The Spirit of '68: Rebellion in Western Europe and North America, 1956-1976 - Hardcover

Horn, Gerd-Rainer

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199276668 ISBN 13: 9780199276660

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2007

Synopsis

In virtually all corners of the Western world, 1968 witnessed a highly unusual sequence of popular rebellions. In Italy, France, Spain, Vietnam, the United States, West Germany, Czechoslovakia, Mexico, and elsewhere, millions of individuals took matters into their own hands to counter imperialism, capitalism, autocracy, bureaucracy, and all forms of hierarchical thinking. Recent reinterpretations have sought to play down any real challenge to the socio-political status quo in these events, but Gerd-Rainer Horn's book offers a spirited counterblast. 1968, he argues, opened up the possibility that economic and political elites on both sides of the Iron Curtain could be toppled from their position of unnatural superiority to make way for a new society where everyday people could, for the first time, become masters of their own destiny. Furthermore, Horn contends, the moment of crisis and opportunity culminating in 1968 must be seen as part of a larger period of experimentation and revolt. The ten years between 1956 and 1966, characterised above all by the flourishing of iconoclastic cultural rebellions, can be regarded as a preparatory period which set the stage for the non-conformist cum political revolts of the subsequent "red" decade (1966-1976).

Horn's geographic centres of attention are Western Europe, including the first full examination of Mediterranean revolts, and North America. He placed particular emphasis on cultural nonconformity, the student movement, working class rebellions, the changing contours of the Left, and the meaning of participatory democracy. His book will make fascinating reading for anyone interested in this turbulent period and the fundamental changes that were wrought upon societies either side of the Atlantic.

About this title

About the Author

Gerd-Rainer Horn is Senior Lecturer in the Department of History, University of Warwick.

Review

"Gerd-Rainer Horn's greatest contribution to the current literature on the 1960s is without a doubt the rich comparative perspectiv he brings to the subject...Its emphasis on these lesser-known sites of activism makes this book worth reading, providing scholars both versed and unversed in the field with new examples of protest and its transference across national boundaries."--Journal of Modern History

"This ambitious and provocative work exemplifies the current trend toward transnational history...This is an important and original work...The broad focus, revisionist argument, and transnational comparisons will make it of considerable value to scholars of the 1960s."--Michael W. Flamm, The Historian

"Written from the perspective of a participant observer, this is critical history in the Nietzschean sense. At no point naively optomistic about the chances for success, it nonetheless aims at reviving the volatile Spirit of '68, and thus at making the potential of the past available for the present."--Kay Schiller, Times Literary Supplement

"A lively and detailed study...Horn brings an admirable breadth of learning and enthusiasm to his subject."--Steve Andrew, Morning Star

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0199276668
• ISBN 13: 9780199276660
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 264