The Shattering: America in the 1960s

The Shattering is a book that covers the late 1950s through the early 1970s, focusing on the fierce conflicts over race, sex, and war. It illuminates currents that still run through our politics and restores the humanity of those making this history.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 496 pages
Publication date: 06 January 2023
Publisher: WW Norton & Co

On the auspicious day of July 4, 1961, the burgeoning middle-class families of a Chicago neighborhood gathered before their proudly adorned houses, brimming with a confident vision of the American Dream. However, that vision was tragically shattered over the ensuing decade, as its glaring disparities at home and its haughty arrogance abroad were met with resolute challenges from powerful civil rights and anti-war movements. Assassinations, social unrest, and the backlash of a "silent majority" relentlessly tore at the very fabric of the United States. Spanning the late 1950s to the early 1970s, "The Shattering" delves into the intense periods of fierce conflicts over race, sex, and war. The civil rights movement, born from the grassroots activism of Montgomery and the sit-ins, evolved through the tumultuous violence of Birmingham and the Edmund Pettus Bridge, leading to the frustrations of King's Chicago campaign, the rise of Black nationalism, and the politics of busing and the Supreme Court during the Nixon era. The Vietnam War unfolds as a chapter of Cold War policy, characterized by high-stakes politics, buffeted by powerful popular movements, and searing in-country experiences. Americans' relentless challenges to government regulation of sexuality resulted in landmark decisions on privacy rights, gay rights, contraception, and abortion.

Kevin Boyle, in his remarkable work, captures the inspiring and harrowing events of this passionate time with a profound empathy that restores the humanity of those who shaped this history. Often, these are ordinary individuals, like Elizabeth Eckford, enduring a hostile crowd outside her newly integrated high school in Little Rock, or Estelle Griswold, welcoming her arrest for dispensing birth control information in a Connecticut town. Political leaders also emerge in vivid detail, revealing the intricate web of Richard Nixon's inheritances from Eisenhower and his debt to George Wallace, who crafted a message of racism intertwined with blue-collar grievance that Nixon seamlessly integrated into Republicanism.

"The Shattering" serves as a poignant illumination of a pivotal era in American history, shedding light on the complex dynamics that shaped the nation and its people. It is a testament to the resilience and determination of those who fought for equality, justice, and a better future for all. Through its meticulous research and compelling storytelling, this book offers a valuable perspective on a period that continues to resonate deeply in our collective memory.

Weight: 390g
Dimension: 209 x 140 x 32 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781324036111