Library Book Discussions Will Take On The 60s

By Jan Howard

Return to the 1960s, a revolutionary and influential era in American history, through a book discussion sponsored by the Friends of the Library.

Retired teachers Gordon Williams and Liz Arneth will lead a book discussion, “Relive the 60s – A Transformation of American Values,” beginning March 7 at 7 pm in the Quiet Study Room of the Cyrenius H. Booth Library on Main Street.

It will feature four books that are representative of major movements during the 1960s.

Why the 60s?

“The 1960s was a revolutionary period when a lot was going on,” Ms Arneth said.

“Things were exploding in the 60s,” Mr Williams said. “You would not get the diversity from the 50s, which were very much like the 1940s, except the war was over.”

The books reflect events that shaped the decade and influenced the future of the country, such as the space race, civil rights, and the Vietnam War, which brought about a transformation in American values.

“These books are harder to read and longer than those in the mystery series,” Mr Williams said. “That’s why we give them three weeks to read them. I hope people will have read a good part of them in time for the discussion.”

The first book to be discussed on March 7 will be The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe. It will be followed by the Autobiography of Malcom X on March 28; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey on April 18; and The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien on May 9.

“I’ve read all of them, and like them all,” Mr Williams said.

“The books are reflective of the 60s. They look at what the author says about the time period,” Ms Arneth said. “They all go in different directions.”

“They show how they deal with the injustices of the world,” Mr Williams said.

Language changed drastically in the 1960s, Ms Arneth said. “It was a time of sexual and political revolution,” which included the youth and feminist movements.

 “Vietnam and drugs were major things in the 60s,” she said.

The role of women also was changing, she added, brought about by the feminist movement led by women such as Gloria Steinem and the availability of the pill.

There were also changes taking place in the media and its coverage of people and events.

“It was such an exciting time,” Mr Williams said.

“Vietnam haunts us,” he said. It was the first war that people at home experienced through television.

Mr Williams and Ms Arneth are looking forward to the sharing of ideas with other members of the community. “We will have general questions about the books, but the discussion will be open ended,” Mr Williams said.

“We expect them to do more talking than we do,” Ms Arneth added.

The Right Stuff, Mr Williams said, is about the beginning of space exploration, the selection of the first seven astronauts, and heroism.

It is also about the role of the media in creating heroic people, Ms Arneth said.

She talked about the dangers in the early space flights and the courage of the astronauts in the Mercury program. “What did it take for them to get into those capsules?”

 She said her students did not seem to get very excited about today’s Shuttle flights. “They don’t think about the danger, and it’s still very dangerous,” she said.

  The Right Stuff is also about politics, she said, and the way the astronauts were exploited. “The politicians were using their heroic images to obtain funding for the space program.”

The Autobiography of Malcom X is very powerful, Ms Arneth said, and deals with his life as his philosophy changes to one of a broader vision. “Once his message was to hate whites. That was in the process of changing at the time of his assassination,” she said. “It’s an intensely personal story.”

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a satire about events in a mental institution that center on a struggle for power. Mr Williams said, “It’s good satire. It’s dark humor, but you can’t help laughing. It’s a critique of modern life.”

 “The main character is in a mental institution instead of jail,” Ms Arneth said. “He becomes the rebel of the place. It’s about what they do to him.”

The Things They Carried is a collection of interrelated stories about a single platoon during the Vietnam War. It is about all they had to carry, from personal needs and weaponry to grief, terror, love and emotional memories.

 “It is such a good book,” Mr Williams said, one which he always assigned in his American Studies classes.

“They are all good books, and it’s a good time period,” Ms Arneth said.

Mr Williams taught history and humanities at Trumbull High School, and Ms Arneth taught English at Ridgefield High.

Mrs Arneth graduated from Queens College of the University of New York with a bachelor of arts degree in English literature and a master’s in education with a specialty in English. A teacher for 20 years, she also earned a sixth year in administration.

Mr Williams taught for 39 years. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver and his master of arts and sixth year from Wesleyan.

The book discussion programs are free and open to the general public. Refreshments will be served.

Sign up is at the circulation desk on the second floor of the library. Multiple copies of the books are available.