Magic of the Sixties [Paperback]

Gene Anthony (Author, Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 12, 2004

Relive one of the most magical times in history, a time that saw profound cultural and spiritual change throughout the world, but nowhere more than in the San Francisco Bay of the mid to late 1960's. Author and photographer Gene Anthony was there, capturing every moment, every poem, every song, and every embrace on film. This photographic tour gets you up close and personal with musicians like Jim Morrison, Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin. It takes you inside the volatile demonstrations at the heart of the anti-war movement, the women's rights movement, the struggle for civil rights. From the Fillmore, to the Human Be-in, to the Trips Festival, Anthony has created a collection of work that captures the feeling of these once in a lifetime events. With over 300 personal and passionate photographs, this book is a visual tour through the freedom, hopes, and beliefs that defined an era and changed the world.
Featuring original, never before published photographs of:
Jimi Hendrix
Ken Kesey
Allen Ginsberg
The Grateful Dead
Bill Graham
Monterey Pop Festival
Merry Pranksters
Timothy Leary
and more
Gene Anthony is a widely known and respected photographer. He shot film extensively in the '60s, capturing many of the most recognized images of political and social demonstrations, the Grateful Dead, the Doors, Ken Kesey, the Fillmore West, Allen Ginsberg, and many other writers, musicians, and activists. He has photographed for many publications throughout his career, including Newsweek, Time, Life, and Playboy.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A photography collection’s success depends as much on the text, design, layout and overall structure as it does on the quality of the photographs. Unfortunately, these elements do not coalesce in Anthony’s collection of images from San Francisco in the ’60s. While many of the photos are of iconic figures—Jimi Hendrix, Allen Ginsberg and Timothy Leary, to name a few—all too often the images are overwhelmed by poorly planned layout and loud design, as if everything was randomly tossed onto the page. Photos of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane are placed against a green-and-white background with purple captions, and compete (unsuccessfully) with the facing page, a hodgepodge of purple, white, green and yellow. Presumably, the purpose here is to evoke psychedelia, but the result is more akin to nausea. It’s a shame, because some chapters do work, and they only serve to highlight the book’s weaknesses. The chapter on demonstrations and rallies, for example, shows how effective this book could have been. It’s laid out around a coherent theme and, instead of being accompanied by design chaos, the photos—depicting stern policemen and exuberant protestors—are allowed to speak for themselves. The text, which tends to push the images into the background, often comes off as naïve, lacking the perspective that time generally affords. While it’s understandable that Anthony would want to convey the period’s excitement, his prose possesses a breathless quality that can be grating. He writes, for instance, that the hippies’ "energy became a bubbling stew of new ideas and enthusiasm that emerged as a renaissance of the human spirit.... We were rejecting the synthetic, the industrial and plastic, for the natural, organic, and the whole earth. And the magic that was used to change it all was called ‘Flower Power.’" Though this volume will stir up fond memories for some readers, others will be put off by the language and layout. 300 Photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Inside Flap

It was a time that changed the world, and celebrated photographer Gene Anthony was there, capturing every moment on film. The three hundred photos in Magic of the Sixties get you up close and personal with writers, activists, and musicians including Jim Morrison, Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin. The book takes you to the scene of demonstrations for the anti-Vietnam movement and the women's rights movement; offers insider photos of the Fillmore, the Human Be-in, and the Trips Festival; and follows everything from the amazing poster art to the advent of LSD. Magic of the Sixties is a portrait of a time that rocked traditional values when anything seemed possible. With personal stories that chronicle the passion of the '60s, this book is an amazing tour through the freedom, hopes, and beliefs that defined an era and changed the world. It is sure to inspire a new generation to believe in themselves and remember that anything is possible.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith (October 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586853783
• ISBN-13: 978-1586853785
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 10.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #581,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific look at the magic, November 10, 2006

By 

Anton Karidian (Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Magic of the Sixties (Paperback)

Gene Anthony's new book MAGIC OF THE SIXTIES is a terrific collection of his photographs, which with few exceptions were taken in and around San Francisco during that tumultuous decade. He certainly must have been out and about to have gotten all these, with photos from an incredible variety of venues including rock concerts, appeal parties, nude parties, the human be-in, the magic bus, office of "The San Francisco Oracle," apartment of poster artist Satty, activities of the Diggers, and much more. The epicenter of all this was the famous Height-Ashbury district. Other similar photo collections from the Sixties that I've seen do not have nearly the variety or organization into many topics that MAGIC OF THE SIXTIES has. Some famous faces Anthony captured include those of Grace Slick, Jimi Hendrix, Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Bill Graham, Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, and particularly famous images of George and Linda Harrison. The generous text is also by Anthony, and it's true that it is overly idealistic, yet the occasional launch into hyperbole (such as the excerpt quoted by Publisher's Weekly above) is rare, since most of the text is helpfully descriptive. Also, it's not all positive, as with the chapter on the Free Clinic, which he points out was focused on helping people with drug problems. I'm glad this book does focus on the idealism of the Sixties' counterculture in promoting love, peace, environmental protection, non-materialism, and the like, with the close of the book being especially apt:

"Now, as perhaps never in the years since the Sixties, we need to look back for solutions to present problems. We need to shake off our cloaks of powerlessness and apathy. The Sixties seem particularly fit for the task. It was magic, and it all really happened!"

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Looking for solutions, November 3, 2004

By 

Art Kopecky (Sebastopol Ca.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Magic of the Sixties (Paperback)

Gene Anthony gives us a lot of personal recollections and adds to the growing volume of insight into a formative time. Some of the pictures are excellent. What I look for I found on the last page; these words: "Now, as perhaps never in the years since the sixties, we need to look back for solutions to present problems. We need to shake off our cloaks of powerlessness and apathy. The sixties seem particularly fit for the task. It was magic and it really happened!" I agree.

The inclussion of the Diggers and Morningstar is important. Here is the key: Service, sharing, compassion; one world, one love, one people. These ideas got a boost back then. They need another big boost now. My own book, "New Buffalo; Journals from a Taos Commune", offers insight also into a movement that should be huge. Let's get some farms and paint some buses and get this show back on the road! With love, Arty Kopecky

1.0 out of 5 stars Thought about it, but..., October 18, 2011

By 

m. graham - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magic of the Sixties (Paperback)

I saw a sample of the book on another web site while searching for something about Ken Kesey. In this book it says Ken Kesey had parties on "Penny Lane". Guess they got confused with the Beatles song as it should be "Perry Lane". A fact problem or editing problem? Don't know but not wasting my time with it.