What They Didn't Teach You about the 60s

by Mike Wright

Offers a tour of the 1960s, revealing often overlooked facts and inspecting the common mythology. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0891417249
• ISBN13: 9780891417248
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Presidio Press
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 1.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.9" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

History Primer - A fun read.

Let's face it this is not a book for a history buff. They should be out there writing their own book. This book, however, is a great primer for those out there who would like a broader overview of the subject covered. The author, Mike Wright covers things in a breazy and fun way. Actually this book lead me to want to explore certain subjects in greater detail to which I owe it thanks. My verdict: A good subway read for adults, great to give to younger people as a primer to the period covered in the book, the 1960's. Not a good gift for the dusty old history buff.

History Lite: Good Stories, Well Told

Wright's latest book is an agreeable tour of the 1960s. Despite the title, the book covers a lot of the same ground as conventional histories of the period. The style, however, is breezy and approachable--there aren't any shocking revelations, but Wright is a capable writer who knows how to tell a good story.Wright is at his best when he talks about television, sports, "culture shock," and other experiences that tend to be ignored in mainstream history books. He has a good eye for an amusing story (not a surprising talent for an Emmy-winning television writer), and there are plenty of these sprinkled throughout the book. For instance, when Secretary of State Dean Rusk commented that the United States had gone "eyeball-to-eyeball" with the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile crisis, Soviet foreign minister Andrei Gromyko replied that "I am looking forward to talking with you balls to balls." As Wright points out, it's obvious that a lot was lost in the translation. If you like a lot of rigorous analysis and chronology in your history, this is not the book for you. Wright reviews the sixties in broad chapters like "TV or Not TV: That is the Message" and "Shots Ring Out: JFK, RFK and MLK." You may find yourself getting dizzy going from one end of the sixties to the other and then back again--on the other hand, maybe that's just Wright's metaphor for the whole decade. If you are looking for an informative and amusing book that you can enjoy on an airplane, as I did, "What They Didn't Teach You About the 60s" is a good place to start.For those who enjoy this sort of thing, Wright has also written "What They Didn't Teach You About" books for the American Revolution, Civil War, Wild West and World War II. I've read and enjoyed Wright's book about WWII, and I look forward to reading the rest.