04/26/2021
Charismatic but flawed figures dominate this vibrant portrait of 1960s radical movements. Salon founder David Talbot (The Devil’s Chessboard ) and his sister, New Yorker scribe Margaret Talbot (The Entertainer ), profile well-known leaders of Vietnam-era liberation groups, including Black Panthers Bobby Seale and Huey Newton, whose strategy of armed confrontation with police devolved into criminality; Heather Booth, founder of the underground abortion services collective Jane; United Farm Workers chief Cesar Chavez, whose tactics of nonviolence, fasting, and boycotts curdled into an authoritarian spiritual cult; Craig Rodwell, who raised the cry of “Gay Power!” at the Stonewall riot; and American Indian Movement activists Dennis Banks and Russell Means, who held off federal agents at the 1973 siege of Wounded Knee. The authors duly delve into the period’s excesses and indulge in a few of their own, speculating, for example, that Beatle John Lennon was assassinated as part of a government conspiracy. Still, their vivid depictions of the era’s mix of revolutionary organizing and heady breakthroughs—at New York’s first Gay Pride Parade, “marchers strode up Sixth Avenue arm in arm, three or four across; some practically danced, spinning around, half delirious, half determined”—make for an exhilarating, inspiring outing. Agent: Sloan Harris, ICM Partners. (June)
In these linked portraits of activists and radicals at a watershed moment in history, David and Margaret Talbot tell a profound story about idealism in action and the rousing, inspiring, often messy ways in which popular movements and charismatic individuals fight injustice and bring about revolutionary transformation. By turns sweeping and intimate, and built on fresh interviews and original reporting, By the Light of Burning Dreams feels like necessary reading in our own tumultuous moment: an urgent reminder that change can happen and a vivid illustration of how it does.” — Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Say Nothing
“An intelligent and sympathetic reappraisal of the political upheavals of the ’60s and’ 70s. . . . An abundance of fresh material gives this book an intergenerational appeal. . . . Through sharp reporting and good storytelling, the authors enliven a journalistic genre that in less skilled hands might have gone flat.” — Kirkus
“If you’ve read either of the Talbot siblings, you know they don’t write anything dry. Simple saviors and canned profiles in courage are not for them. These essays bristle with energy and contention. . . . Whether covering the labor organizing of Cesar Chavez, the gay pride of Craig Rodwell or the celebrity activism of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the Talbots are guided by dogged reporting and an instinct for finding and telling a story. Even if you know these revolutionaries, you’ll find details here to surprise you. They might even make you want to go out and make a difference yourself.” — San Francisco Chronicle
“The timing is perfect for By the Light of Burning Dreams: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Second American Revolution , a fresh, deeply-reported examination of some of the most effective movement organizers to emerge in the 1960s….After a global pandemic dramatically increased already untenable inequity overlapped with the radical reassertion ― in the streets and online ― that America is built on fundamentally false pretenses when it comes to equality, the Talbots provide a memorable blueprint for how individuals can continue the work even when the TV crews move on.” — Scheer Post
“[The Talbots] survey the seismic sociocultural changes that transpired in the U.S. during the 1960s and 1970s—what they call the Second American Revolution—by identifying seven discrete yet often intertwining movements or events of consequence…. The authors clearly admire the courage, political savvy, and sheer physical effort required to create and then sustain such critical movements, but they’re also unsparing in saying that mistakes were made…. As a result, the Talbots have created a coherent narrative of mid-century political activism, from which readers can see the through lines of modern-day success or failure, and proceed from there.” — Booklist , starred review
“By the Light of Burning Dreams crackles with the radical energy of the 1960s and 70s. It’s a shot in the arm of bold idealism, an indispensable companion for today’s revolutionaries that reminds us what can happen if we dare to believe in – and fight for – a better world." — Jessica Bruder, author of Nomadland
“Charismatic but flawed figures dominate this vibrant portrait of 1960s radical movements. . . . An exhilarating, inspiring outing.” — Publishers Weekly
“Wide-ranging yet accessible…. A loving but critical portrait of a generation whose effects are still felt today.” — Library Journal
"A moving chronology of the activism that burned bright in the decades of the ’60s and ’70s. Each movement is written about with a compassionate, yet practical view of their attributes and their shortcomings. The successes elicit joy, the setbacks provoking consternation, but the history provided in this treasure is illuminating and concludes with optimism. A+ History." — Seattle Book Review
"Inspiring.... No hagiographers here; the Talbots point to the failures and imperfections in their characters, making their legacies human and real." — The National Book Review
"David Talbot and Margaret Talbot take us back to that tumultuous time fifty years ago... [and] successively spotlight some of the most compelling personalities of the 1960s and 70s.... It’s a painful story to read because it highlights how sadly incomplete that revolution proved to be. And it brings to mind the ferocity of the Right-Wing reaction that followed later in the 1970s and beyond, setting the stage for the sad state of the American scene today." — Berkleyside
"Did the actions of radicals transform the nation in any fundamental way? Or did they blaze too quickly across the landscape?. ... David Talbot and Margaret Talbot, siblings and veteran journalists, have crafted a book of personal narratives rich with the kinds of details that might help answer such queries.... The book brims with vivid descriptions of how all these characters looked, dressed, got along with one another (or didn’t), and how they came across in public. The Talbots sprinkle in factual nuggets that might surprise even former activists from those years or the historians who write about them (this reviewer belongs to both clusters)." — The New Republic
By the Light of Burning Dreams crackles with the radical energy of the 1960s and 70s. It’s a shot in the arm of bold idealism, an indispensable companion for today’s revolutionaries that reminds us what can happen if we dare to believe in – and fight for – a better world."
"A moving chronology of the activism that burned bright in the decades of the ’60s and ’70s. Each movement is written about with a compassionate, yet practical view of their attributes and their shortcomings. The successes elicit joy, the setbacks provoking consternation, but the history provided in this treasure is illuminating and concludes with optimism. A+ History."
In these linked portraits of activists and radicals at a watershed moment in history, David and Margaret Talbot tell a profound story about idealism in action and the rousing, inspiring, often messy ways in which popular movements and charismatic individuals fight injustice and bring about revolutionary transformation. By turns sweeping and intimate, and built on fresh interviews and original reporting, By the Light of Burning Dreams feels like necessary reading in our own tumultuous moment: an urgent reminder that change can happen and a vivid illustration of how it does.
The timing is perfect for By the Light of Burning Dreams: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Second American Revolution , a fresh, deeply-reported examination of some of the most effective movement organizers to emerge in the 1960s….After a global pandemic dramatically increased already untenable inequity overlapped with the radical reassertion ― in the streets and online ― that America is built on fundamentally false pretenses when it comes to equality, the Talbots provide a memorable blueprint for how individuals can continue the work even when the TV crews move on.”
[The Talbots] survey the seismic sociocultural changes that transpired in the U.S. during the 1960s and 1970s—what they call the Second American Revolution—by identifying seven discrete yet often intertwining movements or events of consequence…. The authors clearly admire the courage, political savvy, and sheer physical effort required to create and then sustain such critical movements, but they’re also unsparing in saying that mistakes were made…. As a result, the Talbots have created a coherent narrative of mid-century political activism, from which readers can see the through lines of modern-day success or failure, and proceed from there.”
"Inspiring.... No hagiographers here; the Talbots point to the failures and imperfections in their characters, making their legacies human and real."
If you’ve read either of the Talbot siblings, you know they don’t write anything dry. Simple saviors and canned profiles in courage are not for them. These essays bristle with energy and contention. . . . Whether covering the labor organizing of Cesar Chavez, the gay pride of Craig Rodwell or the celebrity activism of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the Talbots are guided by dogged reporting and an instinct for finding and telling a story. Even if you know these revolutionaries, you’ll find details here to surprise you. They might even make you want to go out and make a difference yourself.
If you’ve read either of the Talbot siblings, you know they don’t write anything dry. Simple saviors and canned profiles in courage are not for them. These essays bristle with energy and contention. . . . Whether covering the labor organizing of Cesar Chavez, the gay pride of Craig Rodwell or the celebrity activism of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the Talbots are guided by dogged reporting and an instinct for finding and telling a story. Even if you know these revolutionaries, you’ll find details here to surprise you. They might even make you want to go out and make a difference yourself.
"Did the actions of radicals transform the nation in any fundamental way? Or did they blaze too quickly across the landscape?. ... David Talbot and Margaret Talbot, siblings and veteran journalists, have crafted a book of personal narratives rich with the kinds of details that might help answer such queries.... The book brims with vivid descriptions of how all these characters looked, dressed, got along with one another (or didn’t), and how they came across in public. The Talbots sprinkle in factual nuggets that might surprise even former activists from those years or the historians who write about them (this reviewer belongs to both clusters)."
"David Talbot and Margaret Talbot take us back to that tumultuous time fifty years ago... [and] successively spotlight some of the most compelling personalities of the 1960s and 70s.... It’s a painful story to read because it highlights how sadly incomplete that revolution proved to be. And it brings to mind the ferocity of the Right-Wing reaction that followed later in the 1970s and beyond, setting the stage for the sad state of the American scene today."
This year’s best spy thriller isn’t fiction—it’s history. . . . By the time The Devil’s Chessboard eventually climaxes with the events that unfolded in Dallas in 1963, Talbot’s argument that Dulles had both the power and temperament to execute such a plot is more than believable.
Salon on The Devil's Chessboard
07/01/2021
The U.S. civil rights movement of the early 1960s heralded the beginning of a new era, this book argues. Movements inspired by the work of Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders sprang up across the United States to demand that the country provide equality for all. Journalists David Talbot (The Devil's Chessboard ) and Margaret Talbot (The Entertainer ) focus their book on charismatic, often flawed activist leaders of the U.S. anti-war movement, Black power movement, United Farm Workers Union, American Indian Movement, Pride and liberation marches, and women's liberation movement, as well as celebrity activists John Lennon and Yoko Ono. These movements were united in their opposition to the Vietnam War, and many activists routinely worked on several different causes and across movements, which the Talbots (a brother-sister writing team) argue created a network of radicals who applied the lessons they learned in one movement to their other causes. Based on numerous interviews with participants and activists, this is a loving but critical portrait of a generation whose effects are still felt today. VERDICT The Talbots cover a lot of ground in this wide-ranging yet accessible work. Readers interested in 1960s counterculture and activism will enjoy this history, especially when it discusses less written-about leaders.—Chad E. Statler, Westlake Porter P.L., Westlake, OH
Soneela Nankani and Leon Nixon narrate alternating chapters in this deep-dive examination of American radical political movements of the 1960s and ‘70s. The audiobook focuses on activists such as Bobby Seale (Black Panthers), Heather Booth (abortion rights), Jane Fonda (anti-war), Cesar Chavez (labor rights), Craig Rodwell (gay pride), Russell Means (Native American rights), and others. Because both narrators approach the material with reverence and gravitas, the chapters don't sound like history or journalism but like oral traditions that are so important they need to be passed down to the next generation. Both Nankani and Nixon so smoothly transition from the third-person narration to character voices that those voices take on the tone of clips from a documentary. A.R.F. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Soneela Nankani and Leon Nixon narrate alternating chapters in this deep-dive examination of American radical political movements of the 1960s and ‘70s. The audiobook focuses on activists such as Bobby Seale (Black Panthers), Heather Booth (abortion rights), Jane Fonda (anti-war), Cesar Chavez (labor rights), Craig Rodwell (gay pride), Russell Means (Native American rights), and others. Because both narrators approach the material with reverence and gravitas, the chapters don't sound like history or journalism but like oral traditions that are so important they need to be passed down to the next generation. Both Nankani and Nixon so smoothly transition from the third-person narration to character voices that those voices take on the tone of clips from a documentary. A.R.F. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
2021-03-20Salon founder David Talbot and New Yorker writer Margaret Talbot offer admiring portraits of radical activists who sparked enduring social changes.
Through sharp reporting and good storytelling, the authors enliven a journalistic genre that in less skilled hands might have gone flat: the “Where are they now?” story. They devote a chapter to each of seven flashpoints of the 1960s and ’70s that created “the second American Revolution.” These include Black Power, gay pride, the anti-war movement, the siege of Wounded Knee, the battle for abortion rights, the rise of the United Farm Workers, and the “celebrity activism” embodied by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The authors show how and why each movement unfolded, focusing on key figures like Bobby Seale and Dolores Huerta and describing their subjects’ early activism as well as their later lives. They aim partly to enlighten students, such as those who, a professor lamented, know the Panthers “only by their cool regalia…the black leather coats, the berets, the dark glasses.” But an abundance of fresh material gives this book an intergenerational appeal. In their portrait of the feminist abortion clinic the Jane Collective, the authors note that before Roe v. Wade , one doctor who did abortions took startling safety precautions: “An assistant picked the women up on street corners, blindfolded them, and brought them to undisclosed locations.” The authors also vividly portray events such as Cesar Chavez’s trailblazing efforts to organize grape pickers, Craig Rodwell’s quest to open America’s first gay and lesbian bookstore, and the Ojibwe leader Dennis Banks’ bold escape from Wounded Knee as federal officials swept up Native resisters. Some readers may fault a few of the choices—particularly that of Lennon rather than Bob Dylan as the main representative of “protest songs”—but even the dissenters may appreciate that the authors avoid Allan Bloom–style crankiness in recalling the ’60s and evoke the ’70s without using the word disco .
An intelligent and sympathetic reappraisal of the political upheavals of the ’60s and ’70s.