1969: Are You Still Listening?: Stories & Essays

by Brent Green, Carol Orsborn, Jed Diamond

1969 stood as the final year of a tumultuous decade, shattering domestic tranquility with epic events and cultural upheaval. On the fiftieth anniversary of 1969, eight authors share their coming-of-age experiences, vivid memories, and lessons learned from that raucous, electrifying year.

What makes 1969 compelling? The authors invite you to join them and "take the trip back."

In January, The Beatles gave their final public performance on the rooftop of Apple Corps in London.

In July, NASA’s Apollo 11 space mission launched Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong beyond earth’s gravitational grip to a successful moon landing, fulfilling President John Kennedy’s inaugural pledge “to go to the moon in this decade.”

In August, Woodstock attracted over 400,000 rock ‘n’ roll fans, hippies, peaceniks, and sixties’ music icons to a three-day countercultural gathering.

The Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, in October, was the largest peaceful protest of a war in American history, flooding the nation’s capital and including more than 2,000,000 antiwar protesters nationwide.

As the decade closed, the war raged on. Just months into the following year, the Kent State shootings shook the nation, bringing violent suppression of free expression to a U.S. college campus.

Joining lead author Brent Green in this alliance are veteran writers Carol Orsborn, PhD., David Cogswell, Robert William Case, Bob Moses, Jed Diamond, PhD., Greg Dobbs, and Richard Adler.

1969: Are You Still Listening? delivers their eyewitness accounts, personal tales, uncommon confessions, and fact-based fictional stories. The book merges documentary-style reporting with creative exploration, capturing the perspectives of journalists, fiction and nonfiction writers, and social and political commentators.

One question resonates throughout the book: Are you still listening? The book inspires contemplation about our social and political progress fifty years later. Do we see greater national unity today? Do we hear lingering discord? Do we sense progress toward equal treatment and opportunity for all?

For those who experienced 1969 firsthand, this book will stir memories and invite reflection about a momentous year. For those who were born later and are curious about the myths and realities of 1969, the book reveals truths concerning a rebellious time and an engaged generation that proclaimed a new vision for America.

Genres: History

207 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 2, 2019

About the author

Brent Green is a creative director, copywriter, author, professional speaker, and consultant focused on articulating the stories of the Baby Boomer generation.

Author of "Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers: Perceptions, Principles, Practices, Predictions" (PMP, 2004 and 2006), Brent has spoken widely at conferences about the Boomer segment and the unprecedented reorientation of Western countries to aging populations. In 2010, he published "Generation Reinvention: How Boomers Today Are Changing Business, Marketing, Aging, and the Future." He has also published "Noble Chaos: A Novel" a literary and coming-of-age story about the Vietnam War era at the University of Kansas. He has also released an Audible version of "Noble Chaos," narrated by Jack de Golia, an award-winning producer of audiobooks.

He has recently finished writing and publishing a biographical novel about his close friend who was a PhD wellness leader and impetuous daredevil while bravely fighting five recurrences of cancer, entitled "Warrior: The Life and Lessons of a Man Who Beat Cancer for 57 Years." Brent's recent writing achievement also includes a self-help book focused on grief and loss and entitled "Questions of the Spirit: The Quest for Understanding at A Time of Loss."

He has been called upon for expert commentary by "The Los Angeles Times," "CNN Headline News," "The Wall Street Journal," "US News & World Report," "Dallas Morning News," "The Denver Post," "Business Week," "MarketWatch," and "The New York Times."

Established in 1986, Brent Green & Associates, Inc. develops integrated marketing communication programs with emphasis on direct response media. Brent has received over 50 regional, national and international awards for creative and strategic excellence, including the Direct Marketing Associations International Gold ECHO Award. The Rocky Mountain Direct Marketing Association selected him as Direct Marketer of the Year.

As a creative director and copywriter, Brent has led marketing program creation for McDonald's, The Broadmoor Hotel, Business Radio Network, Total Petroleum (U.S. division of TOTAL in France), Orange Glo International (OxiClean brand), "Men’s Health" magazine, "Men’s Fitness" magazine, the United States Olympic Committee, and numerous Colorado advertisers.

Reviews

[Robert Case · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have reached the 50th Anniversary of 1969. This newly released book commemorates that game-changing year. Yes, it was the high-water year of an undeclared and escalating war in Vietnam. It was also the year of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Woodstock, and the last public performance by the Beatles. This new book "Are You Still Listening?: 1969 Stories and Essays" honors all of it, providing eyewitness accounts to that transformative time by eight veteran authors, journalists, and social and political commentators.

It is an engrossing read; one that can transport the reader back to a time when difficult choices had to be made by so many, in response to an executive branch of government operating beyond the bounds of constitutional and moral authority. So many of these same issues have cycled back into the present. Hopefully, we can collectively do a better job of addressing them this time around.

1969 was the beginning of my senior year in high school. I grew up in the heartland of the nation and graduated into the shadow of the killings and bloodshed at Kent State University the following year. And, I am pleased to have contributed my coming of age story as one of the eight authors.

[Leila Eshmawi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who is interested in the 60s should find this well written collection pertinent.