Beyond the barricades : the sixties generation grows up /

What has become of the youthful antiestablishment radicals of the Vietnam and civil rights era? Have they by now, as is commonly believed, accepted the more conservative values of early middle age? By no means, according to Beyond the Barricades, a time study of more than 30 activists and nonactivists who attended the University of California at Santa Barbara beginning in the late 1960s. In their study, authors Whalen and Flacks have concluded that the activists, for the most part, have remained politically engaged and committed to altering the social order. Both professors of sociology, they admit that their sample is limited and make no exaggerated claims for their findings. Moreover, they candidly avow their sympathy for the activists, although some readers will still be put off by such charged phrases as "elite intransigence" and "fascistic mobilization" that refer to the much reviled Establishment of the 1960s. Offering notes and a bibliography, this book contributes to an ongoing debate over the meaning and legacy of that stormy period in the nation's history. College, university, and public libraries. -R. Muccigrosso, Brooklyn College, CUNY

What has become of the radical students of the '60s? Have they, as many suppose, outgrown their youthful militancy and embraced establishment values? Or does the flame of revolution burn still, albeit dimmed by age? Whalen (Univ. of Oregon) and Flacks (Univ. of California at Santa Barbara), both sociologists, search for answers in this methodologically innovative, jargon-free study. Drawing on life-history data gathered between 1979 and 1988 from a small sample of former UCSB students, the authors conclude that '60s activists have essentially remained true to the ``core values and perspectives'' of the counter-culture. The book is a nice complement to other reminiscences, such as the Morrisons' From Camelot to Kent State ( LJ 11/1/87).-- Kenneth F. Kister, Poynter Inst. for Media Studies, St. Petersburg, Fla. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Sociology professors Whalen (Univ. of Oregon) and Flacks (Univ of Cal. at Santa Barbara; Youth and Social Change and Making History: The American Left and the American Mind--not reviewed) trace the fate of Sixties activism by tracking 18 radical student activists through 1988. In 1979, Whalen, then a grad student in sociology, interviewed 11 former members of the Radical Union at the Univ. of California at Santa Barbara--each of them indicted in 1970 for burning the Bank of America during a much publicized student riot. Intrigued by the psychological changes these former radicals had gone through, Whalen teamed up with Flacks to chronicle the lasting impact of Sixties activism. Ultimately interviewing 18 Radical Union members--compared with a control group of conservative or apolitical fraternity and sorority members--the sociologists describe how the fiery idealism of the Sixties transformed individual lives. By 1979, all the former activists were still experiencing personal turmoil and disillusionment--the aftershocks of the collapse of the movement. By 1984, contrary to the popular image of the radical-turned-yuppie, many of them had come to live by a kind of code: None worked for defense contractors or multinational corporations; none supported Reagan-era policies or worked at high-paying jobs that manipulated people (one woman worked in advertising but justified it by claiming she worked on the morally neutral production side). By 1988, most of the former radicals had come to live out their values privately--e.g., a radical who went to medical school came to oversee a statewide health and safety program--while only a few had opted for retreat from society, and none had ""sold out."" Whalen and Flacks are true Sixties sociologists--hip white knights who ride out to slay the ideal-crushing dragon of ""The Big Chill."" In all, a heart-on-the sleeve, hopeful study that should appeal to social psychologists and Sixties sympathizers. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.