1968: The Year That Rocked the World

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1968: The Year That Rocked the World

Author: Mark Kurlansky
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2003
Pages: 480
Cover Price: $ 17.00

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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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Background Information

Chicago, Illinois, is the largest city on the Great Lakes. Written off as a factor in national politics after losing the California governorship in 1962, Richard Nixon rebuilt his reputation, gained the nomination and won the election in 1968. Robert F. Kennedy belonged to the cabinet of his brother, President John F. Kennedy, and later ran for president only to be himself assassinated in 1968. Martin Luther King Jr came to national prominence through the Montgomery Bus Boycott and remained the most influential Civil Rights leader until his assassination.