cover image Chicago '68

Chicago '68

David Farber. University of Chicago Press, $48 (334pp) ISBN 978-0-226-23800-5

For Yippie activists led by Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, police clubbing of demonstrators outside the 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention was a sign that revolution was at hand. To Mayor Richard Daley, street theater represented a direct threat to his political machine, while the antiwar movement used Chicago as a platform to protest U.S. involvement in Vietnam and racism. This fast-paced chronicle by a professor of history at the University of Hawaii illuminates the hopes and self-righteousness of both protestors and protectors of the social order. The Yippies tried to interject hippie culture into the politics of participatory democracy, but, argues Farber, they fell back on slogans and charismatic leadership. His thoughtful narrative captures the energy and optimism of the '60s, and it includes revealing cameos of Paul Krassner, Ed Sanders, Dave Dellinger, Tom Hayden and other familiar figures. Photos not seen by PW. (March)