San Francisco in the Sixties (Cities in the Sixties) [Paperback]

George Perry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2002 | Series: Cities in the Sixties

A cutting edge series of books on cult cities London, Paris, New York and San Francisco, captures the key moments of the sixties through key images, accompanied by a succinct narrative by film critic George Perry. With the passing of the twentieth century into history, the 1960s can be confirmed as one of its most crucial decades, an era of unprecedented social and cultural revolution. Across the world, barriers collapsed, new freedoms were claimed and an explosion of creative energy electrified the arts, fashion, politics and general lifestyles, often with accompanying anguish. Certain world cities - San Francisco included - were, in their very different ways, at the vanguard of this global ferment. The series of books reveals the arts, fashions, passions, people and events in each of these cities during this extraordinary era, by means of candid, striking images by contemporary photographers. The selection has been made with the advantage of hindsight, and offers both insights and surprises. Peace, love and hard drugs were the order of the day in San Francisco in the 60s. There was a summer of love and flower power was in the ascendant, but the spell was broken by the troubles of 1968 and the eruption of violence at Berkeley where the free speech campaign had begun four years earlier. An earthquake-prone San Francisco trembled, but carried on as a leader of popular taste, delivering the music of Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane, the graphics of Robert Crumb and Gilbert Shelton and the literature of Ken Kesey and Allen Ginsburg.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The turbulence of the 1960s permanently changed social and cultural values around the world. British author and editor Perry (Magic Movie Moments), who has written extensively on popular culture and the performing arts, has compiled this photojournalism series from the works of numerous photographers. Each volume uses the same format, beginning with a short introduction that sets the stage for approximately 100 clear, briefly captioned photographs, most in black and white, and concluding with a more detailed list of captions. Featured are the fashions (notably designer Mary Quant's miniskirts), the hippie movement, anti-Vietnam War protests, college campus sit-ins, race riots, the drug scene, the pop art movement, psychedelic imagery, and other happenings. Prominently pictured are the celebrities of the era, who include political figures, activists, entertainers, writers, and artists such as Bardot, Warhol, Joplin, Twiggy, and Truffaut. For the most complete overview of the era's defiant attitudes, confrontations, and anything-goes lifestyles and how they affected each city, libraries should purchase all four volumes. Recommended for popular culture, photojournalism, and young adult collections. Joan Levin, M.L.S., Chicago
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"This portfolio defines all that glittered about the decade" (Vanity Fair, 2001); "A wonderfully evocative series of retro photographs from the cultural nerve centres of the time" (Elle Magazine, 2001)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Pavilion Books (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1862056161
• ISBN-13: 978-1862056169
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,007,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)