Imagine Nation: The American Counterculture of the 1960's and 70's
This deep and detailed work examines the many elements of the  American counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s. Its underlying  theme is the rejection by mainly young but also older people of  prevailing political, social, and cultural norms through  experimentation with drugs, sex, music, and identity to  construct alternative ways of life. The 14 essays, written by  academics and journalists, are arranged into sections covering  cultural politics, racial and sexual identity, the media and  popular culture, the deconditioning of the human mind through  drugs and feminist consciousness-raising, and alternative  visions of society based on technology and communal living. Each  section opens with a brief essay covering the major themes  appearing in its chapters. Editors Braunstein and Doyle, who are  both journalists, open the work with an excellent essay critical  of both romantic and conservative views of the 1960s and  stressing the need for strict historical analysis for a better  understanding of the period. Particularly good essays include  David Farber's study of drug use and David E. James's chapter on  film. This is not an easy read, but it marks a major  reexamination of the period. A good complement to The Sixties:  From Meaning to History (Univ. of North Carolina, 1994) and  Sights on the Sixties (Rutgers Univ., 1992. reprint);  recommended for academic libraries. Stephen L. Hupp, West  Virginia Univ., ParkersburgCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.