Humanities & Classics 3270
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Sixties Forum
Humanities & Classics 3270 |
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We have read some really wonderful works from the sixties this quarter. I wouldd like to recommend some fabulous books to those of you who love to read. ALl of these works were written or published in the 60s. The sixties evoked incredible images and ideas in literature within the United States and all over the world, and I want to share my love of these books with you. We have read many great works from the United States already, but I thought that I would add a few to the list of "must read" books.
In 1962 Rachel Carson's "Silent Springs" caused a great stir among the scientific and environmental world. Carson sounded a great warning against damaging the earth's environment and ecology with chemicals and industrial development. It is a fabulous book and created serious environmental negotiations and awareness world-wide. She won the Nobel Prize.
In 1962 another great work came out. This was Michael Harrington's expose
titled "The Other America." Harrington was a social critic and he exposes a "culture of poverty" in the post-war era. He ifluenced president Kennedy and lead him to a "plan of attack."
In 1962 William Faulkner's last novel was published, this was "The Reivers." He died only a few months after its publication. As always, Faulkner deals with racial predudice in the south in Mississippi. Faulkner won the Nobel Prize in Fiction in 1949.
In 1963 Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" was first published. This book ignited a great movement in the culture of the 60s. Betty Friedan confronts issues that were at the hart of problems that women faced in the job market and at home. Many of these issues are still at the heart of conflict in the American women's life.
In 1969 one of my favorite books was first published. This was John Fowles "The French Lieutenant's Woman." This novel is full of philosophical and literary references. If you are a Philosophy major or and English major, this is a "must read." The book mainly focuses on Darwin and Marx through an amazing love story. I know its hard to believe, but it works beautifully. It is a completely captivating book.
In 1960,1962, and 1964 Edna O'Brien's "Country Girls" were published. You can now buy them as a trilogy. These are coming-of-age stories about life outside of the United States. O'Brian was Irish born and now lives in London.
In the sixties an amazing literary revolution was taking place in Moscow and St.Petersberg(then Leningrad). Krushchev, the head of the communist party, was not a Stalin fan. He wanted to expose Stalin's cruelty and the lives of the peasantry during the Stalin reign. This exploded in Krushchev's face. The whole world was watching what was being published. Three of the greatest novels in Russian literature were published in the 1960s. Pasternak's "Dr. Zhivago" was smuggled out of moscow and published first by an Italian Press. Pasternak won the Nobel prize, but was told that if he accepted it, his Russian citizenship would be taken away. "Dr. Zhivago" was extremely controvertial.
In the early 1960s, Krushchev called for accounts of life in soviet prison camps(only under Stalin). He was deeply moved by the story, "One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich." This is the first time that prison camps were even mentioned in literature. Everyone who could read in the U.S.S.R read this book. Solzhenitsyn(the author) was instantly famous. He kept writing and turned out to be "anti-soviet and anti-communist." His citizenship was taked away and he moved to the United States. His only love was for Russia and Russian people, he did not particularily like us! Other great books by him are "Cancer Ward" and "First Circle."
Mikhail Bulgakov wrote "The Master and Margarita" for over ten years. THis book was probably the single most anti-soviet book ever published. The two major themes are religion and hypocracy in the soviet socialist republic. The Devil marches into Moscow to build his "Temple of Truth" in a place where God and Jesus do not occupy the souls its citizens. This is an incredible book and I hope that I have inspired you to read it. Thanks,
Erin