Date Published: January 11, 2005

Format: Ebook

Source: Own Copy

Date Read: April 14-21, 2019

Blurb:

Brings to teeming life the cultural and political history of the pivotal year of 1968, when television's influence on global events first became apparent, and spontaneous uprisings occurred simultaneously around the world.

To some, 1968 was the year of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Yet it was also the year of the Martin Luther King, Jr., and Bobby Kennedy assassinations; the riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago; Prague Spring; the antiwar movement and the Tet Offensive; Black Power; the generation gap; avant-garde theater; the upsurge of the women's movement; and the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union.

In this monumental book, Mark Kurlansky brings to teeming life the cultural and political history of that pivotal year, when television's influence on global events first became apparent, and spontaneous uprisings occurred simultaneously around the world. Encompassing the diverse realms of youth and music, politics and war, economics and the media, 1968 shows how twelve volatile months transformed who we were as a people–and led us to where we are today.

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Review:

Outstanding look at the world in 1968. There is no hippies or Summer of Love peace, love, and drugs; this is serious analysis of a world that is increasingly interconnected and influenced by one another. The most interesting part for me is how Kurlansky shows how the post World War II generation grew up and grew apart from previous generations, especially in Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. Highly recommend.

I am a little over halfway up the Snakes and Ladders board, so hopefully I will be having my BL friends voting on my final book sometime this month. My NOOK and physical book shelves are gathering a lot of dust since I went on my library binge, so April will be mostly about my own copies (probably May's reading list too).

1. Jambusters: The Story of the Women's Institute in the Second World War by Julie Summers (Physical Non-Fiction List)

2. The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,00 Years by Sonia Shah (Science Reading List)

3. Colour Bar: The Triumph of Seretse Khama and his Nation by Susan Williams (Physical Non-Fiction List)

4. Abigail & John: Portrait of a Marriage by Edith B. Gelles (Physical Non-Fiction List)

5. 1968: The Year that Rocked the World Mark Kurlansky (Nixon Reading List)

6. Eisenhower 1956: The President's Year of Crisis/Suez and the Brink of War by David A. Nichols (Physical Non-Fiction List)

7. The Twentieth Century by Howard Zinn (Physical Non-Fiction List)

8. Tom's River by Dan Fagin (Science Reading List)

Plus I have a separate list for the Dewey Read-a-thon (April 6, 2018).

So far, I have read two books off the list: Last of the President's Men by Bob Woodward and Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics by Lawrence O'Donnell. I got lucky and found in really good condition a copy of All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward in the free book swap area of my library. 

Next up is getting to 1968 by Mark Kurlansky and The Making of a President 1972 by Theodore White. This will set me up to reading about Watergate during the summer and giving me time to tackle Shadow from September to December.

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Inspired by the podcasts Slow Burn (season one) from Slate and Bagman by Rachel Maddow, I decided to do a deep dive into the Nixon administration, specifically Watergate.  I already read the Nixon/Ford section of Clint Hill's Five Presidents just to get my feet wet. I may not get to all of these, but I hope to read enough to have a good grasp on what happened.

My Nixon Reading List:

1. 1968: The Year that Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky

2. Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics by Lawrence O'Donnell (Read March 2019)

3. The Making of a President 1972 by Theodore White

4. Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America by Rick Perlstein

5. All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward

6. Last of the President's Men by Bob Woodward (Read January 2019)

7. The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It by John Dean

8. Breach of Faith: The Fall of Nixon by Theodore White

9. Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate  by Bob Woodward

10. The Nixon Tapes 1971-1972 by Douglas Brinkley and Luke Nichter 

So here is what I am reading, or hope to read, this month.

1. How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child by Sandra Uwiringiyimana with Abigail Pesta

2. Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl: A Memoir by Carrie Brownstein

3. Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay

4. Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage by Edith B. Gelles 

5. The Colour Bar: The Triumph of Seretse Khama and His Nation by Susan Williams

6. Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir by Padma Lakshmi

7. The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years by Sonia Shah

8. Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics by Lawrence O'Donnell 

9. 1968: The Year that Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky

10. Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts

11. Connections in Death by JD Roberts

12. Not That Bad: Dispatches from the Rape Culture by Roxane Gay

Also, happy National Crafting Month to my fellow crafters. I am using this month to tackle the every growing pile of cross stitch kits I have (similar to my TBR).

From my physical non-fiction shelf -  Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage by Edith B. Gelles and Colour Bar: The Triumph of Seretse Khama and his Nation by Susan Williams.

From my science reading list - The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman and Rise of the Rocket Girls by Natalia Holt. 

From my Nixon reading list - 1968: The Year That Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky.

From my Winter COYER reading list - Radio Girls by Sarah Jane Stratford, Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson, and Master of Love by Catherine LaRoche.

From my physical fiction shelf - The Trouble with Valentine's Day by Rachel Gibson.

Library pick - Maisie Dobbs by Jaqueline Winspear.

Finally, I am doing an experiment. Every Friday, I am going to read a short book from either my NOOK or Kindle. I am using Random Number Generator to pick from a list. I will announce these picks on my Friday reads.