The Sixties

Book excerpt: The sixth edition of The Sixties is a provocative account of a transformative era in American history, exploring the significant political, social, and cultural changes that many citizens found to be not only necessary, but mandatory. The book explores the 1960s both chronologically and thematically, from the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins and presidential election to the early 1970s and the fight for women’s liberation and withdrawal from Vietnam. It examines the unique social movements that merged during and after 1968 to form a “sixties culture” that advocated for empowerment and liberation. The final chapter on legacies and the section of additional reading have been revised and updated for the sixth edition, now including more recent material to reinforce the book’s themes and explore the impacts of the sixties that are still felt today. Additional coverage of women and the LGBTQ and Latino/a communities paints a richer portrait of the decade of tumult and change. Lucid and engaging, The Sixties is a stimulating text ideal for students and general readers interested in one of the most significant eras in American history—the 1960s.