In this unique and compelling book Tom Hayden argues that Barack Obama would not have been able to mount a successful presidential campaign without the movements of the 1960s. The Long Sixties shows that movements throughout history triumph over Machiavellians, gaining social reforms while leaving both revolutionaries and reactionaries frustrated. Hayden argues that the 1960s left a critical imprint on America, from civil rights laws to the birth of the environmental movement, and forced open the political process to women and people of colour. He urges President Obama to continue this legacy with a popular programme of economic recovery, green jobs and health care reform. The Long Sixties is a carefully researched history which will be of interest to activists, journalists and historians as the fiftieth anniversary of the 1960s begins.

About the Author
Tom Hayden is an activist, former senator and Professor at Occidental College, California. His most recent book is Rebel: A Personal History of the 1960s (2003).

Reviews

"Hayden, a longtime proponent of progressive thought and action, is a fine witness to the pivotal events of the Sixties. In a book both sweeping and reflective, he offers a primer on the era's political and cultural upheavals and an early assessment of President Obama measured against Sixties ideals. . . . This book will introduce a new generation of readers to Hayden and provoke discussion of the impact of the Sixties on the current political scene. With fine notes and a useful 50-page time line; highly recommended."
-Library Journal

"This book is valuable as a portrait of an activist of that turbulent era. Recommended."
-CHOICE

"With the approach of a decade of anniversaries of the 1960s, iconic figure Hayden stakes a strong claim in the ongoing debate over memories of the turbulent time. ... Hayden's analysis offers a sense of the sweep and depth of reform movements across the U.S. that had been brewing for decades and ignited in the '60s, including civil rights, women's rights, gay and lesbian rights, and the green movement. ... [He] combines the fervor of his radical youth and continued commitment to progressive politics, the introspection of his years, and the research and analysis of his academic career in this insightful, passionate look at progressive reform."
-Booklist Starred Review

"A compelling effort to get at the essence of the sixties and their continuing impact in the Obama era-by one who was not only a central participant but has continuously reflected on those times for the past fifty years."
-William Gamson, Boston College

"Tom Hayden thinks the movements of the turbulent sixties were pivotal in shaping much of what came after in American politics. He makes his case brilliantly, drawing on the wisdom bred by half a century of political activism and scholarship, and also on the passion and commitment that made him a leading figure in the movements he analyzes."
-Frances Fox Piven, author of Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People Change America (2006)

"The Long Sixties is a remarkable fusion of Tom Hayden's deep reflections on his own experience as a key movement organizer and his deep reading of social movement theory and history. The result not only illuminates that era but helps reframe the half century since. Its synthesis of lived experience and cool analysis makes it the best sixties book for today's students."
-Richard Flacks, University of California-Santa Barbara and a collaborator with Tom Hayden on the original Port Huron Statement

"Tom Hayden is an American original. This memoir is more than a riveting guide into the eye of the 1960s revolutionary storms that Hayden himself led. It is a trek into the history and heart of social movements today, showing that the sixties spirit has resurfaced in the people's voice that elected Barack Obama and will make our future."
-Charles Derber, author of The Wilding of America and The New Feminized Majority

"Nobody can tell the story of the 1960s and its meaning for today more effectively and movingly than Tom Hayden. A champion of his generation whose Port Huron Statement remains a clarion call for today's youngsters, all these years later, Hayden here places the current dilemmas of the United States before us, insisting they must be solved and then can be solved, not by great experts working in secret but by ordinary Americans engaged in democratic practice."
-Paul Buhle, editor of Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History, The Beats, and Studs Terkel's Working: A Graphic Adaptation

"Valuable reading for activists, journalists, and historians ... a must read."
-Free Venice Beachhead

Book Information
ISBN 9781594517402
Author Tom Hayden
Format Paperback
Page Count 282
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Inc
Weight(grams) 385g