Generation on Fire: Voices of Protest from the 1960s, an Oral History

The political activism of the American counterculture during the 1960s remains a subject blighted by misconceptions and stereotypes. To many, the political thought of the 1960s is synonymous with widespread drug abuse, failed social experiments, and general irresponsibility. Despite sustained public interest, few remember that many of the freedoms and rights Americans enjoy today are the direct result of those who defiantly challenged the established order during this tumultuous period. The period frightened both mainstream and elite Americans and still does. In Generation on Fire, both well-known and overlooked political activists speak about their motives and actions during the 1960s through the present. Journalist and popular oral historian Jeff Kisseloff provides a broad and eclectic account of the political activity of the decade, as told by those individuals who led the resistance on numerous fronts: civil rights, the antiwar movement, women's liberation, the environmental movement, and gay rights. The book offers firsthand accounts of what it was like in the courtroom with the Chicago Eight, the trenches of the national football league, the jungles of Vietnam, a commune in Vermont and on a stage in Woodstock. Including never-before published interviews, Generation on Fire unapologetically contextualizes the world of the 1960s -- illuminating the ingrained social and cultural obstacles facing activists as well as the courage and shortcomings of those who defied "acceptable" conventions and mores. Generation on Fire is an invaluable resource for all who wish to understand the dramatic social, cultural, and political conflicts that arose during a period of radical change. Interviews with: Peter Berg, Rev. Daniel Berrigan, David Cline, Frank Kameny, Paul Krassner, Bernard Lafayette, Barry Levine-Doris Krause, David Meggysey, Barry Melton, Verandah Porche, Gloria Dandridge Richardson, Elsa Marley Skylark, Marilyn Webb, Lee Weiner, and Bob Zellner

Jeff Kisseloff is the author of two previous works of oral history, You Must Remember This: An Oral History of Manhattan from the 1890s to World War II and The Box: An Oral History of Television, 1920--1961.