Rethinking the New Left: An Interpretative History

by Van Gosse

Gosse, one of the foremost historians of the American postwar left, has crafted an engaging and concise synthetic history of the varied movements and organizations that have been placed under the broad umbrella known as the New Left. As one reader notes, gosse 'has accomplished something difficult and rare, if not altogether unique, in providing a studied and moving account of the full array of protest movements - from civil rights and Black Power, to student and antiwar protest, to women's and gay liberation, to Native American, Asian American, and Puerto Rican activism - that defined the American sixties as an era of powerfully transformative rebellions...His is a 'big-tent' view that shows just how rich and varied 1960s protest was.' In contrast to most other accounts of this subject, the SDS and white male radicals are taken out of the center of the story and placed more toward its margins. A prestigious project from a highly respected historian, The New Left in the United States, 1955-1975 will be a must-read for anyone interested in American politics of the postwar era.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Van Gosse is professor of history at Franklin and Marshall College.

Reviews

[Campbell Geary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful and interesting overview and perspective.

[Michael Paone · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an attempt to synthesize the various activist groups that coalesced into the New Left. Rejecting the restrictive and arbitrary nature of focusing on the 1960s as a decade, Rethinking instead seeks to discuss the groups that made the New Left. The problem with this approach is that between Students for a Democratic Society, SNCC, the Black Power movement, Stonewall, the Berkley Free Speech Movement, and the Chicano Movement all end up being insufficiently discussed in the short 200 or so pages. Still, if one is seeking a broad overview of the groups that made up the New Lefr, this will serve your purpose well.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

good perspective

[Chris]

Handy as a narrative of the new left from the civil rights movement through the 1970s, but less successful at posing interesting questions about the period. Still, a quick and easy read.