Book Review: “Boom!”
Author: Tom Brokaw
Category: Non-Fiction
Boom! Voices of the Sixties is a compelling compilation of personal reflections on a decade remembered for countercultural collisions, civil rights advances, and sometimes setbacks. Brokaw weaves together a series of interviews with prominent US figures that made lasting contributions to this nation beginning in the 1960s and continuing through the present. Brokaw’s breadth of experience and personal relationships developed through myriad journalistic endeavors characterize this piece of work as truly unique (and in my opinion very special). Though the structure and organization is similar to Tim Russert’s Wisdom of Our Fathers, Brokaw focuses more broadly on widely influential figures, setting this book apart.
I first read The Greatest Generation when it was published ten or so years ago and I was very impressed with Brokaw’s ability to narrate US history from my grandparents’ generation, but which instruction had been rushed into a US history curriculum in the last weeks of school before an Advanced Placement examination. Like his first book, Boom! relies on a series of vignettes and individual personal accounts from people representing many relevant facets of the Sixties, levels of notoriety, and backgrounds. Stylistically, I feel that this adds a more complete picture and narrative dimension to the content that is void in a traditional representation of a non-fiction account of a period in history.
Brokaw defined the 1960s as beginning with the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 and ending with the Watergate scandal in the early 1970s. These traumatic political events serve as bookends for a decade remembered for major advances in civil rights, the rise of feminist ideology, a new interest in environmentalism, landing on the moon, violence and protests at political and student rallies, and the birth of rock and roll and the drug culture.
As I read Boom!, I found myself googling “Yippie” and “Gloria Steinem”. To read these myriad stories all at once, I found myself being able to make connections with things I had learned in other books, from professors, and from my own parents and grandparents. Furthermore, I frequently tend to agree with Tom Brokaw’s viewpoints (even when he is not being an objective journalist). Though we typically encounter Brokaw on television, he writes just like he talks, which is poignantly and thoughtfully.
I particularly enjoyed the theme of how 1968 and 2008 are similar, and what type of legacy 1968 has left in today’s world. Many of the people that Brokaw interviewed commented that the war in Iraq reminds them of the Vietnam War more now than ever, even if they initially supported the attacks in Iraq. The difference that many of these Sixties experts underscore is that today’s armed forces do not have a draft and therefore an elite class in this nation is not outraged. (If they are outraged, they seem to do nothing to change the status quo). Many of the most outspoken activists of the 1960s admit that they are disappointed not only in today’s youth but also those in their own cohort. I think this is an interesting idea, but it is clearly easier to propose the return of the draft when one is in his late fifties than if she is 25 like me. I cannot say I would support a draft at this time.
Do not misunderstand the tone of the book; rather, it was a balanced presentation of those things that made the Sixties incredibly stimulating and creative, and also those things that tore at the hearts of Americans at that time and in the future. Aside from all of the events of the Sixties that one immediately thinks of, I learned several things. For example, did you know that paperback books were not widely popularized until the mid-Sixties? Also, did you know that the average American only spends $70 per year on books today? (Maybe I read more than the average American, but I think I probably spend closer to $800 per year on books.)
If not for any other reason, I recommend Boom! because of the saliency reflected in the 2008 Presidential Election. Honestly, by 2010 no one is going to care what Tom Brokaw said two years before, but right now it works for me! Brokaw is able to summarize profiles of many of the key political players and what things they have to offer. Furthermore, Brokaw analyzed the decline of the Democratic Party in the 1960s and the rise of the GOP and it’s ability to exploit the excesses of a countercultural movement that occurred under the governance of a Democratic electorate. Some of the liberals Brokaw interviewed point out that the Republican Party is now in the position that Lyndon B. Johnson was in during 1968, the year that he decided not to run for a second term.
With the 2008 Presidential Campaign well underway, I am excited by the prospect that a democrat may be elected once again. Many of my friends are very much pro-Obama. While I think that Obama may be a good choice, I think he is one election too early in terms of experience. Moreover, I feel that Mrs. Clinton has a great deal of talent and leadership to offer the United States. I am very pleased that Mrs. Clinton won New Hampshire and wish her the best for this election and implementing policies that will tackle domestic concerns more adequately, including the war on poverty, healthcare reform, and investment in education on many levels. (Plus, Bill Clinton has never been better in my book than now. It would be great to see him back in the Oval Office…. entertaining, ha).
January 11th, 2008 at 12:42 am
I am surprised to hear that you are such a supporter of Bill Clinton - as an educator/counselor, I would think you would be appalled at his lack of discretion in using the power of prestige (associated with his position at the time) to turn the head of a young girl (Monica Lewinsky). Granted, she was 21 and a “grown up” - but what young woman would resist the “rush” of being sought out by a President of the U.S.? Their affair was sordid and unseemly. His denial of involvement (”I never had sex with that woman”) was cowardly and deceitful. His lack of respect for his wife, family, and the office of President were pathetic. I, for one, do not look forward to seeing him anywhere near the Oval Office again!
January 11th, 2008 at 8:44 am
It’s true that he should not have had an affair, but he was a great President. The impact that his discretion had on the United States was far less damaging than the series of poor decisions Bush has made.
January 26th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
The difference between Clinton and Bush is simple. Clinton’s immoral acts did not result in the deaths of any US soldiers, and he didn’t ask the taxpayers to fund it.