lyrically, passionately."—Andrea Behr, San Francisco Chronicle

"A memoir that is, in effect, a deeply moving elegy to all those young dreamers who tried to live decently in an indecent world. Ayers provides a tribute to those better angels of ourselves."—Studs Terkel, author of Working and The Good War

"With considerable wit, no small amount of remorse, and an anger that smolders still across the decades, Bill Ayers tells the story of his quintessentially American trip through the 1960s. That it is written in a consistently absorbing style with many passages of undiluted brilliance only adds to its appeal.—Thomas Frank, author of One Market Under God and What's the Matter with Kansas?

"A gripping account . . . Ayers describes well the deep emotions that inflamed the '60s."—John Patrick Diggins, Los Angeles Times

"This is a precious book, not simply because it offers a gripping personal account of the primal American suspense story of life on the run, but, more important, because it recreates a critical point of view and way of thinking that we seem, even a few decades later, barely able to recall."—Scott Turow, author of Ordinary Heroes and Ultimate Punishment

"It's been a long time since American political culture last leftward . . . Extremists of the left have all but disappeared, while extremists of the right are as common as mushrooms after rain . . . Ayers has a knack for capturing the spirit of his times . . . It's a fascinating story."—Jean Dubail, Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Finally, here is an irresistibly readable book that answers the question, How did a nice suburban boy go from the ordinary pleasures of his class to the Days of Rage and beyond? Bill Ayers not only makes this exalting and painful journey comprehensible, he peoples it with sympathetic family, friends, and lovers, and moves us with his candor."—Rosellen Brown, author of Before and After and Half a Heart

"Terrific . . . This memoir rings of hard-learned truth and integrity and is an important contribution to literature on 1960s culture and American radicalism."—Publishers Weekly

"What makes Fugitive Days unique is its unsparing detail and its marvelous human coherence and integrity. Bill Ayers's America and his family background, his education, his political awakening, his anger and involvement, his anguished re-emergence from the shadows: all these are rendered in their truth without a trace of nostalgia or 'second thinking.' For anyone who cares about the sorry mess we are in, this book is essential, indeed necessary, reading."—Edward W. Said, author of Reflections on Exile and Out of Place

"This remarkable memoir gives us the visceral experience of being on the run. Ayers writes with eloquence and irony. This is one man's amazingly honest, authentic, and gripping testament—and a helluva story it makes."—Phillip Lopate, author of Portrait of My Body

"A wild and painful ride in the savage years of the late sixties. A very good book about a terrifying time in America."—Hunter S. Thompson, author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Hell's Angels

"For anyone who wants to think hard about the social conflagration the Vietnam War produced in the U.S., and more generally about a citizen's obligations in troubled times, Ayers's powerful, morally charged account of a life and a society in the political balance is provocative reading."—David Farber, Chicago Tribune

About the Author

William Ayers is a long-time teacher and activist, award-winning education writer and reformer, and professor at the University of Illinois. He and his wife, Bernardine Dohrn, live in Chicago.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press; 1 edition (January 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807032778
• ISBN-13: 978-0807032770
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #230,002 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #99 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Regional U.S. > Midwest

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SURPRISING, December 13, 2008

By 

CPIMCIRM (71909) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Fugitive Days: Memoirs of an Anti-War Activist (Paperback)

I was expecting a review of the 1960's from a bitter radical's unchanged viewpoint. I was surprised to find this book to be a thought provoking, insightful, and reflective account of the what went right and what went wrong in the portion(s) of the anti-war movement Mr. Ayers was involved in--specifically the Weather underground. This is NOT another rehash of the 60's memoir. If you have been wondering what all the fuss about Bill Ayers has been, read this book. You too might be surprised!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not especially insightful, but probably a resource for historians, like Nixon's memoirs., April 25, 2011

By 

Steven Schwartz (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fugitive Days: Memoirs of an Anti-War Activist (Paperback)

I'm going to try to review this book as a book, rather than as a political document, although it certainly has a political point of view.

However, in the interests of openness, I'm on the left politically. I was a grad student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor at the time, so I had a local view of the Weather Underground, and I must say I found them to be crazy dangerous. Furthermore, they were worse than useless. They accomplished nothing but the destruction and the discredit of the anti-war left. What ended the Viet Nam War was not the Weathermen's bombs, but a steady, relentless weariness, an increasing American body count, a relentless procession of peaceful protest, and plain old persuasion, not to mention the cynical (if not treasonous) manipulations of Nixon and Kissinger.

All that said, how good is the book? I found it tedious, mainly because Ayers came across to me as an egotist in the guise of a Principled Man. If he had patted himself on the back any harder, his arms would have grown longer. If he had made any more excuses for himself, he could have joined the recent Bush administration.

Ayers probably considers himself a good writer. I found the prose a knockoff of Hunter S. Thompson, a real writer. Ayers makes the common mistake of thinking he can put on a style like he puts on a suit. Genuine style reflects a genuine, personal point of view. Ayers isn't as anarchic as Thompson. His vision is far more orderly. He doesn't like chaos. Gonzo doesn't really fit him. Furthermore, some of the sentences are just bad, with phrase after phrase hanging off the end (like this sentence, for example).

Then there are the harangues against society. Oh, if only people could see our ills as clearly as Ayers does! Actually, people do, and they lose his self-congratulation about it.

Again, I probably agree with many of Ayers's views. However, I don't find this a particularly insightful book.

19 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Fugitive Days" inspires during troubled times, December 14, 2008

By 

Sara A. Skolnik (Chicago) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fugitive Days: Memoirs of an Anti-War Activist (Paperback)

I bought "Fugitive Days" for my 16-year-old nephew. Ayers' book is an inspirational account of a young person's struggles to do what's right during troubled times when the government and those in power have created an Orwellian world where the truth can be hard to discern. Given the similarities between the Vietnam War and the Iraq War, this is an important book for all to read today.