Prairie Radical A Journey Through the Sixties

By Robert Pardun

Prairie Radical: A Journey Through the Sixties is the memoir of a young man whose life was radically changed when he joined the civil rights movement and spoke out against the war in Vietnam. It is a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0918828201
• ISBN13: 9780918828200
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Shire Press
• Length: 375 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.0" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

An excellent account of a small grass-roots movement that grew into a primary source of social and p

"Prairie Radical" is an excellent and balanced description of the anti-war movement, through the eyes of one the the early leaders in the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). As someone who came of age in the seventies, I've found this book very valuable in filling my gap of knowledge concerning the Vietnam antiwar movement, its relation to the civil rights movement, and the general political and cultural climate of the sixties. I find the ideas from Mr. Pardun's book echo quite strongly into the current U.S. foreign policy climate. I recommend this book for anyone interested in a "from the trenches" view of the sixties.

A Must Read

Fabulous book! Prairie Radical is fun to read, accurate and thoughtful. Why do ordinary young people do extraordinary things? Pardun shares his own upbringing in a mixed neighborhood in Pueblo, Colorado. His Dad "described himself as a conservative Republican which meant to him that he strongly believed in the conservation of the rights given to people by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights." He acted on those beliefs and raised a son who would as well. Pardun's journey takes him to Texas, where he became involved in Students for a Democratic Society while at the University of Texas, to Chicago, where he was a national officer of SDS, and finally to Arkansas, where he joined a late '60's back-to-the-land commune. His passion encompassed a range of issues during pivotal times. Better than any author I've read, Pardun develops and documents the crackling interaction between SDS's irrepressible enthusiam for justice, police and FBI secret dirty tricks (COINTELPRO), the growing battles over organizational structure and attempts by other groups to take over SDS. The book includes many photos of Texas activists at work and reproductions of SDS leaflets and FBI documents which give added dimension to Pardun's fascinating tale. One of the best books I've read about white radicals in the '60's. A must-read for anyone interested in social change.

Great 1960s Memoir

Robert Pardun's Prairie Radical is the best account that I have read so far of the SDS experience and the 1960s historical context in which it occurred. I was active in SDS in the Oklahoma and Wisconsin chapters and worked in the National Office. From what I remember, Pardun's memoir is faithful to what happened. More than that, he has carefully reconstructed the issues that people felt to be significant and described them in a way that is both personable and engaging. I strongly recommend this very well written book for students andothers who want to understand the history of the 1960sand what it was like to be an activist in those momentous times.