Reunion: A Memoir. This item is unavailable.Reunion: A Memoir

The sixties activist turned 1980s legislator tells of his involvement in student movements, his visits to Hanoi, and the events of the 1968 Democratic convention, describes his personal life, and reaffirms his commitment to dissent

In this long, self-conscious, apologetic autobiography, Hayden, once a left-wing hero, now a California state legislator, is so busy explaining or qualifying his former radicalism that the effect is stultifying. As he tells it, he achieved a lucky balance in his metamorphosis from self-centered, messianic student organizer to liberal Democrat now "married to a real Hollywood star Jane Fonda: a beautiful, intelligent, infinitely creative human." His windy recitation touches the high points of a well-publicized careerleadership of Students for a Democratic Society, community organizing in Newark, Vietnam War protests, the Columbia University student riots, the Chicago Eight conspiracy trial in 1969, his trip with Fonda to Hanoi. While Hayden notes that he was overly romantic about the Vietnamese revolution, he charges that the U.S. government bears responsibility for continuing to besiege and bleed Vietnam. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In a journey spanning more than 25 years, Hayden has gone from co-founding Students for a Democratic Society, to marriage to actress Jane Fonda, to serving in the California legislature. This political autobiography covers that tumultuous odyssey, concentrating on the 1960s. Perhaps more than any other individual, Hayden, an idealistic and pragmatic reformer, represented the early New Left. From civil rights organizing in Mississippi, to ghetto riots in Newark, to the conspiracy trial of the Chicago 8 for Vietnam War protests at the 1968 Democratic convention, Hayden was there. His well-crafted, often eloquent memoir is a vital contribution. Highly recommended. See also James Miller's "Democracy Is in the Streets" ( LJ 7/87) and Todd Gitlin's The Sixties (Bantam, 1987) . Gregor A. Preston, Univ. of California Lib., Davis
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.