In "The Greatest Generation," his landmark bestseller, Tom Brokaw eloquently evoked for America what it meant to come of age during the Great Depression and the Second World War. Now, in "BOOM!," one of America's premier journalists gives us an epic portrait of another defining era in America, as he brings to life the tumultuous Sixties, a fault line in American history. The voices and stories of both famous people and ordinary citizens come together as Brokaw takes us on a memorable journey through a remarkable time. He explores how individual lives and a national mindset were affected by a controversial era and showing how the aftershocks of the Sixties continue to resound in our lives today. In the reflections of a generation, Brokaw also discovers lessons that might guide us in the years ahead.
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Comments: 110
A copy of BOOM! Along with my personal reflection. ~mo-zy
My father served in WW-II, and it certainly left psychological although no physical scars. But the 60s experience, as your book shows so well, was not morally clear cut. People behaving themselves were also supporting segregation, a misguided war, an inept CIA. People often misbehaving were calling for equality truth and justice.
If the 40s generation is great for their deeds, will the 60s generation be great for the struggle -- to get things right?
1. What advice would you give to those idealistic young adults who are trying to recapture some of the activism and make a difference today?
What do you think you and others learned from this period of time that you would want to tell young adults? I ask this as the parent of a young adult who has served as an intern in Washington and who met EVERY potential upcoming presidential candidate. He has a good heart and wants to change things and I see shadows of the 60s in his stance and vision. Your viewpoint and advice would be appreciated,
especially as it relates to your book, which I intend to give him.
It looks like you already have a couple of questions above to get you started.
I am wondering if you might be planning a book on the Gen Xers or eventually on the Boomers' children?
Thank you for a great read! It will brought me back to the "Sixties."
My question: Is there a back story to the Kris Kristofferson interview (e.g., how did you contact him, where did it take place etc.)?
Cheers,
Colonel Possum
Too bad there isn't a way to get it signed online (yet).
I have never suggested that the 60's or the boomers were the worst generation. In fact I think that they were meritorious on many counts. If you were a woman then, life is much better now than it was then. They have certainly made this county more tolerant. They attacked racism and challenged the laws and practices of this country that have formed American apartheid for African Americans. There are more opportunities. The artists were liberated many of them became their own producers and formed their own companies and reaped dividends of their own artistic work. The 60's also gave us the environmental movement and the consumer movement. But even those who participated a good many of the political activities of the time and especially in the counter culture now acknowledge that they went too far. And as parents these same baby boomers have a renewed appreciation of many of the traditional values they had at one time rejected.
Well one of the boomers that I interviewed, Carl Pope, who is now the head of the Sierra Club, said that the obligation of the boomers now is to ensure that another generation gap doesn't develop.
I'm not sure it changed it forever, but it certainly was a dramatic change from World War II when all coverage was subject to military censorship, and also Korea, in which there was not much of a television presence. I think most people now have a much keener appreciation for the harsh realities of war, but we have still not resolved how to have the appropriate debate about when to go to war and why.
That is a possibility, I suppose. But at the moment I am still trying to recover from writing this one.
I have always admired Mr. K's music and have alway been interested in his life. He was a Golden Gloves boxer, star football player, and a Rhodes Scholar. In many ways he was a pure product of the '50s. And then the '60s happened, and in his words, he did a 180, and became the Kris Kristofferson we know today. I interviewed him at a hotel room in New York shortly after a successful concert of his at Carnegie Hall.
Gore's work is pivotal in this regard, of course, as is Cindy Sheehan's protests.
Do you see people becoming more involved again after decades of apathy?
Richard Engel our correspondent in Iraq who has been living in the Middle East for 12 years speaks the language. He is a genuine authority on the region, the war. Tim Russert who does "Meet the Press" sets the highest standards of journalism for his penetrating interview shows. So we aught not to make sweeping judgments of the qualifications of the people who are on the air.
Mr. Brokaw, thank you for writing this book. It really made me reassess the '60s and my part in them. Do you consider yourself a child of the '50s or a child of the '60s?
Thank you he has always been one of my favorite guys too. I regard "Bobby McGee" to be a perfect ballad and eloquently captured the spirit of those times.
Cheers & Merry Christmas,
Colonel Possum
Because I concentrated only on what I thought were the 5 big pillars of the Sixties - race, war, politics, women, and culture - I didn't spend as much time as I might have on how journalism changed, how the Evangelical movement began, and how gay liberation began around the same time. That may be a subject for another book.
:)
I believe the global climate change will reactivate a good deal of the activism. It will take on more muted forms but I think it could be a rallying cry.
What is your writing process? Do you write long hand or on a computer? Is there a special writing spot that you have?
I like to say I have one foot in the psychedelic waters of the Sixties, and one foot in the terra firma of the Fifties.
I wrote much of this book in a cabin in Montana always on a computer.
Were there any answers or particular interviews that surprised you?
The Greatest Generation was hampered first eocnomically by the Great Depresseion, then second by World War II. But, if these two events had not happened, do you think The Greatest Generation might have wanted to begin to put in place some of the changes that had been seedlings - I'm thinking of 30s unioins, 30s and 40s civil rights efforts, primarily.
No, I was prepared for most of what I heard. I did think Vietnam veterans were the most fully resolved of the people I interviewed.
Well the Sixties were so complicated to find the appropriate construction for the book. So I decided a virtual reunion would be the best form.
No. I think there's - for me - more drama, more suspense, and more narrative in non-fiction. For me.
I think that the rise of the women's movement and the civil movement were both movements whose time had come and the greatest generations would have gotten to them earlier if it had not been for World War II.
What would people be surprised to know about you? In previous interviews, we have found out that Dean Koontz collects Art Deco radios from the '20s and '30s and David Baldacci drives a mean speed boat.
Well, it's my prerogative to keep some of my life for myself, and I think I choose to do that at this time.
What books have you read recently that you can recommend?
who was your favorite person to be interviewed by?
Please don't disappear .
That was my question. Groups, organizations and others that seem to have some of the passion and focus needed today. Suggestions welcome
Only on the really big events. The day to day requirements that I have to be somewhere at 6:30 every night.
Well my friend Rick Atkinson has written a wonderful book about World War II, The Day of Battle about the allied invasion and fight for Italy.
(addendum) It was time for me to pass the opportunity onto a new generation.
My favorite people to interview are always those who are not necessarily famous and perform extraordinary acts not for attention, simply because it is the right thing to do.
i loved your comment about the psychedelic waters of the 60s, and the terra firma of the 50s. do you think that most generations feel that way - i mean, is the terra firma a childhood thing, and then testing the waters as you hit adolescence and young adulthood? or, do you think that these specific years stand alone? thank you!
Yes I think that there will be other projects around the big events of 1968 in the next year or so.
Is there another decade in history that you might be intrigued to write about?
I think that this generation that I wrote about, the boomers and the activists, will stay active late in their lives.
I especially agree about the women's movement and civil rights.
Not at the moment.. I'm recovering from writing about the '60s.
I think all young adults go through discovery and some degree of challenge convention, seldom as it was in the Sixties.
I have many of them, and most of them are people who remain anonymous to the larger public, and commit acts of great courage simply because of their great hearts or because they believe it's the right thing to do.
Thank you to all the Gather members who participated. Until next time!
actually I wanted to know who do you like to be interviewed BY?