The Last Innocent Year: America in 1964--The Beginning of the 'Sixties'

by Jon Margolis

The year 1964 marked a change in American history: John Kennedy was dead, and in the aftermath of his assassination, the country was trying to figure out what to do with itself. The Warren Commission was busily sifting evidence, Jackie Kennedy was fast on her way to becoming an icon of dignified widowhood, and Lyndon Johnson was tearing down Camelot to build the Great Society. Young men started burning draft cards, rioting blacks burned whole neighborhoods, women began to wonder if the male sex was their oppressor, Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution (which escalated the war in Vietnam), and three civil rights workers were killed in Mississippi. In The Last Innocent Year, Jon Margolis, a former political reporter for the Chicago Tribune, captures all the drama and emotion of this historic year, re-creating it from the perspective of the statesmen, celebrities, and ordinary people who made its events come alive.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction

416 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 1999

Reviews

[Russell Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

1964 was a pivotal year in American history. Spurred by the assassination of John F. Kennedy in the November preceding, 1964 proved to be full of tragedy, triumph, and joy. Jon Margolis, in his book The Last Innocent Year: America in 1964, The Beginning of the “Sixties,” tells the tale of Lyndon B. Johnson ascending to the presidency and the campaign to keep him there by his winning the election in November 1964. Along the way, we are privy to Johnson’s strengths, failures, and doubts, his dealing with the escalation of the war in Vietnam, the passing of the landmark civil rights legislation Johnson orchestrated, the politics of two political conventions, the killing of three civil rights workers in Mississippi and much more that shaped and impacted the country for the next decade. Margolis is a fine journalist, for he weaves his story skillfully so that we feel we are reading a novel, rather than a history book. I was blown away by his handling of all the pop culture of that year. It was the year of the coming of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, landmark happenings in sports, fine films, and good television. And though Margolis stays focused on the heavier side of history, he manages to tell us much of the pop culture history as well. The tidbits about movies, theater, books, music, and sports are juxtaposed against the weightier things that are going on in the White House, the Congress, Mississippi, and the far-off country of Vietnam. This is a book for all, not just those interested in history. I have long believed the Sixties era was the most important era of modern American history, and Margolis certainly validates my opinion.

[Russ Bertetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a long time to read this primarily because I read it at night and often found myself drifting off despite the fact that the material is important to me. '64 was the summer after my freshman year in high school and I was very interested in all the things going on around me. Later in life I taught US history for 20+ years and I always taught my classes that JFK's assassination was the beginning of the 60s and this certainly confirms that.
But if '64 was an innocent year what were some of the other years? With all the terrible things going But in '64 there didn't seem to be much innocence! The racism that permeated the country, the lies about the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, the Johnson-RFK feud, J. Edgar Hoover (who has to rank as one of the worst human beings ever to serve in our government!!!), Mississippi (nothing else needs be said). Combine that with the rise of the Goldwater/conservative movement which presages today's MAGA crap. What a year-thank god for the Beatles!!
I think there were some issues that could've been cut and the MFDP (although a very unique and important part of the convention) might have been shortened and simplified. But the month by month, day by day narrative style adds some drama to the history.
Sometimes Margolis comes across as a bit too intellectually pompous but for people who love history this is a worthwhile read-just not when you're ready to go to bed.

[Mary Elizabeth Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't even that long, but it was a slog. The title is misleading; a better name would be: "Why LBJ Was the Best President."

[Chris Craddock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good. Really good analysis of year after JFK assassination. LBJ passed a lot of bills, civil rights most notably. Also got us deeper into Vietnam War. Goldwater was the Republican candidate, but LBJ won in a landslide. The South went Republican, as backlash to civil rights bills. The Beatles broke big in the US in 1964. Lyndon Johnson and Robert Kennedy didn't like each other. J. Edgar Hoover was supposed to be prosecuting the Klan in Mississippi, but was really not doing anything. His energy was invested in trying to get dirt on Martin Luther King. Robert Kennedy was the Attorney General, and therefore Hoover's boss, but Hoover ran the FBI like his personal fiefdom. The Warren Commission quickly issued a report that said that Lee Harvey Oswald was a lone gunman, but to this day the public still suspects a conspiracy. I take the contrarian view, that Oswald acted alone, but that there is nevertheless plenty of dirty laundry. This book really puts together the pieces and lays out all that went down in 1964. It was a remarkable year.

[Craig Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in a smooth journalistic style, 1964 does a good job chronicling the convergence of numerous events, mostly in Vietnam and the US, during the year following the JFK assassination. Civil Rights, the Goldwater insurgency in the GOP, LBJ and Bobby Kennedy's contentious rivalry, the Beatles and Andy Warhol. I don't really buy Margolis's thesis regarding innocence and he complicates it a bit in the introduction, and he's clearly one of the hoard of writers who more or less buy the Kennedy hostility to LBJ (who earns at least some of it). And it strikes me as a bit odd that he effectively ends a book about one year with the November election. But I'm glad I read it.

[Monte Lamb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intertwining the major stories of 1964 this book shows how America moved into so many changes during the remainder of the 1960's. Civil Rights, the election of LBJ, Vietnam, and student protests were just a part of the changes that took place. The story reads well and gives a good accounting of the times. I enjoyed this book.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really interesting, but it started to get a little boring about halfway through. It's just about one year, you know? It could have been shorter.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could totally relate to this book - my generation! Found much more information than I was aware had happened in '64 - highly recommend.

[Jemera Rone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this was me. I was in college then. This really brings it back. This being the anniversary 50th of the death of JFK, it was a particularly opportune time for me to revisit it.

[Billy Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast moving and difficult to put down. Enjoyed it very much.

[Matthew Knapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

My birth year- so interesting to see what world I was born into!