The 60s: The Story of a Decade

The 60s: The Story of a Decade is a compilation of New Yorker magazine articles, poems, and fiction pieces. It is a special compilation, chosen carefully, to highlight the most important pieces of the 60s. For example, Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood is in the compilation, as well as Calvin Trillin’s piece on integration in universities. The compilation even includes a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer. Topics include the Vietnam War and civil rights but also topics as diverse as Nigerian independence and a movie review for 2001: A Space Odyssey.

This reader, a history lecturer, was overwhelmed by the sheer number of pieces in the volume. There is much to choose from and so much history to explore. There is some great journalism included, as well as literary art that highlights the feelings and concerns of the era. A reader can enjoy a section at a time and come back to it later, as each individual piece can be read separately. I found it at times thought-provoking, upsetting, or enlightening, but always interesting.