1959: The Year Everything Changed (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
The premise of this book is that all the changes for the 1960s were teed up in 1959. (I guess they're playing off the whole 1491 idea?) It's interesting when he's talking about changes in science, world affairs, politics, racial strife, etc. He spends waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much time talking about jazz, which is stupid, and other world-changing literature of the day. Some of that is cool, but he utterly fails to mention the Twilight Zone, which debuted in 59. (Boo.) Still, interesting stuff - reading it made me want to watch season 1 of Mad Men again. I suppose every year changed everything if you look at it a certain way. Fred Kaplan makes a convincing argument for 1959--sputnik, voting rights, Allen Ginsburg, jazz, stand-up comedy. You can see where the 1960s began in this year. Kaplan's writing comes most to life when he is describing jazz musicians...Miles Davis finding a new way; Ornette Coleman finding his own. These sections alone make it worth reading.
What do You think about 1959: The Year Everything Changed (2009)?
The year I graduated from college...and everything changed!
—Bree
can't get into it There is so much foreign to me.
—ambernicole555
