The New Left Revisited (Critical Perspectives on the Past) [Paperback]

John McMillian (Author), Paul Buhle (Author)

Book Description

Series: Critical Perspectives on the Past | Publication Date: December 2002

Starting with the premise that it is possible to say something significantly new about the 1960s and the New Left, the contributors to this volume trace the social roots, the various paths, and the legacies of the movement that set out to change America. As members of a younger generation of scholars, none of them (apart from Paul Buhle) has first-hand knowledge of the era. Their perspective as non-participants enables them to offer fresh interpretations of the regional and ideological differences that have been obscured in the standard histories and memoirs of the period. Reflecting the diversity of goals, the clashes of opinions, and the tumult of the time, these essays will engage seasoned scholars as well as students of the '60s.Author note: John McMillian teaches History and Literature at Harvard University and is co-editor with Timothy Patrick McCarthy, of "The Radical Reader: A Documentary Anthology of American Radical History" (forthcoming). Paul Buhle is Lecturer in the American civilization department at Brown University. His most recent book (co-authored with Dave Wagner) is "Radical Hollywood: The Untold Story Behind America's Favorite Movies". He writes for "The Nation", "The Guardian", and "The Times Higher Education Supplement", among other publications.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Is there anything left to be said about the New Left? The answer is a resounding yes. John McMillian's useful introduction and Paul Buhle's inspired concluding ruminations provide bookends for twelve original and insightful essays. Consonant with the best impulses of social history, The New Left Revisited offers detailed, textured, and nuanced accounts of New Left radicalism." New England Quarterly "This excellent collection of essays on the New Left helps mark the coming of age of a rising generation of scholars, too young to have experienced the 1960s but committed to bringing new scholarly questions to the study of the decade." --Alan Brinkley, Columbia University, and author of Liberalism and Its Discontents "From 'Was the New Left new?' to 'Did the New Left die and if so, why?' to 'What was the role of women in the draft resistance movement?' with a dozen case studies by a new generation of leftist scholars, this amazing collection asks new questions and sparkles with new insights and brilliance on every page." --Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Professor in Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies, California State University "You'll be amazed at how much you think you know about the Sixties is wrong--especially if you've read the standard works on the subject. This is an agenda-setting anthology, adventurous and rigorous in equal measure." --Rick Perlstein, author of Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus "This impressive collection of essays re-examining the "New Left" movements of the 1960s is written by a new generation of scholars detached from the events they are recounting. Because they are not former activists, they offer a refreshing alternative to the often-acrimonious memoirs of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and antiwar leaders. They particularly take to task Todd Gitlin and members of the SDS for inflating their roles within the Left, and reject the "good sixties," "bad sixties" approach favored by ex-radicals. By focusing on events not widely reported, particularly in Los Angeles; Cambridge, Maryland; and Carbondale, Illinois, they remind readers of how diverse the New Left was. Particularly good are essays by David McBride, Gregg Michel, and Peter Levy, which superbly delineate the often-bizarre coalitions formed in order to confront local authorities. From police brutality to curfew laws, these activists tackled problems less remote than the Vietnam War. This welcome collection challenges the pessimism of former radicals and exposes the opportunism of "the second God that failed," ex-activists turned conservatives. The final essay by Paul Buhle helps place to rest the notion that leftist radicals ruined the sixties. An outstanding collection. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries." --D. R. Turner, Davis and Elkins College, Choice "Well, this is an interesting book for us old fogies who work on the social movements of the 1960s! ...the book as a whole is provocative and fascinating, reshaping our understanding of the new left, democratizing it, perhaps." --The American Journal of Sociology

From the Publisher

You didn't have to be there

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Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Temple Univ Pr (December 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566399769
• ISBN-13: 978-1566399760
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,836,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging Look At Sixties New Left Political Perspective!, November 23, 2003

By 

Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The New Left Revisited (Critical Perspectives on the Past) (Paperback)

I have to admit to being less than enthusiastic about this book when I purchased it, given the fact that most of the young authors featured here were old enough to have consciously experienced, much less to actually remember, the tumultuous sixties and the so-called new-left politics that informed and characterized them. Yet, after having dutifully plowed through the well-written and quite thoughtful essays, I do have to admit that it does in fact now seem as though that is really possible to gain the sixties geist (or at least some reasonable facsimile of it). With verve and style to spare, the various authors trace the consequences of `New Left' thought, and add some new twists and turns to its utility and value as a heuristic political perspective in understanding and approaching contemporary American society.

The range of authors included in this entertaining and edifying collection of essays is interesting, from David Cochran to Michael Foley, from Jennifer Frost to Andrew Hunt, and from David McBride to Gregg Michel. And there are a number of notable others here, as well. The book is carefully co-edited by John McMillian and Paul Buhle. What is so refreshing about the book is the fact that it seems to breathe fresh air into the rather moribund corpse of so-called New Left thought, thereby rendering it much more approachable and much more palatable a vehicle for contemporary criticism and cultural comment regarding the currents of contemporary political thought. This is a book that many of my peers among the sixties generation will find engaging and enjoyable. I recommend the book for all of these reasons. Enjoy!