From Publishers Weekly
The year 1968 saw not only the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy and the riots at the Democratic Convention in Chicago; that pivotal year, by the Ungers' reckoning, marked the collapse of the liberal consensus of the '60s, and saw the New Left shift from participatory ideals to bombs and rhetoric. This sweeping, balanced, vivid popular history by a husband-wife team (he is a professor of history at New York University, she is a journalist) surveys many facets of that decade. The Ungers venture forthright opinions; for example, they see John Kennedy's war on poverty as motivated by middle-class guilt, and they spurn the Black Muslims' "profoundly anti-white" teachings. Along with the familiar sagas of the anti-Vietnam War and civil rights crusades, the authors catch the ferment of the underground press, community action programs, welfare rights militancy, the free speech and sexual freedom movements. Every page brims with relevance to the 1980s. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
YA-- It seems, from the number of recently published books concerning 1968, that 1988 has become the year to look back at that turbulent year. Readers wondering which book to choose--or just looking for a good starting point--could do much worse than this book. Turning Point: 1968 is, to begin with, informative. The Civil Rights movement, anti-poverty campaigns, campus and ghetto unrest, the assassinations, the Vietnam War, the counter culture, and the politics underlying them all are thoroughly covered in this book. Young adults curious about American society today will be attracted to it. The Ungers clearly and convincingly show that 1988 was the culmination of the forces that were set in motion in 1968. Entertaining history.
- Karl Penny, formerly at Houston Public Library
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Karl Penny, formerly at Houston Public Library
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
