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1969: The Year Everything Changed
Woodstock, the moon landing, Charles Manson, Richard Nixon, the Vietnam War, and more. A must-read for baby boomers and the generations that came after!
Here is a rich, comprehensive narrative, chronicling an unparalleled year in American society in all its explosive ups and downs. 1969. The very mention of this year summons indelible memories.
In this rich and comprehensive narrative, Rob Kirkpatrick chronicles an unparalleled year in American society in all its explosive ups and downs.
Here is a rich, comprehensive narrative, chronicling an unparalleled year in American society in all its explosive ups and downs. 1969. The very mention of this year summons indelible memories.
In this rich and comprehensive narrative, Rob Kirkpatrick chronicles an unparalleled year in American society in all its explosive ups and downs.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 15, 2009
509 people are currently reading
957 people want to read
About the author
Rob Kirkpatrick
51 books16 followersROB KIRKPATRICK is the author of 1969: The Year Everything Changed (Skyhorse Publishing), Magic in the Night: The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen (St. Martin’s Griffin) and Cecil Travis of the Washington Senators: The War-Torn History of an All-Star Shortstop (Bison Books/University of Nebraska Press). He also edited The Quotable Sixties, and his creative writing has been published by Aethlon and Slow Trains.
As an editor for more than a decade, he has published such titles as Mark Oliver Everett’s Things the Grandchildren Should Know, John Hemingway’s Strange Tribe: A Family Memoir, G. Franco and Gwen Romagnolis’ Italy, the Romagnoli Way, Linda Cohn’s Cohn-Head: A No-Holds-Barred Account of Breaking Into the Boys’ Club, Phil Pepe’s The Ballad of Billy and George: The Tempestuous Baseball Marriage of Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner, Vincent Cannato’s The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and His Struggle to Save New York, Mark K. Updegrove’s Baptism by Fire: Eight Presidents Who Took Office in Times of Crisis, Alex Storozynski’s The Peasant Prince: Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution, Timothy M. Gay’s Tris Speaker: The Rough-and-Tumble Life of a Baseball Legend, John Pahigian’s The Ultimate Minor League Road Trip and 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out, Sean Lahman’s The Pro Football Historical Abstract, Mickey Bradley and Dan Gordon’s Haunted Baseball: Ghosts, Curses, Legends, & Eerie Events, and The Devil’s Diaries. He also conceived of and published multivolume reference sets including the Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History and the Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures.
Rob received his B.A. from Rutgers University, his M.A. from the State University of New York at New Paltz, and his PhD. from Binghamton University. He is graduate of the Denver Publishing Institute and also spent a summer studying at the FAMU in Prague. He taught writing and literature courses on the college level for four years and currently is a Senior Editor with Thomas Dunne Books. In his “free time,” he enjoys yoga and plays on the Bridgeport Orators Vintage Base Ball team. Rob lives in Rye, New York.
Rob Kirkpatrick is represented by Joy Tutela of the David Black Literary Agency.
Contact Rob at rob@robkirkpatrick.com.
As an editor for more than a decade, he has published such titles as Mark Oliver Everett’s Things the Grandchildren Should Know, John Hemingway’s Strange Tribe: A Family Memoir, G. Franco and Gwen Romagnolis’ Italy, the Romagnoli Way, Linda Cohn’s Cohn-Head: A No-Holds-Barred Account of Breaking Into the Boys’ Club, Phil Pepe’s The Ballad of Billy and George: The Tempestuous Baseball Marriage of Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner, Vincent Cannato’s The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and His Struggle to Save New York, Mark K. Updegrove’s Baptism by Fire: Eight Presidents Who Took Office in Times of Crisis, Alex Storozynski’s The Peasant Prince: Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution, Timothy M. Gay’s Tris Speaker: The Rough-and-Tumble Life of a Baseball Legend, John Pahigian’s The Ultimate Minor League Road Trip and 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out, Sean Lahman’s The Pro Football Historical Abstract, Mickey Bradley and Dan Gordon’s Haunted Baseball: Ghosts, Curses, Legends, & Eerie Events, and The Devil’s Diaries. He also conceived of and published multivolume reference sets including the Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History and the Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures.
Rob received his B.A. from Rutgers University, his M.A. from the State University of New York at New Paltz, and his PhD. from Binghamton University. He is graduate of the Denver Publishing Institute and also spent a summer studying at the FAMU in Prague. He taught writing and literature courses on the college level for four years and currently is a Senior Editor with Thomas Dunne Books. In his “free time,” he enjoys yoga and plays on the Bridgeport Orators Vintage Base Ball team. Rob lives in Rye, New York.
Rob Kirkpatrick is represented by Joy Tutela of the David Black Literary Agency.
Contact Rob at rob@robkirkpatrick.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
April 13, 2017
Author Rob Kirkpatrick was about the same age as I was in 1969, which means he was more likely to be eating crayons than dropping acid like so many of the people mentioned in this book. Despite this, one of the strengths of 1969: The Year Everything Changed is the authoritative voice Kirkpatrick uses, lending a "you are there" feel to many of the events that are recounted.
Dividing the book into the four seasons doesn't really add much to the book, but having devoted sections on politics, entertainment, sports and major events helps color in what the U.S. was like nearly five decades ago.
There are the stunning achievements, like the July moon landing, but the year is marked more by strife--the ongoing Vietnam war that Nixon inherited, racial violence, student protests, the rise of groups like the Weather Underground that engaged in attacks aimed at the government. It was also a time of experimentation and the shedding of inhibitions--nudity was in and drug use was more openly embraced than it had ever been before. Woodstock is remembered fondly, though Kirkpatrick reminds us that it was marred by terrible weather and a surprising number of uninspired acts that limped through their sets. Woodstock shines in comparison to the concert at the Altamont Speedway that closes out the book, though. The Rolling Stones urged the crowd, mixing uneasily with Hells Angels, to settle down even as a man in the midst of it was stabbed to death, one of multiple deaths at the event.
Kirkpatrick also covers the grim parade of death led by the Manson family and the Zodiac killer, the bracing vitality of film as it covered adult subjects with a newfound frankness, whether it be Sam Peckinpah's blood-spattered westerns or the X-rated seediness of Midnight Cowboy (as noted, an X-rating back then had more to do with violence and less with sexual content--the film later got re-rated to R). There's also a great deal of sports coverage here, particularly focusing on baseball and the improbable rise of the New York Mets. For fans of the team or baseball in general, these sections are terrifically written, capturing the drama and politics of the sport. Still, the sports parts feel almost incongruous next to the nigh-endless violence that surrounds them.
The book ends with a brief look ahead to the 70s, rounding out how a lot of the newsmakers of 1969 fared in the coming years. Nixon had that whole "whoops, I taped that, didn't I?" thing, NASA's glory with the moon landing would end just a few years later and the hippie movement faded away, though many of its ideals would persist in some form through the 70s before crumbling away under the conspicuous consumption of the 80s.
1969 offers an intriguing slice of how different the U.S. was in the late 60s. While violent police action and the disturbing growth of their militarization rightfully makes headlines today, it is sobering to see how little has changed since 1969 when police raids were executed on flimsy or false premises and gun battles--with resultant fatalities--were all too common. The biggest difference back then is probably in how so many of the protesters and people agitating for change were also prone to violence. In an era recalled as one of peace and love, the late 60s were more often bloody.
While some subjects are touched on a bit too briefly--inevitable given that the book is an overview of so many major events-- 1969 still gives a good feel for that era. I can't say I'd have wanted to be an adult living in the U.S. in 1969 but it would certainly have been...interesting.
Recommended, albeit if you don't enjoy sports a not-insignificant chunk of the book will be a wash.
Dividing the book into the four seasons doesn't really add much to the book, but having devoted sections on politics, entertainment, sports and major events helps color in what the U.S. was like nearly five decades ago.
There are the stunning achievements, like the July moon landing, but the year is marked more by strife--the ongoing Vietnam war that Nixon inherited, racial violence, student protests, the rise of groups like the Weather Underground that engaged in attacks aimed at the government. It was also a time of experimentation and the shedding of inhibitions--nudity was in and drug use was more openly embraced than it had ever been before. Woodstock is remembered fondly, though Kirkpatrick reminds us that it was marred by terrible weather and a surprising number of uninspired acts that limped through their sets. Woodstock shines in comparison to the concert at the Altamont Speedway that closes out the book, though. The Rolling Stones urged the crowd, mixing uneasily with Hells Angels, to settle down even as a man in the midst of it was stabbed to death, one of multiple deaths at the event.
Kirkpatrick also covers the grim parade of death led by the Manson family and the Zodiac killer, the bracing vitality of film as it covered adult subjects with a newfound frankness, whether it be Sam Peckinpah's blood-spattered westerns or the X-rated seediness of Midnight Cowboy (as noted, an X-rating back then had more to do with violence and less with sexual content--the film later got re-rated to R). There's also a great deal of sports coverage here, particularly focusing on baseball and the improbable rise of the New York Mets. For fans of the team or baseball in general, these sections are terrifically written, capturing the drama and politics of the sport. Still, the sports parts feel almost incongruous next to the nigh-endless violence that surrounds them.
The book ends with a brief look ahead to the 70s, rounding out how a lot of the newsmakers of 1969 fared in the coming years. Nixon had that whole "whoops, I taped that, didn't I?" thing, NASA's glory with the moon landing would end just a few years later and the hippie movement faded away, though many of its ideals would persist in some form through the 70s before crumbling away under the conspicuous consumption of the 80s.
1969 offers an intriguing slice of how different the U.S. was in the late 60s. While violent police action and the disturbing growth of their militarization rightfully makes headlines today, it is sobering to see how little has changed since 1969 when police raids were executed on flimsy or false premises and gun battles--with resultant fatalities--were all too common. The biggest difference back then is probably in how so many of the protesters and people agitating for change were also prone to violence. In an era recalled as one of peace and love, the late 60s were more often bloody.
While some subjects are touched on a bit too briefly--inevitable given that the book is an overview of so many major events-- 1969 still gives a good feel for that era. I can't say I'd have wanted to be an adult living in the U.S. in 1969 but it would certainly have been...interesting.
Recommended, albeit if you don't enjoy sports a not-insignificant chunk of the book will be a wash.
May 28, 2014
I was brain dead in the 1960s. I was an intelligent young man, near the top of my high school class. But I was brain dead. I was oblivious to most of the things going on around me—the things that have shaped our world. I knew little of the hippie movement, the Cuban missile crisis, the rise of Stones-style rock and roll, the beginnings of the Super Bowl, the burgeoning of the NY Mets, or the seminal movies of the era. I liked the Beatles, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Barbra Streisand. I read novels voraciously, and I bought Playboy and Esquire by the dozens at the local used book store. But still, I remained ignorant. So I’ve spent the ensuing years “catching up” on the era that silently shaped my life, shaped US history, and made a profound impact on the world. Rob Kirkpatrick’s 1969: The Year that Everything Changed is another in a long list of books I’ve read about the 1960s. In some ways, it is the best. In that final year of the decade, so much happened. Kirkpatrick tells of it all (he has 24 pages of Bibliography and end notes, proving how much of it he does, indeed, tell us about.) Some of the happenings I actually knew about when they occurred, others I’ve learned about from other readings, many I learned more about from Kirkpatrick, and the rest were news to me. Through it all, I was amazed that so much could take place in one year, twelve months’ time. The author covers the music scene, the movies, the mass murders, the World Series, the Super Bowl, the Viet Nam war, the politics, and the civil rights movements. Here we find that within 365 days, our nation changed. It was the year of the Stonewall Riots, the beginning of the modern gay rights movement; the year of the end of the old west myth; the year of the American Indian movement; the Manson murders, the Zodiac killings; Woodstock, of which, the author’s opinion is that the rosy, nostalgic views we hold are based on the movie, not the actual event; and Altamont, where a drug-filled, Hells Angels’ fueled music festival turned into a riot that resulted in four deaths, one of them a murder. This book is worth reading if only to relate the events of 1969; but the five pages of epilogue put it all in perspective: the hippie movement, the days of peace of love and harmony and communes, quickly disintegrated when human nature took over; the radical films like Easy Rider were soon replaced by money-making blockbusters like Jaws and Star Wars. And Richard Nixon was deposed as Emperor of the US, only to be replaced by an ineffectual, unelected successor Gerald Ford, and then the loveable, well-meaning but terrible President Jimmy Carter. But along the way, gays were on the road to liberation, Native Americans were granted more rights, and the women’s movement had begun. Not a bad legacy for a colorful decade.
September 7, 2017
So so recap of a year
Decent recap of the year 1969 in the US but at times felt like I was reading a bunch of Wikipedia articles. A lot of facts but no real analysis or how it all fit together. While many interesting things happened that year I didn't get a sense of how that year "changed everything" as compared to 1968 or 1970.
Decent recap of the year 1969 in the US but at times felt like I was reading a bunch of Wikipedia articles. A lot of facts but no real analysis or how it all fit together. While many interesting things happened that year I didn't get a sense of how that year "changed everything" as compared to 1968 or 1970.
October 6, 2015
What is the old standard joke about the Sixties? That if you remember them, you didn't do it right? Meaning you didn't indulge in the drug culture. Well, I remembered all the BIG topics of this book but not many of the details. My excuse, however, was that in 1969 I had a newborn to pay attention to. That said, I really did learn a lot about the year that I did not know. Some of it I wish I still didn't know about while some of it just refreshed the fear and anger and frustration of those days.
December 15, 2015
This is the book equivalent of a survey course, covering crime, politics, music, movies, literature, sports and major events of the year 1969. It is relentlessly US-Centric - you won't hear a peep about any other country unless it's Vietnam. At it's best, this survey approach introduces the reader to lesser known topics, like the Native American occupation of Alcatraz or the rise of MC5. At it's worst, 1969 rehashes topics by quoting from deathless sources like Wikisource or Salon magazine.
That was part of the fascination for me. 1969 is a triumph of secondary research. Kirkpatrick read many a book and magazine article, fearlessly watched DVDs of documentaries and most challenging of all, watched a few movies and listened to a few albums. It's a shame he didn't actually talk to anyone who was there. It's not like he was writing about 1669.
The once-over-lightly feel means nothing really gets its due but in fairness this is a way to whet your appetite, not satisfy it. Still, events like My Lai and Chappaquiddick are no less horrific with the passage of time. Fortunately events like the moon landing, Earth Day and the Jets winning the Super Bowl retain their magic.
As a readable introduction to a single year of American history, one could do much worse.
Oddly enough, 1969 isn't the only year that everything changed. Apparently everything changed in 1959: The Year Everything Changed, too. Maybe 1979 was the year that didn't change much of anything.
That was part of the fascination for me. 1969 is a triumph of secondary research. Kirkpatrick read many a book and magazine article, fearlessly watched DVDs of documentaries and most challenging of all, watched a few movies and listened to a few albums. It's a shame he didn't actually talk to anyone who was there. It's not like he was writing about 1669.
The once-over-lightly feel means nothing really gets its due but in fairness this is a way to whet your appetite, not satisfy it. Still, events like My Lai and Chappaquiddick are no less horrific with the passage of time. Fortunately events like the moon landing, Earth Day and the Jets winning the Super Bowl retain their magic.
As a readable introduction to a single year of American history, one could do much worse.
Oddly enough, 1969 isn't the only year that everything changed. Apparently everything changed in 1959: The Year Everything Changed, too. Maybe 1979 was the year that didn't change much of anything.
October 3, 2019
Slapped together tour of a really interesting year. If you know the history and can recognize some of the numerous inaccuracies (none immense in themselves, but cumulatively enough to undercut it even as chronicle history), it's not a bad read. But the balance is way off--tortuous details on the New York Mets, plot summaries of many movies, tabloid coverage of the Manson murders and the Zodiac killer. Was useful for reminding me not to forget about some non-charting music (MC5, Stooges) that was part of the mix.
December 14, 2023
This is an interesting, audible book to the extent that I was a freshman in college in 1969, so I have recollections of most of the events. But the book is very long on description and very short on educated analysis. The best example of overdoing it is probably the coverage of the New York Mets baseball team when they, the unlikely winner of the World Series in 1969. Covering baseball games hitter by hitter is not the way to an interesting book unless you are a Mets fan.
Here are some thoughts from chat on AI.
"1969: The Year Everything Changed" by Rob Kirkpatrick explores several significant events and cultural shifts that occurred in 1969. Some of these include:
1. The Moon Landing: The book delves into the historic Apollo 11 mission, which resulted in the first human landing on the moon on July 20, 1969. It examines the scientific, technological, and cultural impact of this groundbreaking achievement.
2. Woodstock: The iconic Woodstock Music Festival, held in August 1969, is explored in the book. It delves into the countercultural significance of the festival, its impact on music and youth culture, and its representation of the peace and love movement of the era.
3. The Manson Family Murders: The book delves into the shocking and gruesome murders carried out by Charles Manson and his followers in 1969. It examines the cultural impact of these crimes and their reflection of a darker side of the 1960s counterculture.
4. Vietnam War Protests: The book explores the anti-war movement and the widespread protests against the Vietnam War that occurred in 1969. It delves into the cultural and political implications of these protests and their role in shaping public opinion and policy.
5. Cultural Shifts: "1969: The Year Everything Changed" also explores broader cultural shifts that took place during the year, such as the rise of the feminist movement, the emergence of environmental activism, the growth of the civil rights movement, and the changing landscape of popular music and entertainment.
These are just a few examples of the significant events and cultural shifts that are explored in the book. "1969: The Year Everything Changed" provides a comprehensive look at the transformative nature of this pivotal year in history.
Here are some thoughts from chat on AI.
"1969: The Year Everything Changed" by Rob Kirkpatrick explores several significant events and cultural shifts that occurred in 1969. Some of these include:
1. The Moon Landing: The book delves into the historic Apollo 11 mission, which resulted in the first human landing on the moon on July 20, 1969. It examines the scientific, technological, and cultural impact of this groundbreaking achievement.
2. Woodstock: The iconic Woodstock Music Festival, held in August 1969, is explored in the book. It delves into the countercultural significance of the festival, its impact on music and youth culture, and its representation of the peace and love movement of the era.
3. The Manson Family Murders: The book delves into the shocking and gruesome murders carried out by Charles Manson and his followers in 1969. It examines the cultural impact of these crimes and their reflection of a darker side of the 1960s counterculture.
4. Vietnam War Protests: The book explores the anti-war movement and the widespread protests against the Vietnam War that occurred in 1969. It delves into the cultural and political implications of these protests and their role in shaping public opinion and policy.
5. Cultural Shifts: "1969: The Year Everything Changed" also explores broader cultural shifts that took place during the year, such as the rise of the feminist movement, the emergence of environmental activism, the growth of the civil rights movement, and the changing landscape of popular music and entertainment.
These are just a few examples of the significant events and cultural shifts that are explored in the book. "1969: The Year Everything Changed" provides a comprehensive look at the transformative nature of this pivotal year in history.
April 12, 2011
Everyone knows the 60’s were a revolutionary time in America. It was the decade when JFK ushered in a new generation of political promise, the U.S. put a man on the moon and the Beatles and Height Ashbury begat hippies, psychedelics and power to the people.
But it was the year 1969 that capped off the decade and brought many of its ideas to a crashing end. Author Rob Kirkpatrick chose to zone in on the events of that year which, just two years after the “summer of love,” conspired to end the hippie-dippy era (peace, love, dove) through the politics of the Vietnam War, the Tate/LaBianca murders, the lunar landing, the first Boeing 747, the breakup of the Beatles and the death by Hell’s Angels at the Rolling Stone’s Altamont festival.
Like a news journalist, Kirkpatrick weaves the story, based on myriad factual references, of a year when the lights went out on the 60’s dream. Through recounts of politics, film, music and sports, “1969: The Year Everything Changed” offers a vivid portrayal of a more colorful time; an experimental time where almost anything was considered off-limits. A time, when – as Kirkpatrick references Theodore Roszak’s book, “The
Making of a Counter Culture – and a commentary of the Broadway musical Hair became a metaphor for youth-society as a whole; a “group-tribal activity searching for a new and meaningful way of life.”
Kirkpatrick covers a lot of ground in his recantation of these twelve months of American history. Highlights range from the political (Black Panthers, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)) to Nixon’s expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia (“Operation Breakfast”), to sports (Joe Namath and the AFL’s emergence in Super Bowl III, the Amazing Mets, etc.), to films (I am Curious Yellow to Easy Rider) to music (Blind Faith, Led Zeppelin, Jefferson Airplane, Woodstock, et al…). The author revisits much of the journalism of the times piecing together the historical and cultural details of these events that might otherwise be lost to time – even at one point correcting the record (for example, when Rolling Stone reported that the Altamont killing happened during “Sympathy for the Devil” instead of several songs later.)
In all, “1969″ is a book that should surely have been written before now. The fact that it wasn’t, only served for Kirkpatrick to correct the error while getting it right
But it was the year 1969 that capped off the decade and brought many of its ideas to a crashing end. Author Rob Kirkpatrick chose to zone in on the events of that year which, just two years after the “summer of love,” conspired to end the hippie-dippy era (peace, love, dove) through the politics of the Vietnam War, the Tate/LaBianca murders, the lunar landing, the first Boeing 747, the breakup of the Beatles and the death by Hell’s Angels at the Rolling Stone’s Altamont festival.
Like a news journalist, Kirkpatrick weaves the story, based on myriad factual references, of a year when the lights went out on the 60’s dream. Through recounts of politics, film, music and sports, “1969: The Year Everything Changed” offers a vivid portrayal of a more colorful time; an experimental time where almost anything was considered off-limits. A time, when – as Kirkpatrick references Theodore Roszak’s book, “The
Making of a Counter Culture – and a commentary of the Broadway musical Hair became a metaphor for youth-society as a whole; a “group-tribal activity searching for a new and meaningful way of life.”
Kirkpatrick covers a lot of ground in his recantation of these twelve months of American history. Highlights range from the political (Black Panthers, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)) to Nixon’s expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia (“Operation Breakfast”), to sports (Joe Namath and the AFL’s emergence in Super Bowl III, the Amazing Mets, etc.), to films (I am Curious Yellow to Easy Rider) to music (Blind Faith, Led Zeppelin, Jefferson Airplane, Woodstock, et al…). The author revisits much of the journalism of the times piecing together the historical and cultural details of these events that might otherwise be lost to time – even at one point correcting the record (for example, when Rolling Stone reported that the Altamont killing happened during “Sympathy for the Devil” instead of several songs later.)
In all, “1969″ is a book that should surely have been written before now. The fact that it wasn’t, only served for Kirkpatrick to correct the error while getting it right
October 18, 2016
It was an amazing year. So many things signaled "the end of the Sixties." I turned 13 (became a teenager) that summer. Looking back, I am very aware of some of the events of 1969, but only vaguely aware of others. In January, the Jets beat the Colts in Super Bowl III, Nixon was inaugurated, and the Santa Barbara oil spill--still the third largest domestic spill--occurred. In May, The Who's "Tommy" was released in the U.S. and the film Midnight Cowboy was released. In late June, the Stonewall riots took place in NYC. In July, the iconic film Easy Rider was released--in that same month Mary Jo Kopechne died in a car driven by Ted Kennedy and (just two days later) Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. In early August, Sharon Tate and several others were murdered by the Manson "family." The Woodstock festival began on August 15 and, just before it was over, Hurricane Camille made landfall near Gulf Port, Mississippi. In late September, the Beatles released "Abbey Road," with the iconic photo of the Fab Four in the crosswalk. A couple of weeks later, the "Amazin' Mets" won the World Series. In late August, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was released. In November, a news story about the My Lai massacre (which had been covered up for a year and a half by the military) was first published. In December, four people died at the Altamont Speedway, where the Rolling Stones were performing at the end of another mega-concert. And that is just a few of the highlights. If you lived through the era, I recommend the book. The writing is not stellar, but the material certainly keeps your interest.
August 27, 2014
This book did just what its blurb claimed - it chronicled events from 1969 that the author deemed significant and tried to give the reader a sense of the over-all mood and culture in the U.S.A at this point in time. I feel he went into too much detail on some things (for example, the history of certain bands, which I just skimmed, and the sports stories, most of which I skipped over completely) and not enough detail on other things. This is admittedly very subjective though; what's too much or too little for you depends of course on your particular interests and prior knowledge. He did a fairly good job of tying things together to paint a sociological portrait of the time but he left me wanting more in that respect.
September 4, 2017
A mixed bag for sure, but contains some worthwhile material. It's not unlike reading through bound copies of vintage TIME and NEWSWEEK magazines in the basement of a library.
August 13, 2023
Probably more a 3.5, but still a fascinating read.
Kirkpatrick goes through 1969 chronologically and he covers it all--politics, sports, entertainment. I read
a few years ago and learned a bunch about the late 60s and early 70s; this provides a broader look at a single year. I feel like I learned a lot about the student takeovers on campuses across the nation; I had heard of them previously, but Kirkpatrick goes into a lot of depth about what the students did, what they wanted, and what happened. His introduction to the 2019 edition makes his political leanings clear, but I thought he treated these takeovers pretty even-handedly.
In politics, we see Nixon's first year in office, as he balances wanting to be a dove with Americans but a hawk with everyone else. We also see Ted Kennedy's career derailed with the death of Mary Jo Kopechne on Chappaquiddick, the rise of the Weather Underground, and the rise in protest movements of Native Americans...not to mention the Zodiac killer and Charles Manson. And where true crime meets popular culture, in the tragedy at Altamont.
Kirkpatrick spends a lot of time describing popular culture--he goes into depth on books, movies, theater, and sports. At times it felt like he perhaps went a bit too in-depth; I understand him wanting to connect the plots of the tv shows/movies/books to what was going on, but I don't know that I needed the plot synopses to be that detailed. Similarly, particularly as an Orioles fan, I don't know that the Miracle Mets needed THREE CHAPTERS devoted to them. THREE. CHAPTERS. *cough* Anyway.
As ever when reading about this period in American history, I feel slightly better about the incredibly troubled times we're currently dealing with. A good time capsule.
Kirkpatrick goes through 1969 chronologically and he covers it all--politics, sports, entertainment. I read
a few years ago and learned a bunch about the late 60s and early 70s; this provides a broader look at a single year. I feel like I learned a lot about the student takeovers on campuses across the nation; I had heard of them previously, but Kirkpatrick goes into a lot of depth about what the students did, what they wanted, and what happened. His introduction to the 2019 edition makes his political leanings clear, but I thought he treated these takeovers pretty even-handedly.In politics, we see Nixon's first year in office, as he balances wanting to be a dove with Americans but a hawk with everyone else. We also see Ted Kennedy's career derailed with the death of Mary Jo Kopechne on Chappaquiddick, the rise of the Weather Underground, and the rise in protest movements of Native Americans...not to mention the Zodiac killer and Charles Manson. And where true crime meets popular culture, in the tragedy at Altamont.
Kirkpatrick spends a lot of time describing popular culture--he goes into depth on books, movies, theater, and sports. At times it felt like he perhaps went a bit too in-depth; I understand him wanting to connect the plots of the tv shows/movies/books to what was going on, but I don't know that I needed the plot synopses to be that detailed. Similarly, particularly as an Orioles fan, I don't know that the Miracle Mets needed THREE CHAPTERS devoted to them. THREE. CHAPTERS. *cough* Anyway.
As ever when reading about this period in American history, I feel slightly better about the incredibly troubled times we're currently dealing with. A good time capsule.
July 29, 2020
I'd probably push it to 3.5 stars, for its easy-to-read style & it's choice of topics -- some of which are either forgotten or don't get the press they deserve. However, this is ultimately a straightforward almanac: useful, entertaining, but hardly groundbreaking. I also wish a few more of the topics in the book were followed up with more depth in the epilogue.
November 14, 2020
This is an interesting month by month account of an entire year. It was a big year for the U S from Hollywood to Music (it was the year the Beatles broke up) to literature and politics. It so many ways, we are still living with the after effects. I enjoyed this book.
October 22, 2017
For me, the year 1969 began with my last semester of high school, which was forgettable because I was already accepted into college. I spent the hot summer of 1969 working in my father's factory to earn some spending cash and in the fall I started a new life at college in Cleveland, where my teachers challenged every middle class idea and capability I thought I had. I was in my own world, living without a clue to what was happening in the US and the world.
I learned the details about what I was missing from reading 1969: The Year Everything Changed. Richard Nixon was president, bringing the kind of madness to politics that was unmatched until the election of Donald "Twitter" Trump. Nixon ordered the covert bombing of Cambodia and downplayed the massacre of Vietnamese women and children at My Lai, a story uncovered by investigative reporter, Seymour Hersh.
The age of Camelot, ushered in with the 1960
election of Jack Kennedy, reached its peak in the summer of 1969 with the Apollo 11 moon landing but the era crashed the same summer as the story broke about how Ted Kennedy drove his car off of the bridge at Chappaquiddick and he left the dead body of his friend, Mary Jo Kopechne, at the scene without calling the police for many hours.
Meanwhile the sexual revolution peaked with the media bringing images and sounds of the changes in morality through books (Portnoy's Complaint) and movies (I am Curious, Yellow). And there was the Woodstock festival. With change in the air in 1969, oppressed groups demanded their rights. The LGBT rights movement began in June 1969 with the Stonewall riots and 89 American Indians occupied the island of Alcatraz in November 1969, igniting a movement of native American rights.
And much more ... In music 1969 shined with the Grateful Dead's Aoxomoxoa, The Who's Tommy, the first album of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King. In politics, there was the obscene trial of the Chicago 7 and the FBI murdered leaders of the Black Panther Party. The Cuyahoga River caught on fire and an oil spill ruined the beaches of Santa Barbara.
Yes, I know every year has many significant events and stories but I have to agree with the authors of this book, 1969 was "amazing, startling, and culture-defining."
I learned the details about what I was missing from reading 1969: The Year Everything Changed. Richard Nixon was president, bringing the kind of madness to politics that was unmatched until the election of Donald "Twitter" Trump. Nixon ordered the covert bombing of Cambodia and downplayed the massacre of Vietnamese women and children at My Lai, a story uncovered by investigative reporter, Seymour Hersh.
The age of Camelot, ushered in with the 1960
election of Jack Kennedy, reached its peak in the summer of 1969 with the Apollo 11 moon landing but the era crashed the same summer as the story broke about how Ted Kennedy drove his car off of the bridge at Chappaquiddick and he left the dead body of his friend, Mary Jo Kopechne, at the scene without calling the police for many hours.
Meanwhile the sexual revolution peaked with the media bringing images and sounds of the changes in morality through books (Portnoy's Complaint) and movies (I am Curious, Yellow). And there was the Woodstock festival. With change in the air in 1969, oppressed groups demanded their rights. The LGBT rights movement began in June 1969 with the Stonewall riots and 89 American Indians occupied the island of Alcatraz in November 1969, igniting a movement of native American rights.
And much more ... In music 1969 shined with the Grateful Dead's Aoxomoxoa, The Who's Tommy, the first album of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King. In politics, there was the obscene trial of the Chicago 7 and the FBI murdered leaders of the Black Panther Party. The Cuyahoga River caught on fire and an oil spill ruined the beaches of Santa Barbara.
Yes, I know every year has many significant events and stories but I have to agree with the authors of this book, 1969 was "amazing, startling, and culture-defining."
September 30, 2017
Makes You Feel Like You’re There
The highest amount of praise you can give any historical monograph is to say that it is so well written, that you feel like you are there. That’s how I would describe 1969: the year everything changed. I don’t know for sure if that is the year everything changed, but the author makes a compelling case, and you really feel the wind and the waves of the last year of the 60s. Recommended.
The highest amount of praise you can give any historical monograph is to say that it is so well written, that you feel like you are there. That’s how I would describe 1969: the year everything changed. I don’t know for sure if that is the year everything changed, but the author makes a compelling case, and you really feel the wind and the waves of the last year of the 60s. Recommended.
August 21, 2016
This is a great read for students of history, those who lived through it and those who have arrived long after but want some insight into the cultural, political, economic and social changes that ended the golden promise of the 60’s and informed the “Me” generation of the 70’s and right on through to today.
I am the last of the baby boomers. It was fun to look back at the incredible year that 1969 was: from the moon walk to Manson. It reflected so many of the things we referenced as teenagers in the coming decade. And as surprising as it might sound, this was a year that really closed the decade out in a negative way. Peace and love gave way to social unrest and violence.
The decade is covered in detail. Each chapter addresses an issue that was important (Vietnam, anti-war protests) or culturally significant (man’s walk on the moon, Woodstock, the Tate/LaBianca murders). There are a million other tings in between that are of equal or greater interest to the reader.
1969 is a real demarcation line. For those of you (us) who watched and enjoyed “Mad Men”, 1969 is the real coda to that series. Don Draper may well have ended the decade buying the world a Coke and flashing the peace sign after his est retreat, but the real end of that decade was much darker.
Like many kids coming into the world today, the first ten years of my life were marked by Walter Cronkite and Harry Reasoner sharing the nightly tally of death from Vietnam. It influenced artistic choices and interests for me. The music changed from bubble gum pop to harder edged progressive rock, rock operas and the more internally focused singer/songwriter genre. Woodstock, three days of peace and love, gave way to Altamont, one day and night of death and destruction.
Johnson’s socially progressive domestic policy and disastrous foreign policy gave Tricky Dick Nixon the leverage he needed to vault into the White House after his terrible showing opposite Kennedy. We saw Buddhists and students and then middle America, oppose our involvement in an unwinnable war that the Vietnamese had been waging for more than 50 years against the French, the English, The Americans and each other.
The bottom line is that I loved this book. It is well worth reading as in a few short years, it will be a half century since 1969. This is a good time to look back and review our mistakes as well as our successes and take stock as a nation.
I am the last of the baby boomers. It was fun to look back at the incredible year that 1969 was: from the moon walk to Manson. It reflected so many of the things we referenced as teenagers in the coming decade. And as surprising as it might sound, this was a year that really closed the decade out in a negative way. Peace and love gave way to social unrest and violence.
The decade is covered in detail. Each chapter addresses an issue that was important (Vietnam, anti-war protests) or culturally significant (man’s walk on the moon, Woodstock, the Tate/LaBianca murders). There are a million other tings in between that are of equal or greater interest to the reader.
1969 is a real demarcation line. For those of you (us) who watched and enjoyed “Mad Men”, 1969 is the real coda to that series. Don Draper may well have ended the decade buying the world a Coke and flashing the peace sign after his est retreat, but the real end of that decade was much darker.
Like many kids coming into the world today, the first ten years of my life were marked by Walter Cronkite and Harry Reasoner sharing the nightly tally of death from Vietnam. It influenced artistic choices and interests for me. The music changed from bubble gum pop to harder edged progressive rock, rock operas and the more internally focused singer/songwriter genre. Woodstock, three days of peace and love, gave way to Altamont, one day and night of death and destruction.
Johnson’s socially progressive domestic policy and disastrous foreign policy gave Tricky Dick Nixon the leverage he needed to vault into the White House after his terrible showing opposite Kennedy. We saw Buddhists and students and then middle America, oppose our involvement in an unwinnable war that the Vietnamese had been waging for more than 50 years against the French, the English, The Americans and each other.
The bottom line is that I loved this book. It is well worth reading as in a few short years, it will be a half century since 1969. This is a good time to look back and review our mistakes as well as our successes and take stock as a nation.
September 11, 2017
Fun reading about my youth
I was in high school in 1969. A sweet, innocent child of the Michigan 50's. I remember everything written about as a somewhat casual observer. During the Woodstock festival, I personally was excited that I was old enough to drive my family from Detroit to Los Angeles and saw the massive traffic backups on the nightly news. I was a disengaged party during the Detroit riots, was horrified by Charles Manson and delighted at the moon landing. This is a wonderful telling of the good and the bad of that year and well worth the read.
I was in high school in 1969. A sweet, innocent child of the Michigan 50's. I remember everything written about as a somewhat casual observer. During the Woodstock festival, I personally was excited that I was old enough to drive my family from Detroit to Los Angeles and saw the massive traffic backups on the nightly news. I was a disengaged party during the Detroit riots, was horrified by Charles Manson and delighted at the moon landing. This is a wonderful telling of the good and the bad of that year and well worth the read.
December 26, 2015
Students and fans of the 1960's can debate which year had the most impact. Fortunately, there's a book for everyone.
Mark Kurlansky's "1968 The Year that Rocked the World" is an excellent read about the year MLK and RFK were assassinated. This book looks out across the entire world to see the impact of the Vietnam War, student rebellions, Soviet invasions, and cultural revolutions.
David Browne's "Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970" tells the inside story about the year that produced some of modern music's greatest and most lasting albums.
Both are fascinating and worth reading.
Right in between is Rob Kirkpatrick's "1969: The Year Everything Changed" with a great summary of just about everything that happened in the USA during this eventful year when mankind landed on the moon.
"1969" is casts a wide net across US politics, sports, technology and culture. From the promise of Woodstock to nightmare at Altamont. The book would be an excellent source of detail to anyone researching the year that produced such diverse events as the musical "Hair" and the murderous Manson family.
Led Zeppelin. Nixon. The environmental movement. Easy Rider. Stonewall riots. The 747. A man on the moon. It all happened in 1969.
Many say the Sixties began with JFK's election and ended at Altamont. If so, "1969" is the perfect bookend to an amazing era whose impact ripples to this very day.
Mark Kurlansky's "1968 The Year that Rocked the World" is an excellent read about the year MLK and RFK were assassinated. This book looks out across the entire world to see the impact of the Vietnam War, student rebellions, Soviet invasions, and cultural revolutions.
David Browne's "Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970" tells the inside story about the year that produced some of modern music's greatest and most lasting albums.
Both are fascinating and worth reading.
Right in between is Rob Kirkpatrick's "1969: The Year Everything Changed" with a great summary of just about everything that happened in the USA during this eventful year when mankind landed on the moon.
"1969" is casts a wide net across US politics, sports, technology and culture. From the promise of Woodstock to nightmare at Altamont. The book would be an excellent source of detail to anyone researching the year that produced such diverse events as the musical "Hair" and the murderous Manson family.
Led Zeppelin. Nixon. The environmental movement. Easy Rider. Stonewall riots. The 747. A man on the moon. It all happened in 1969.
Many say the Sixties began with JFK's election and ended at Altamont. If so, "1969" is the perfect bookend to an amazing era whose impact ripples to this very day.
December 13, 2012
One time I was touring the Milwaukee Journal headquarters, and they took us to a room where some famous front pages were displayed, and I went right to the one for the First Man on the Moon. After I read the article, I noticed in the bottom corner of that same front page, an article on Chappaquiddick, which had also just happened the day before, but I was struck how those two events were not located next to one another in my memory. I might not have even thought Chappaquiddick happened in 1969, whereas I always knew Neil Armstrong left his footprint on the moon in the summer of 1969, right after I graduated from high school.
Since that year is at the center of my life (not in years, but in significance) it was pleasing to see the title of this book. Reading it is a nice trip through a sometimes unpleasant series of events, and sometimes you are struck, as I was in the Journal offices, of the strange juxtapositions of those important moments (Woodstock and Hurricane Camille at the same time, for example). The Year Everything Changed is a bit overblown as a thesis, but it's a little true, and when it was already personally true as it was for me, it's fun to go back and relive it in the comfort of my recliner.
Hey, they're talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-g-g-generation!
Since that year is at the center of my life (not in years, but in significance) it was pleasing to see the title of this book. Reading it is a nice trip through a sometimes unpleasant series of events, and sometimes you are struck, as I was in the Journal offices, of the strange juxtapositions of those important moments (Woodstock and Hurricane Camille at the same time, for example). The Year Everything Changed is a bit overblown as a thesis, but it's a little true, and when it was already personally true as it was for me, it's fun to go back and relive it in the comfort of my recliner.
Hey, they're talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-g-g-generation!
September 15, 2014
Too young to remember this year, I wanted to read this book after watching the movie "The Company You Keep (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1381404/)," a 2012 movie that centered around the afterlives of members of the radical arm of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Weather Underground.
This book is a comprehensive look at the year 1969 as the pivotal year for the Baby Boomer generation between all the unrealistic-pie-in-the-sky and drug-fueled all-you-need-is-love "idealism" (I put that in quotes because nothing about this seems remotely ideal to me) of the mid to late 1960's and the self-indulgent, self-absorbed, and hedonistic "it's-all-about-me" disco years of the 1970's.
It's readable and informative (although I must admit there were sections that made the hair on my arms stand up - the chapter on Satanism I pretty much had to skip because it set off red alerts from the get-go and what I didn't remember from the movie on the Zodiac killer was that he was never caught).
This book is a comprehensive look at the year 1969 as the pivotal year for the Baby Boomer generation between all the unrealistic-pie-in-the-sky and drug-fueled all-you-need-is-love "idealism" (I put that in quotes because nothing about this seems remotely ideal to me) of the mid to late 1960's and the self-indulgent, self-absorbed, and hedonistic "it's-all-about-me" disco years of the 1970's.
It's readable and informative (although I must admit there were sections that made the hair on my arms stand up - the chapter on Satanism I pretty much had to skip because it set off red alerts from the get-go and what I didn't remember from the movie on the Zodiac killer was that he was never caught).
July 22, 2016
This was a good book. If you grew up in the 60s (or before) you'll enjoy going back and remembering all the important events that took place that year. The two that are dealt with in the most detail and which had the most interest to me were 1) the Apollo landing on the moon and 2) Woodstock. I turned 6 in 1969 and I do remember watching the moon landing. I also remember doing a lot of reading about the Apollo space program when I was younger. I think I even got to see some moon rocks in a museum once. I don't remember Woodstock but I have seen the movie and love the music. The interesting thing is a comment from someone who was at Woodstock, who remarked when talking of the event, if he ran into someone who said it was great, he knew they hadn't been there and had only watched the film and/or listened to the music. The music was awesome, the event was a lot of rain, mud and misery for the attendees. It was well worth the time.
October 1, 2016
This book has been in my Kindle library for some time now. It did intrigue me since I was born in 1969. However, I was more taken by the book due to the major historical events that happened that year. The author seriously did some MAJOR research. He covered topics such as social protest, protest, and change; sports; music, movies and books that impacted the year; crime; history; politics; and, much more.
He took on events ranging from Stonewall to Vietnam to protest to Zodiac to Manson to the moon landing to Woodstock. That is a small sampling of the events of 1969.
If you or someone you know are history nerds like me, this book is for you. The detail the author puts into this book is mind blowing. I like to think I know a lot of the events that year and decade as it is my favorite decade from a history standpoint that we could all still learn. Quick read and so worth it.
He took on events ranging from Stonewall to Vietnam to protest to Zodiac to Manson to the moon landing to Woodstock. That is a small sampling of the events of 1969.
If you or someone you know are history nerds like me, this book is for you. The detail the author puts into this book is mind blowing. I like to think I know a lot of the events that year and decade as it is my favorite decade from a history standpoint that we could all still learn. Quick read and so worth it.
July 25, 2017
Excellent history is the telling of stories with interesting, humanizing details that give the tales the feeling of legend, fiction, magic... Kirkpatrick begins with the simple scholarly argument that while 1968 is the year of the assassinations, riots, and cultural revolution, 1969 is no less significant. He begins a series of tales that weave the history of 1969 into a tapestry of sports, culture, politics, crime and technology. He makes his point while telling stories that are compelling, human and fascinating. This is an excellent series of summaries of the major events of 1969 in America with enough detail to satisfy while making the point that these events of 1969 set the stage for all that came in the decades to come. Really good read!
October 25, 2013
For me, 1969 was an incredible year... Man Walks On The Moon --- The Miracle Mets --- not in the book, but I moved to NYC and attended 2nd Grade at PS 24 The Bronx. Hard for me to remember many things before 1969, and after reading this book I was apparently pretty oblivious to what was happening in society. Really an incredible variety of history happened and it's fun to read this short synopsis that weaves the year together.
By comparison, 2013 seems boring...
3 Stars
★ = Horrid waste of time
★★ = May be enjoyable to some, but not me
★★★ = I am glad I read it
★★★★ = Very enjoyable and something I'd recommend
★★★★★ = A rare find, simply incredible
By comparison, 2013 seems boring...
3 Stars
★ = Horrid waste of time
★★ = May be enjoyable to some, but not me
★★★ = I am glad I read it
★★★★ = Very enjoyable and something I'd recommend
★★★★★ = A rare find, simply incredible
May 18, 2011
What else would you read after the book '1968'? ;) I'm doing research for a book I want to write some day that will take place in the Sixties, so of course I had to read this one when I saw it in the bookstore. It's divided up into "seasons" and covers all the great events of 1969 ('great' meaning, well, fabulous, and in many cases not-so-fabulous, or downright horrifying). Some of the events covered are the ongoing Vietnam war, hippies, the Moon Walk, the Manson murders, the Zodiac Killer, Woodstock, and the disastrous Altamonte concert. Quite readable and I highly recommend it!
December 14, 2014
This was an informative and quick read... but not that good. While there was certainly a lot covered, including many events I was aware of (before my time), but without the appropriate context. The book really did not go into enough depth to give anything more than a brief overview of events, and a lot of the most lengthy portions were descriptions of music or movies released in the year. There were also a number of "typos" late in the book.
After a wonderful book like Bill Bryson's One Summer, which covered the summer of 1927, this book reads like a text book.
After a wonderful book like Bill Bryson's One Summer, which covered the summer of 1927, this book reads like a text book.
April 5, 2011
I love history, so of course I enjoyed this book. I appreciated the look at all events of the year, including cultural events and sports as well as the more obvious issues of the Vietnam War. It really puts things into perspective when I think about how crazy the world feels right now. I can't imagine how it must have felt in '69. I did skim through a little bit of the book on issues or events that weren't as interesting to me.
July 25, 2011
Rob Kirkpatrick's 1969 is a narravtive of all of the events that happened in a year that changed America. The book tells of the events of the year with great detail and I would definitly read this book if you are reading of these events for the first time or lived through them and want to live through memories. This is a great book of events but Kirkpatrick doesn't divulge in the historical significance of the events until a brief epilogue at the end of the book.
August 28, 2014
1969: The year of the Moon Mission, the Miracle Mets, the Manson Murders, Morrison in Miami, and Moratorium Day. It's also the year I came into the world, along with Woodstock, Hurricane Camille, the trouble at Chappaquiddick that perhaps ended presidential plans, chaos on campus, Broadway Joe's triumphant Jets, and continued floundering in Vietnam. I kept thinking as I read: "Wow--my parents brought me into THIS???" Tons of great information in a well-written, entertaining format.
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