Rebel: A Personal History of the 1960s

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Summary: Captivating Biography and History from an American Hero.
Review: Of all the many books and films that have attempted to probe the zeitgeist of the 1960's and particularly the heady progressive activism of that very special era in our American experience, few can approach this captivating, personal narrative from Tom Hayden. Hayden, who for over forty years has consistently and dependably been in the vanguard of our nation's struggles for civil rights and social, economic and environmental justice, now finally tells his story. It is a great story. And more than anything, it is an American story.

Don't be surprised if you find yourself immediately bonding with the author and willingly traveling back in time with him to his days as one of the founders of the Students for a Democratic Society, to his period as a Freedom Rider in the Deep South, to his inspiring work on the now famous Port Huron Statement, to his activism for Civil Rights in Newark, to his leadership in the protests in 1968 at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and of course, to his historical role in the national movement to end the war in Vietnam.

Typical of Hayden and the man that he is, he tells his story in the most straightforward manner and with humility. There is also pain in these pages as we witness first hand how a society blinded in cultural and political intransigence can and will strike out with cruelty and with all its vested power at those who dare question or challenge the ruling class' authority and privilege attempting to "set an example" and most of all, to dampen hope and spirit. Hayden gracefully spotlights and trumpets those who refused to give up, give in or ever sell out even as defeat seemed to swallow them whole.

Journey with a young Tom Hayden clandestinely to Vietnam where he participates in successfully negotiating the release of American soldiers held as prisoners there while outfoxing the U.S. government to do so at the risk of his own life. Trek back to a white-run Newark in the 1960's where corruption reigned at the highest levels of the city just as the proud stirrings of its black majority there rose against it. Learn of Hayden's heartbreaking last days with Robert Kennedy in 1968 and of his isolation and near imprisonment for his dogged activism against the government's idiotic and failed war in Vietnam.

This is a book that has been a long time in coming. Best of all, it's Tom Hayden with his sharp intellect and respected communication skills telling the story as only he could.