1969: The Year Everything Changed by Rob Kirkpatrick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Author Rob Kirkpatrick was about the same age as I was in 1969, which means he was more likely to be eating crayons than dropping acid like so many of the people mentioned in this book. Despite this, one of the strengths of 1969: The Year Everything Changed is the authoritative voice Kirkpatrick uses, lending a “you are there” feel to many of the events that are recounted.
Dividing the book into the four seasons doesn’t really add much to the book, but having devoted sections on politics, entertainment, sports and major events helps color in what the U.S. was like nearly five decades ago.
There are the stunning achievements, like the July moon landing, but the year is marked more by strife–the ongoing Vietnam war that Nixon inherited, racial violence, student protests, the rise of groups like the Weather Underground that engaged in attacks aimed at the government. It was also a time of experimentation and the shedding of inhibitions–nudity was in and drug use was more openly embraced than it had ever been before. Woodstock is remembered fondly, though Kirkpatrick reminds us that it was marred by terrible weather and a surprising number of uninspired acts that limped through their sets. Woodstock shines in comparison to the concert at the Altamont Speedway that closes out the book, though. The Rolling Stones urged the crowd, mixing uneasily with Hells Angels, to settle down even as a man in the midst of it was stabbed to death, one of multiple deaths at the event.
Kirkpatrick also covers the grim parade of death led by the Manson family and the Zodiac killer, the bracing vitality of film as it covered adult subjects with a newfound frankness, whether it be Sam Peckinpah’s blood-spattered westerns or the X-rated seediness of Midnight Cowboy (as noted, an X-rating back then had more to do with violence and less with sexual content–the film later got re-rated to R). There’s also a great deal of sports coverage here, particularly focusing on baseball and the improbable rise of the New York Mets. For fans of the team or baseball in general, these sections are terrifically written, capturing the drama and politics of the sport. Still, the sports parts feel almost incongruous next to the nigh-endless violence that surrounds them.
The book ends with a brief look ahead to the 70s, rounding out how a lot of the newsmakers of 1969 fared in the coming years. Nixon had that whole “whoops, I taped that, didn’t I?” thing, NASA’s glory with the moon landing would end just a few years later and the hippie movement faded away, though many of its ideals would persist in some form through the 70s before crumbling away under the conspicuous consumption of the 80s.
1969 offers an intriguing slice of how different the U.S. was in the late 60s. While violent police action and the disturbing growth of their militarization rightfully makes headlines today, it is sobering to see how little has changed since 1969 when police raids were executed on flimsy or false premises and gun battles–with resultant fatalities–were all too common. The biggest difference back then is probably in how so many of the protesters and people agitating for change were also prone to violence. In an era recalled as one of peace and love, the late 60s were more often bloody.
While some subjects are touched on a bit too briefly–inevitable given that the book is an overview of so many major events– 1969 still gives a good feel for that era. I can’t say I’d have wanted to be an adult living in the U.S. in 1969 but it would certainly have been…interesting.
Recommended, albeit if you don’t enjoy sports a not-insignificant chunk of the book will be a wash.
