Kent State: What Happened and Why [Hardcover]

James A. Michener (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1971

All of James A. Michener's storytelling and reportorial skills are brought to the fore in this stunning and heartbreaking examination of the events that led to the 1970 shootings at Kent State, which shook the country to the roots and had a profound impact on the anti-war movement.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A dramatic and, inevitably, a heart-breaking book. It bristles with dramatic incident and anecdote .... It is an excellent job of reporting and bringing into human terms an enormously complicated event that will be discussed and analyzed for decades."

-- San Francisco Chronicle

"Kent state is a superbly written work, meticulous in its detail, objective in approach, heart-breaking in its impact....No brief review can suggest Michener's scope or the power of his understated but unflinching presentation of the facts of the tragedy and its aftermath."

-- Publishers Weekly

"Kent state is a masterpiece about one of the dramatic historical events of our time. It surpasses anything published on the subject until now."

-- Cleveland Press --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

My father served in Vietnam, but does not discuss it often. So, I try to read as much as I can about Vietnam so I can learn about what it must have been like for him. Most of what I read is about actual cobmat experiences, but I also find it interesting and important to know what was happening "back in the states" during the Vietnam era. The shootings at Kent State had a profound effect on the anti-war movement, and James Michener skillfully examines this tragic moment in U.S. history in KENT STATE: WHAT HAPPENED AND WHY.
--Stacey Witcraft, Advertising Manager --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 559 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (April 1971)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394471997
• ISBN-13: 978-0394471990
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,142,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good history of a turning point in the Viet Nam war era., April 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Kent State: What Happened and Why (Mass Market Paperback)

This book paints a portrait of the Kent State campus at the time of the shootings in May 1970. Tom Bates' book Rads is a good companion volume, which describes the Madison bombing which occurred three months later. Either book describes how irresponsible activism and reaction led to senseless violence and innocent people getting killed or wounded. Michener clearly chose sides when writing his account, but he gives a pretty complete picture of what happened, when, where and why. Some details of the National Guard's conduct were not available to him when he wrote the book. The Kent State incident was one of the turning points for the public perception of the war and of and for those who opposed it.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars "Four Dead in Ohio" was better!, October 10, 1999

By 

Matt Holcomb (Irvine, Ca USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kent State: What Happened and Why (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoyed Michener's narrative. However, it was written so soon after the tragedy that it does not adequately cover the totality of the event or put it in a historical perspective. Also, he treats the early investigations inconsequentially. I do not understand how the Scranton Commission could conclude that the shootings were "unnecessary, unwarranted and inexcusable." Yet, Michener had a tendency to rationalize and find excuses for the conduct of the National Guard. He was much too forgiving.

I have read several of the major books on Kent State and I think that William A. Gordon's "Four Dead in Ohio" is the most comprehensive and rewarding. Gordon provides perspective and logical arguments, even if some of the questions cannot be completely answered.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A balanced account, wriiten at the time., June 26, 2006

By 

K. Schaffer (Allentown, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kent State: What Happened and Why (Mass Market Paperback)

I just finished this book, and I don't know what book some of the other reviewers on this page were reading, but Michener certainly doesn't exonerate the National Guard, as Ohio law did, nor does he make a case for or against the war in Vietnam, other than to quote those who do (or don't). His negative stance on the radical SDS is based on the actions of the organization itself, which at its best was irresponsible, at its worst was criminal.

This book was fascinating. How Michener and his staff managed to do such detailed and intricate research, and compose and have published a 500-page book barely a year after the event, is nothing short of incredible. It's only drawback, as others have mentioned, is that it was written so close to the incident that there is no real "distance" perspective, and it made me want to read more current books on the subject.

I was six years old when the Kent State incident occured. I always knew of it, of course, but knew only the barest details. I'm a conservative guy, and I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for the brave men and women in the military, especially those in harm's way defending OUR freedoms. But after reading this book, even I was saying, "why did these guys open fire?" There certainly didn't seem to be any need to. Some students were throwing rocks and tear-gas cannisters back at the Guard, but most evidence shows that they weren't any closer than 40 or 50 yards away at the most. I concluded (as does Michener) that those who fired into the crowd were mostly scared, poorly trained kids, most that had never seen any kind of combat, and that thought they were in more danger than they actually were. Some Guardsmen in the book are quoted as saying that they were firing at a particular student who was about to throw something at them, and Michener leaves the decision about whether to believe them up to the reader. In any event, this was an absolutely tragic mistake, and four people died because of it, and this should never have happened.

Of course, there are factions in this country that will disparage and dismiss any article, book, or similar publication that concludes anything but that the Ohio National Guard were cold-blooded killers, or that the students on the campus that day were anything but flower-toting, non-violent, peace-loving angels. If you are intelligent enough to see past these easy generalizations, then read this book. It will not disappoint.