1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aronson, Marc & Campbell Bartoletti, Susan. (Eds). 2018. 1968: TODAY’S AUTHORS EXPLORE A YEAR OF REBELLION, REVOLUTION, AND CHANGE. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. ISBN 978-0-76368993-3.
2. PLOT SUMMARY
This collection of essays are the recollections of a sad and tumultuous year in the world’s history. Each story shines a light on the ups and the downs of the times. The year was marked by accomplishments and advancements as well. However, sadly, the one constant throughout the year was death and war. The Vietnam War waged on, while so many tried to fight other wars against authority and tradition for freedom and equality.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This book of protest and challenge is organized in three-month sections of 1968. Each of the four sections begins with a short summary written by Elizabeth Partridge, titled “Nightly News.” In these short segments, Partridge documents the deaths from the Vietnam War, Americans and Vietnamese, both ally and enemy, and also Vietnamese civilian deaths. Seeing the numbers, broken down by month and category, is heartbreaking. There were so many lives lost. She also covers the current events from those three months, from demonstrations to assassinations.
The other essays are from all over the globe. Many of them are about protests that frustrated and angry people started, in California, in Chicago, in Paris, in China, in Mexico– in so many places. The language of the stories is rich and powerful. The diction conveys the passions of the people. In addition to these, some of the other essays are about much more subtle or furtive social commentary. In David Lubar’s essay, he analyzes the comedians of 1968 and their material. He makes a point that comedians like Moms Mabley and the Smothers Brothers used their platforms to make important points about civil rights and war.
Not all of the essays are about politics and violence. There are some stark juxtapositions within the book. “Biker’s Ed” is about teenagers taking a fun, innocent bike ride along the California coast. “The Code Wars” is about an American scientist, Marshall Nirenberg, winning a Nobel Peace Prize for genetic coding. These, along with a few others, prove that 1968 wasn’t all bad. It wasn’t just about fighting the corrupt systems and inequalities of the world.
4. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Booklist, September 2018: “With an approach promoting critical thinking, this collection will likely help illuminate a deeply important year in world history and encourage fresh thinking about our current contentious moment.”
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, October 2018
Kirkus Reviews starred, August 2018: “The book’s strength lies in the way different voices and different angles come together into an integrated whole. Fascinating and accomplished.”
School Library Connection starred, October 2018
School Library Journal, September 2018
5. CONNECTIONS
*This great book of nonfiction could join forces with other nonfiction to form a great unity of study about the 1960s in America. A strange stirring : the Feminine mystique and American women at the dawn of the 1960s by Stephanie Coontz, The 1960s decade in photos : love, freedom, and flower power (Amazing Decades In Photos) by Jim Corrigan, or Civil unrest in the 1960s : riots and their aftermath by Wil Mara.
.png)
No comments:
Post a Comment