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Crash Course of the 1960s with John Green! 

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Crash Course of the 1960s with John Green! 

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The 1960s in America: Crash Course US History #40

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The Cold War: Crash Course US History #37

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Greatest Hits Of The 60’s Best Of 60s Songs

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It's a miracle that any of us survived childhood in the 1960s!

It's pretty much a miracle that any of us survived childhood in the 1960s! Parents exposed kids to secondhand smoke and let them run wild in the streets. Sugar was in everything and hazards lurked everywhere. Given today's hands-on style of parenting, it's hard to believe some of the things that were "normal" for kids in the '60s.

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27 Things '60s Kids Did That Would Make You Scream Today

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Watch this! A great overview of the 1960s.

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Watch this! A great overview of the 1960s.

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Check out the popular styles of the 60's. 

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Check out the popular styles of the 60's. 

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Fashion in the 1960s became progressively more casual across all genders and ages. Womenswear followed three broad trends: a continuation of the previous decade's ladylike elegance, the youthful styles of Mary Quant and the Space Age influence, and the late 1960s "hippie" style. Menswear saw an increasing amount of color and pattern, military influence, and new fashion icons in the form of rock stars. Children's wear saw less change, but also became more casual and bright in color and pattern.

Broadly categorized, there were three main trends in 1960s womenswear: 1) the lady-like elegance inherited from the previous decade seen on the likes of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, 2) the fun, youthful designs popularized by Swinging London, and 3) the Eastern-influenced hippie styles of the late 1960s. Along with these diverse styles, there came a shift in the way that women shopped and for whom the styles were created.

In the early years of the decade, fashion continued along the lines of the 1950s. Skirt suits and coordinating accessories were emphasized as one decade transitioned into the next. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy epitomized this look during her husband's presidential campaign and short presidency. She was admired around the world for her put-together, lady-like look consisting of boxy skirt-suits like the Givenchy suit in figure 1 and navy suit in figure 2, sheath and A-line dresses (Fig. 3), and luxurious coats-all accessorized with white gloves, pearls, and a matching hat. This look was being produced by the likes of Hubert de Givenchy and Cristóbal Balenciaga (Fig. 4), but as the decade progressed, it became clear that the momentum was towards a new kind of designer in the 1960s.

The cultural phenomenon termed Swinging London began in 1955 but reached its zenith in the early- to mid-1960s. It was a phenomenon that focused on youth, spotlighting music and fashion. It brought us The Beatles and the miniskirt, Twiggy (Fig. 9) and The Who. The designer who led the way in the "youthquake" was Mary Quant who opened her first shop, Bazaar, on the King's Road in Chelsea, London in 1955. Quant's simple, colorful designs appealed to teenagers and young people who had more disposable income than any generation before. It differed from the stuffy looks of the older generation and appealed to young women who embraced the child-like styles Quant produced (Fig. 7). Fashion historian James Laver writes of Quant in Costume and Fashion: A Concise History,

"Rejecting the constraints of seasonal shows, she produced as many as twenty-eight collections during her early years, creating simple, practical, often mix n'match designs which had an element of classlessness perfectly suited to the mood of the sixties" (261-262).

Bazaar was in the new boutique style, a revolutionary new way to shop that differed from the traditional designer atelier and the department store. Besides the accessibility of the clothes in the shop, boutiques also created a frenetic atmosphere, as seen in figure 5. In her book The Lost Art of Dress, Linda Przybyszewski writes, "Boutiques were groovy places where modern music played and young owners and customers collaborated on new looks that came only in small sizes" (202).

One of the most revolutionary designs attributed to Quant was the miniskirt and minidress (Fig. 6). Eschewing the prim below-the-knee skirts of the late 1950s and early 1960s, by the mid-sixties, young women were wearing skirts that fell at the upper thigh. Like the short skirts of the 1920s, the miniskirt shocked but was also a highly popular look for young women. Miniskirts and minidresses were adopted by Parisian designers as Quant and her contemporaries continued to gain popularity.

Along with the miniskirt came a craze for the playful, innovative use of new materials and a focus on scientific progress. Newly developed materials such as acrylics, polyesters, and shiny PVC were used in women's clothing while designers were inspired by pop art and space, like the miniskirt in figure 10 and the dress in figure 11. Pierre Cardin and André Courrèges debuted space-inspired designs in shades of white and silver. Laver writes, "Courrèges' Spring/Summer 1964 'Space Age' collection featured 'astronaut' hats and goggles, white and silver PVC 'moon girl' loon trousers, catsuits and white patent or kid leather, mid-calf-length boots" (264, Fig. 8). Sheath and A-line minidresses, both without defined waists, were popular silhouettes. These modern designs dominated the mid-sixties as fashion moved toward a more playful and freeing look.

While the miniskirt reached its height mid-decade, by the late 1960s, a new style and culture was emerging. Skirts dipped back to mid-calf and by 1969, the full-length maxi-skirt had emerged (Fig. 12). This came with the move towards the "hippie" aesthetic. Elizabeth Wilson writes in Gerta Buxbaum's Icons of Fashion: The Twentieth Century, "Between 1965 and 1967, the uncluttered, futuristic design of André Courrèges and Mary Quant - featuring short skirts, childish pinafores, and boxy shapes - were superseded by a return to the styles of Art Nouveau, Hollywood, and William Morris" (98). Suede, headbands, kaftans, Afghan coats, beads and other non-Western elements of adornment were embraced as were flowing skirts and secondhand clothing (Laver 267-268). Janis Joplin, seen in figure 13, embraced this style in the late 1960s.

Both the "Mod" movement, to which Quant contributed, and the hippie movement were part of a new model of "street style" in which fashion is disseminated from the streets up to the designers rather than vice versa. Jane Mulvagh writes in Icons of Fashion, "1962 to 1968 were crucial years in which the allure and originality of street style challenged, and finally broke, the hegemony of high fashion" (86). The trajectory of fashion in the 1960s saw three very diverse overarching styles but also a shift from a designer-centric fashion ecosystem to one where the consumer was at the center of creation.

An enduring icon of the 1950s and '60s, movie star Audrey Hepburn embraced the progression of sixties fashion up to the hippie aesthetic of the last part of the decade. Having firmly established herself as a leading lady in 1950s films like Roman Holiday, Sabrina, and Funny Face, Hepburn's influence continued into the sixties.

In 1961, she starred as Holly Golightly in one of her most iconic films, Breakfast at Tiffany's (Fig. 14). In this film, like so many others, Hubert de Givenchy designed the costumes, including the iconic black dress from the opening scene (Fig. 17). Hepburn and Givenchy worked together both on- and off-screen to create a simple, but stylish wardrobe that was easily copied by women of all means.

In the early 1960s, Hepburn wore feminine, Jackie Kennedy-esque skirt suits. Like the First Lady, she paired these suits with the requisite accessories: gloves and hat, like the green Givenchy suit worn in Paris When It Sizzles in 1962 (Fig. 18). The clothes she wore in 1963's Charade would not have looked out of place on Kennedy but also cut a stylish figure as she gallivanted through Paris (Fig. 15). As the decade progressed, so did her fashion. In the mid-sixties, Hepburn began to wear more "Mod" styles with bright colors and minidresses working their way into her wardrobe. In the 1966 film How to Steal a Million, she sported white-rimmed sunglasses à la Space Age styles and a stylish bob hairstyle accented by dark eyeliner to give her the popular doe-eyed look of the period (Fig. 16).

Though she would remain admired for her fashion for the rest of her life, by 1969, when the fashion world had started to turn to Eastern influences and longer skirts, Hepburn married Andrea Dotti in a pink minidress (Fig. 19). Looking happy, she represented the part of the population, including couture designers like Givenchy, who had not yet embraced the new style.

Just as womenswear became more casual and colorful throughout the 1960s, so too did menswear. While menswear began moving towards a more casual style in the 1950s, the frenetic energy of Swinging London found its way with bright prints and colors for men. As there had not been very much movement in men's fashion for over a hundred years, the change was striking. The V&A writes,

"Perhaps the most remarkable development in 1960s dress was the dramatic change in menswear. For the past 150 years, clothing for men had been tailor-made, and plain and sombre in appearance. Now, colourful new elements were introduced, such as the collarless jacket, worn with slim-fitting trousers and boots" (History of Fashion 1900-1970).

Where the mid- to late-1950s saw a rise in the popularity of Italian style suits with narrow striped ties, menswear gradually incorporated brighter colors and patterns, and ties began to widen again as the decade progressed. The difference between the conventional suit seen in 1963 (Fig. 20) and those designed by Cardin (Figs. 22-24) and worn by George Harrison (Fig. 21) is striking.

By the mid-1960s, even the suit itself was seeing changes. Brightly striped or patterned suits were worn by bold young men, while even the trousers and jacket did not escape from new styling. The V&A writes,

"As the 1960s gathered pace, the standard template for a man's suit began to accommodate subtly daring new elements: the collarless jacket (a look popularised by The Beatles in 1963, the year they launched their first album) and slim-fitting trousers, matched with heeled boots rather than shoes" (The Peacock Revolution: 1960s Menswear).

As mentioned, even who was inspiring men's style was changing: where movie stars had been the primary style icons since the 1930s, rock stars such as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Mick Jagger, among others, became a primary influence on men's fashion.

From the mid-1960s, men's fashion was influenced by military elements, with many of the rock influences contributing to its popularity. Mick Jagger (Fig. 26) and Jimi Hendrix (Fig. 25) both sported military jackets during performances, while The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band showed the band wearing neon versions of the styles (Buxbaum 100). Partly thanks to this style, army-and-navy surplus clothing stores and secondhand stores became popular in the late 1960s. Like womenswear, menswear also saw an influence from space as Pierre Cardin designed futuristic clothing for men, too. In Swinging Sixties, Jenny Lister writes,

"His 'Cosmos' collection of 1966/7 was too extreme to enter the mainstream, but elements of the look such as turtle-neck sweaters, and zipped tunics in bonded jersey, were taken up and worn with more accessible styles" (34).

You can see some of these elements in the green suit from 1960 (Fig. 22) and the space-inspired suit from 1965 (Fig. 24). By 1968, Cardin's suits had returned to a more conventional look, though the jacket still had a bold pattern (Fig. 24).

Like women's fashion, menswear turned to Eastern influences and secondhand shopping in the late 1960s. Rejecting the consumerism and synthetic materials of the earlier part of the decade, men began to wear vintage clothes, especially those from the 1930s and 1940s. This meant that men's suits began to widen again, as they had in the thirties and forties. George Harrison was an early adopter of the style and the boldly patterned suit jacket from boutique shop Granny Takes a Trip he wore in the mid-sixties foreshadows the style to come (Fig. 21). Tie-dye, loose-fitting shirts, and velvet vests were all a part of the men's hippie aesthetic in the later part of the 1960s while color continued to remain front and center. As the 1960s moved into the 1970s, flared trousers, jeans, and long hair were all widespread men's styles.

Children's clothing in the 1960s saw less change than their adult counterparts. While women's and men's fashion were changing quickly and radically, children's fashion changed at a much slower, subtler pace. Both boys' and girls' fashion continued along the same lines in the early sixties, but they did wear clothes made from the new synthetic materials which were easier to care for.

Girls continued to wear dresses with defined waists and full skirts at the beginning of the decade, like those seen in the 1962 Good Housekeeping feature (Fig. 28). Mary-janes, white ankle socks, and peter pan collars all continued to be popular aspects of young girl's clothing, and girls were sometimes even still required to wear white gloves for special occasions. As the decade progressed, however, girls' fashion slowly started to become more casual. Bright colors, bold patterns such as plaids and bright florals, and oversized bows became popular, like the fun styles featured in the McCall's patterns (Fig. 27). New silhouettes such as the A-line, dropped waist, and babydoll began to replace the nipped-in waist of earlier in the decade (Fig. 29). As styles became more casual, it became more acceptable for young girls to wear pedal pushers, shorts, and trousers while playing.

One of the areas where girls did follow the trends of adults was in accessories. Young girls could be seen wearing the same brightly colored and patterned tights that young women wore with their miniskirts. Others might wear the shiny white go-go boots that went along with the Space Age fashions. In some ways, many of the adult styles actually took after young girl's fashion rather than the other way around.

Boy's fashion saw the popularity of denim and plaid throughout the decade. In the early 1960s, cuffed jeans and corduroy pants were favorites paired with tucked in polo shirts and athletic jackets or blazers. As the decade progressed, the color and pattern that was seen in men's clothing began to slowly creep into young boy's fashion (Fig. 30). Striped and plaid blazers were popular formal options, while turtlenecks, a popular style among men, and brighter colors such as red, yellow, and orange were worn in the mid-sixties. Neither girl's nor boy's fashion saw a strong influence from hippie fashion, although some boys began to wear bell-bottom jeans in the later part of the decade.

References:

Breward, Christopher, David Gilbert and Jenny Lister. Swinging Sixties: Fashion in London and Beyond 1955-1970. London: V&A Publications, 2006. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/552142953.

Brown Jones, Bonny. "Fashion for Children in the 1960s." Our Everyday Life, January 10, 2019. Accessed June 27, 2019. https://oureverydaylife.com/fashion-for-children-in-the-1960s-12487774.html.

Buxbaum, Gerda. Icons of Fashion: The 20thCentury. Munich: Prestel Verlag, 2005. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/773599428.

Ewing, Elizabeth. History of 20th-Century Fashion. 4th ed. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd, 2001. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/456545252.

Moseley, Rachel. "Audrey Hepburn - Everybody's Dream Girl." The Observer, March 7, 2004. Accessed June 27, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/mar/07/highereducation.gender.

Olivier, Lucy. "Jackie Kennedy - A True Fashion Icon." The Telegraph, January 6, 2017. Accessed June 24, 2019. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/jackie/true-fashion-icon-jackie-kennedy/.

The People History. "Vintage 1960s Children's Fashion Clothes." Accessed June 27, 2019. http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1960skidsfashion.html.

Przybyszewski, Linda. The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Once Made America Stylish. New York: Basic Books, 2014. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1023179396.

Stratford, SJ. "1960s Clothes for Girls." Love to Know. Accessed June 27, 2019. https://childrens-clothing.lovetoknow.com/1960s-clothing-girls.

Victoria and Albert Museum. "An Introduction to 1960s Fashion." Accessed June 24, 2019. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/an-introduction-to-1960s-fashion.

Victoria and Albert Museum. "History of Fashion 1900 - 1970." Accessed June 24, 2019. http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/h/history-of-fashion-1900-1970/.

Victoria and Albert Museum. "Introduction to 20th-Century Fashion." Accessed June 24, 2019. http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/i/introduction-to-20th-century-fashion/.

Victoria and Albert Museum. "The Peacock Revolution: 1960s Menswear." Accessed June 24, 2019. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-peacock-revolution-1960s-menswear.

Events:

1961 - John F. Kennedy becomes president. His wife, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, soon becomes a fashion icon. Fur coats are much sought after because they are seen as a status symbol. Movements in the following decades protest vigorously against the wearing of fur.

1962 - The Sidney Janis Gallery in New York exhibits works by contemporary American pop artists and the "Nouveau Realisme" movement in a groundbreaking show called the "International Exhibition of the New Realists."

1963 - The Beatles make their first national TV appearance. Their identical haircuts became a popular look among young men on both sides of the Atlantic.

1964 - Young designers, including Mary Quant and Andre Courreges, introduce the miniskirt and minidress.
Maija Isola designs the iconic Unikko (poppy) print for Finnish fashion firm Marimekko.
The first Biba store, the inspiration of designer Barbara Hulanicki, opens in London, selling young, creative styles at budget prices.

1965 - Yves Saint Laurent's Mondrian- inspired color blocks sweeps through the international fashion world.
Young fashion designers, including Foale and Tuffin and Mary Quant, go on the British "Youthquake" tours to the US arranged by the Puritan Fashion Corporation and J.C.Penney in New York.

1966 - By early 1966 the waistline disappears, and designers like Norman Norell showcase loose-fitting dresses with loose sleeves. Twiggy, the "Face of 66" and one of the world's first supermodels, shoots to fame. Jewelry designer Paco Rabanne causes a sensation when he launches his linked chain and plastic paillettes and minidresses in Paris.

1967 - American fashion designer Geoffrey Beene presents his sequined football jersey evening gowns, following his ball gowns in gray flannel and wool jersey shown the previous year.

1968 - The rock musical Hair opens on Broadway and in London's West End, making Marsha Hunt a star and proclaiming "black is beautiful."The first Ossie Clark for Radley collection is shown at Chelsea Town Hall.

1969 - The Woodstock festival takes place in New York state, and is seen as a defining moment of the "hippie era" and the counterculture of the 1960s. The US lands the first men on the Moon, after space exploration earlier in the decade, which inspires space-age fashion looks.

Resources for Fashion History Research

To discover primary/period sources, explore the categories below.
Have a primary source to suggest? Or a newly digitized periodical/book to announce? Contact us!

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Fashion in the 1960s became progressively more casual across all genders and ages. Womenswear followed three broad trends: a continuation of the previous decade's ladylike elegance, the youthful styles of Mary Quant and the Space Age influence, and the late 1960s "hippie" style.

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1960 Fast Facts - History - U.S. Census Bureau

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Census data, news headlines, and pop culture images and information related to the decade of the 1960s.

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How songs spoke to a revolution! A great read from Readers Digest for my fellow Bob Dylan fans. 

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How songs spoke to a revolution! A great read from Readers Digest for my fellow Bob Dylan fans. 

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The evolution of music: The music revolution of the 1960s - Reader’s Digest

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You say you want a revolution? Look no further than the 1960s. The decade of political protest, sexual liberation, psychedelic drugs, eyebrow-raising fashions and sweet, sweet music.

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Woodstock Ventures

The Woodstock Music Festival was the brainchild of four men, all age 27 or younger, looking for an investment opportunity: John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfeld and Michael Lang.

Lang had organized the successful Miami Music Festival in 1968 and Kornfeld was the youngest vice president at Capitol Records. Roberts and Rosenman were New York entrepreneurs involved in building a Manhattan recording studio. The four men formed Woodstock Ventures, Inc., and decided to host a music festival.

Creedence Clearwater Revival was the first big-name talent to sign on and gave Woodstock the credibility it needed to attract other well-known musicians.

Where Was Woodstock?

The initial plan for Woodstock called for the event to be held at Howard Mills Industrial Park in Wallkill, New York.

Wallkill town officials got spooked, however, and backed out of the deal, passing a law that eliminated any possibility of holding the concert on their turf.

Woodstock Ventures explored a few other venues, but none panned out. Finally, just a month ahead of the concert, 49-year-old dairy farmer Max Yasgur offered to rent them part of his land in the White Lake area of Bethel, New York, surrounded by the verdant Catskill Mountains.

With the concert just a month away, the four frantic partners jumped at the opportunity and paid his asking price.

Woodstock Becomes a Free Concert

With a venue and talent secured, the partners turned to logistics. Fencing, entrance gates and ticket booths needed to be set up and a performers' pavilion, concession stands, bathroom facilities and medical tents built.

But by the time people started arriving a couple days ahead of the concert, the fencing, gates and ticket booths still weren't ready.

According to Lang, in an interview with The Telegraph, "You do everything you can to get the gates and the fences finished-but you have your priorities. People are coming, and you need to be able to feed them, and take care of them, and give them a show. So you have to prioritize."

With no efficient way to charge concert-goers, Lang and his partners decided to make Woodstock a free event.

The Masses Arrive

Originally, about 50,000 people were expected. But by August 13, at least that number were already camped out on location and over 100,000 tickets pre-sold.

As an estimated one million people descended on Woodstock, its organizers scrambled to add more facilities. Highways and local roads came to a standstill and many concert-goers simply abandoned their cars and trekked the rest of the way on foot. Eventually, about half a million people reached the venue.

The Audience

The Woodstock audience was diverse and a reflection of the rapidly-changing times. Some were hippies who felt alienated by a society steeped in materialism.

In 1969, the country was deep into the controversial Vietnam War, a conflict that many young people vehemently opposed. It was also the era of the civil rights movement, a period of great protest and unrest. Woodstock was an opportunity for people to escape into music and spread a message of unity and peace.

Although the crowd at Woodstock experienced bad weather, muddy conditions and a lack of food, water and adequate sanitation, the overall vibe there was harmonious. Looking back, some people attribute the lack of violence to the large number of psychedelic drugs being used.

Others believe hippies were simply living out their mantra of "making love, not war." In fact, more than a few couples at Woodstock took that command literally and made love whenever and wherever the mood hit.

Safety and Security Issues

Volunteer doctors, EMTs and nurses manned Woodstock's medical tent. Most injuries were minor such as food poisoning and wounded bare feet.

It's widely reported eight women experienced miscarriages. One teenager died after being run over by a tractor. Another person died a drug-related death.

Security was limited since off-duty police officers were banned. It's estimated there were no more than a dozen police officers to keep an eye on 500,000 people.

Wavy Gravy and the Hog Farm

To pick up the slack and help create a safe festival ground, Woodstock Ventures turned to the Hog Farm, a communal pig farm in New Mexico. Its leader, known as Wavy Gravy, threatened to douse people who got out of line with seltzer water or hurl pies at them.

The Hog Farm also set up a children's playground, a free food kitchen and a tent to assist people "freaking out" on drugs.

Woodstock Performers

Thirty-two musicians, a combination of local and world-famous talent, performed at Woodstock. Around 5:00 p.m. on Friday, August 15, Richie Havens took the stage and played a 45-minute set.

Havens was followed by an unscheduled blessing by yoga guru Sri Swami Satchidananda. The other performers on day one were:

Baez famously played the end of her set in a torrential downpour. Day one wrapped up around 2:00 a.m. on August 16.

Day two officially began around 12:15 p.m. Day two's line-up was:

Quill

Country Joe McDonald

John Sebastian

Keef Hartley Band

Santana

The Incredible String Band

Canned Heat

Mountain

The Grateful Dead

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Janis Joplin

Sly and the Family Stone

The Who

Jefferson Airplane

Day two ended around 9:45 a.m. on Sunday, August 17.

Day three began around 2:00 p.m. Joe Cocker was the first musician to perform. The remaining line up included:

Country Joe and The Fish

Ten Years After

The Band

Johnny Winter

Blood Sweat and Tears

Crosby Stills Nash and Young

Paul Butterfield Blues Band

Sha Na Na

Jimi Hendrix

Hendrix was the last musician to perform at Woodstock. Rain delays prevented him from taking the stage until early Monday morning and by the time he went on, the crowd had thinned to around 25,000 people.

Musicians who declined to perform at Woodstock included:

Simon and Garfunkel

Led Zeppelin

Bob Dylan

The Byrds

The Moody Blues

The Doors

Roy Rogers

John Lennon

Chicago Transit Authority

The Rolling Stones

Legacy of Woodstock

Woodstock officially ended on Monday, August 18, after Hendrix left the stage. Leaving Woodstock wasn't much easier than getting there. Roads and highways quickly became jammed again as festival-goers made their way home.

Cleaning up the venue was a mammoth task and required several days, many bulldozers and tens of thousands of dollars.

In 2006, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts opened on the hill where the Woodstock Music Festival took place. Today, it hosts outdoor concerts in its beautiful pavilion. There's also a 1960s museum on site.

Many popular musicians have performed at Bethel Woods, including some who took the stage at Woodstock such as Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Santana, Arlo Guthrie and Joe Cocker.

Woodstock is perhaps best described by Max Yasgur, the humble farmer who lent his land for the occasion. Addressing the audience on day three he said, "...You've proven something to the world...the important thing that you've proven to the world is that a half a million kids, and I call you kids because I have children who are older than you are, a half a million young people can get together and have three days of fun and music and have nothing but fun and music and God bless you for it!"

Sources

1969 Fast Facts: Woodstock. Fox News Entertainment.
Acts that Almost Made it to Woodstock. CBS News.
Farmer is Little Known Despite His Historic Role. Poughkeepsie Journal.
Interview with the Organisers of Woodstock Festival. The Telegraph.
The Sixties and Woodstock Festival History. Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.

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The Woodstock Music Festival began on August 15, 1969 in Bethel, New York. Billed as "3 Days of Peace and Music," the epic event become synonymous with the counterculture movement of the 1960s.

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JFK's Pledge Leads to Start of Apollo Program

The American effort to send astronauts to the moon had its origins in an appeal President Kennedy made to a special joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961: "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth."

At the time, the United States was still trailing the Soviet Union in space developments, and Cold War-era America welcomed Kennedy's bold proposal. In 1966, after five years of work by an international team of scientists and engineers, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducted the first unmanned Apollo mission, testing the structural integrity of the proposed launch vehicle and spacecraft combination.

Then, on January 27, 1967, tragedy struck at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, when a fire broke out during a manned launch-pad test of the Apollo spacecraft and Saturn rocket. Three astronauts were killed in the fire.

President Richard Nixon spoke with Armstrong and Aldrin via a telephone radio transmission shortly after they planted the American flag on the lunar surface. Nixon considered it the "most historic phone call ever made from the White House."

Despite the setback, NASA and its thousands of employees forged ahead, and in October 1968, Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, orbited Earth and successfully tested many of the sophisticated systems needed to conduct a moon journey and landing.

In December of the same year, Apollo 8 took three astronauts to the far side of the moon and back, and in March 1969 Apollo 9 tested the lunar module for the first time while in Earth orbit. That May, the three astronauts of Apollo 10 took the first complete Apollo spacecraft around the moon in a dry run for the scheduled July landing mission.

Timeline of the 1969 Moon Landing

At 9:32 a.m. EDT on July 16, with the world watching, Apollo 11 took off from Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins (1930-) aboard. Armstrong, a 38-year-old civilian research pilot, was the commander of the mission.

After traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 entered into a lunar orbit on July 19. The next day, at 1:46 p.m., the lunar module Eagle, manned by Armstrong and Aldrin, separated from the command module, where Collins remained. Two hours later, the Eagle began its descent to the lunar surface, and at 4:17 p.m. the craft touched down on the southwestern edge of the Sea of Tranquility. Armstrong immediately radioed to Mission Control in Houston, Texas, a now-famous message: "The Eagle has landed."

At 10:39 p.m., five hours ahead of the original schedule, Armstrong opened the hatch of the lunar module. As he made his way down the module's ladder, a television camera attached to the craft recorded his progress and beamed the signal back to Earth, where hundreds of millions watched in great anticipation.

At 10:56 p.m., as Armstrong stepped off the ladder and planted his foot on the moon's powdery surface, he spoke his famous quote, which he later contended was slightly garbled by his microphone and meant to be "that's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

Aldrin joined him on the moon's surface 19 minutes later, and together they took photographs of the terrain, planted a U.S. flag, ran a few simple scientific tests and spoke with President Richard Nixon (1913-94) via Houston.

By 1:11 a.m. on July 21, both astronauts were back in the lunar module and the hatch was closed. The two men slept that night on the surface of the moon, and at 1:54 p.m. the Eagle began its ascent back to the command module. Among the items left on the surface of the moon was a plaque that read: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon-July 1969 A.D.-We came in peace for all mankind."

At 5:35 p.m., Armstrong and Aldrin successfully docked and rejoined Collins, and at 12:56 a.m. on July 22 Apollo 11 began its journey home, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:50 p.m. on July 24.

How Many Times Did the US Land on the Moon?

There would be five more successful lunar landing missions, and one unplanned lunar swing-by. Apollo 13 had to abort its lunar landing due to technical difficulties. The last men to walk on the moon, astronauts Eugene Cernan (1934-2017) and Harrison Schmitt (1935-) of the Apollo 17 mission, left the lunar surface on December 14, 1972.

The Apollo program was a costly and labor-intensive endeavor, involving an estimated 400,000 engineers, technicians and scientists, and costing $24 billion (close to $100 billion in today's dollars). The expense was justified by Kennedy's 1961 mandate to beat the Soviets to the moon, and after the feat was accomplished, ongoing missions lost their viability.

HISTORY Vault: Moon Landing: The Lost Tapes

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1969 Moon Landing - Date, Facts, Video | HISTORY

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On July 20, 1969, two American astronauts landed on the moon and became the first humans to walk on the lunar surface. The event marked the culmination of a nearly decade-long intense push to meet a challenge posed by President John F. Kennedy.

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November 22 1963: President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Texas. 

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November 22 1963: President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Texas. 

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JFK's Assassination | National Geographic

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How the Stonewall Riots Sparked a Movement | History

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PBS overview of pop culture. Check out those prices! 

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PBS overview of pop culture. Check out those prices! 

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The Vietnam War was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States.

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Sound Smart: Vietnam War Protests | History

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Protesting the War right here in Madison 

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Protesting the War right here in Madison 

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On October 18, 1967, student activists at UW-Madison amassed to protest Dow Chemical Company's recruiting efforts on campus. The company made napalm, a flammable gel used as a weapon in the Vietnam War.

What began as a peaceful act of civil disobedience turned violent as city police officers in riot gear forcibly removed students from the Commerce Building (today's Ingraham Hall), where they were blocking the Dow interviews. The clash involved thousands and injured dozens, hardened campus relationships, and became a catalyst for a new wave of emboldened pacifists. Demonstrations against Dow had begun on campus the prior winter, but it was the fall 1967 conflict that propelled the UW to the forefront of the national antiwar movement. Demonstrations would roil the campus for years to come.

Bob Grueneberg '71 (pictured above) was a bystander when a tear gas canister hit his bike. "[The police] were basically treating the crowd as if everybody was involved in the protest," he says. "Well, that was the beginning of what might be called my radicalization." His experiences on campus kindled his commitment to fairness, and he went on to become a lawyer and an assistant U.S. attorney. "That was one of the best things that ever happened in my life," he says of attending the UW during the '60s.

Read more Dow stories from UW alumni at 1967.wisc.edu

Published in the Winter 2017 issue

Tags: Alumni, Campus history, history, Student life, Students

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On October 18, 1967, student activists at UW-Madison amassed to protest Dow Chemical Company's recruiting efforts on campus. The company made napalm, a flammable gel used as a weapon in the Vietnam War.

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August 28, 1963: The March on Washington 

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August 28, 1963: The March on Washington 

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History Specials: King Leads the March on Washington | History

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The 1964 Civil Rights Bill Explained in 8 Minutes

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Sound Smart: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 | History

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The Women's Rights Movement (Second Wave)

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Iconic '60s Fashion Trends That We Still Love Today

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Miniskirts, fringe, bold florals, crochet, tie-dye and more were birthed from this decade, set let this roundup of iconic fashion moments serve as your mood board for today.

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By 1965, half of the USA's population was under 25 years of age. The young men and women of the '60s had witnessed social injustices of their parent's generation and wanted change. That change, reflected in 1960s men's clothing, was a continuation of casualness, a slimming of the figure (boyish shapes), and brighter colors and patterns last seen in the late 1920s.

Most 1960s men's fashion history books focus on fashions in London. Very little is discussed of American men's fashion which, although it had some influence from London, also had its own uniquely casual American look. We will discuss both styles in this article but focus more heavily on American clothing.

The 1960s men's everyday look consisted of slim-fit trousers, a button-down shirt or polo shirt, and a patterned sport coat. This Ivy League look started on college campuses, but was adopted by businessmen who began to wear it instead of traditional conservative 3 piece suits. The Ivy style gave way to the mods, influenced by British fashion and music icons. This, in turn, changed again as the American hippies took over in the late '60s with their recycled vintage, back to the earth roots, peaceful defiance. All three distinct looks influenced each other, creating an overall modern fashion decade.

The Peacock generation was one name given to British men's fashion in the '60s. It referred to how fashionable young men were putting themselves on display, inviting commentary, and expressing individuality by wearing a variety of unusual clothing. Color were brighter, patterns bigger, clothes tighter, and the price tag cheaper. Fashions changed quickly, and young men flocked to small boutique stores in big cities to get the latest flashy outfits.

1960s men's clothing was worn tighter to show off youthful bodies. Shirts were unbuttoned to show off a bit of chest and pants lowered down on the hip. Bold colors and big color block patterns shouted "Here I Am." Even basic suits and sport coats were worn with a bold pop of color, like a red vest or neck scarf. Older men who were afraid to adopt these stand-out statements still had plenty of greys and browns to wear, but even they adopted some of the newer slim styles in toned-down colors on the weekends.

The Conservatives and the Ivys: 60s Fashion for Men

1950s men's fashion continued into the early '60s, often called the Continental or Ivy Style. The continental look embraced the conservative man in the gray flannel suit who would cast of his lifeless suits for casual clothing on the weekends. Some of the key features are:

Sportcoats with contrasting trousers, colored vest, dress shirt and skinny tie. Fedora hat optional. Shop here.

Casual polo shirts, belt, and solid or patterned trousers on the weekends. Shop shirts and pants.

Tennis sweaters, cardigans, and sweater-vests instead of sport coats. Shop sweaters.

Athletic sweatshirts, T-shirts, and Cabana sets at home or on vacation.

Men's Suits and Sportcoats

Into the '60s men's business suits continued to be dull and lifeless, bland greys and browns with the sack fit and single pleat leg. Some suits were updated slightly with textures like tweed or corduroy or given noticeable patterns such as plaid, checks, and herringbone.

Suits were modernized a bit with a lower waistband, flat-front trousers, narrowing lapels, and 2- instead of 3- button jackets, which eventually dropped down to just 1 button. Suit jackets were also being worn over non-matching trousers. Keeping jacket and trousers in the same color family kept the look conservative enough for the office.

These updated suits that were worn without a hat, and often called the "JFK Look." Across the pond, a 3 button suit jacket with a high neck was dubbed the "Britisher style."

Outside of the office or to a business casual lunch, men could wear the latest trend for sportcoats in bold patterns and contrasting colors. This look was heavily influenced by the Ivy League style who wore mismatched suit jackets and pants with a bold colored suit vest or sweater vest. Red and yellow were the most popular vest colors that popped under dark blue, grey, or tan sportcoats. Dark vests were worn with lighter colored jackets. Brightly colored dress shirts replaced vests in the mid to late 60s.

Sport coat colors and patterns grew bolder as the decade progressed. Subtle and muted patterns in the early years gave way to wide boater stripes, large plaids, windowpane, and black and white checks or herringbone. Solid colors such as red, ivory, white, bright blue, light grey, and mustard yellow were equally paired with dark trousers in another solid color (or pattern in the later years). The final years also saw an explosion of pastels and pinstripes, a nod back to the mid-1920s. Baby pink, sky blue, sunshine yellow were spring and summer favorites.
Shop men's 60s suits and sportscoats
Men's Dress Shirts and Ties

Dress shirts were white, pinstriped, or pastels for most of the decade, letting the outerwear be the focus. Neckties could be solid, wide striped, or patterned, but again to keep in balance with the outerwear, neckties were usually plain, striped, dark, and very skinny ties. Skinny ties balanced with thin lapel coats and narrow shirt collars.

In the late 60s men's dress shirts exploded with rich colors, small patterned ties, and flashy gold cufflinks. Ties were still skinny but gradually widened to a classic width as suit lapels began to widen. Shop ties.

An alternative to the tie came in the late 60s- the neckerchief. The neckerchief was folded like a cravat around the neck and puffed out from under an unbuttoned shirt collar. The look was suave against the brightly colored shirts and sport coats. This was often too mod of a look for the conservative set, but the young Ivys found it liberating compared to the noose of neckties.

Learn more about the history of men's neckties.

Men's Casual Shirts

Casual clothes for the conservative or Ivy set turned to the golf or country club look: polo shirts, skinny belts, and single pleat or flat-front trousers. Polos also called sweater-shirts were often trimmed in contrasting stripes or made up in large two-tone color blocks, a carryover from the '50s. Some feature printed designs reflecting the Atomic Age/Space Age. Many had zip-up collars instead of buttons. The horizontal striped polo shirt mimicked classic fisherman shirts while vertical panel shirts were borrowed from 50s bowling shirts.

Besides the polo, the button-down shirt in plaid, stripes, or prints remained the essential men's shirt for almost every occasion. Western shirts with piping trim were frequently seen in small-town America. Camp shirts, worn untucked, remained popular summer shirts.

The mod look influenced casual shirts, even for conservative men with an increase in bold color combinations, stand out stripes, and multi-color plaids. Of course, there were plain colors too such as pastels in spring, saturated colors in the fall and earth tone colors in the late 60s. Contrasting white buttons gave them a modern look. Collars were also small and wide-set.

Men's 60s Sweaters

Just like shirts, men's sweaters took on similar colors, stripes, and color-blocked patterns. The pullover sweater (jumper) and cardigan achieved a new status of high fashion when Italian knitwear makers Missoni and Gino Paelo introduced innovative designs and knitting techniques. Sweaters appeared with jeans at ski resorts or just around town for the average man who wore it as a replacement for a sport coat.

Large Chevron or wide stripe blocking, geometric tile designs, chunky knits and new textures such as mohair went mainstream quickly. Ivy Leaguers latched onto the sweater revival, not only with new designs, but with the classic Tennis or letterman sweater, sweater vests, and V neck cardigans.
Shop men's 60s style vintage sweaters.
Men's Overcoats and Jackets

Outerwear coats in the first half of the 60s remained similar to the conservative 50s. Knee-length car coats and overcoats called Knee Breakers in Britain topped men's business suits. Short guards coats, camel hair overcoats, polo coats, British warm coats, and plaid car coats hit just above the knee. The shape was slimmer with double-breasted coats - especially trench coats - leading the fashion trend. There were also boxy bone-colored mac coats which were perfect for spring.

For more casual looks, the sherpa lined suede hip-length coat or quilted puffer jacket offered better warmth without the weight. For spring days, the Harrington jacket (light bomber style) continued to be a casual favorite for young and old. In 1969, the bush jacket returned to fashion with four pleated pockets and a belt. Winter ski jackets favored the the puffer quilted jacket while spring athletes liked the windbreaker.
Shop men's coats and jackets.
60s Shoes for Men: Slip on Shoes

Most men continued to wear Oxfords and moc toe shoes for all occasions, however it was the slip-on loafer types that took off in the '60s. Even conservative men enjoyed the ease of slipping into a pair of shoes instead of dealing with tie laces. Toes were pointed in the early '60s and blunted by the later years. Black shoes were favored over brown and shiny was better than matte.

The Ivy kids loved a classic penny loafer or moccasin shoe. Shoe designs were clean, smooth, and minimally embellished. The newest invention was the white leather loafer with black sole, worn with white pants and sportswear in the summer. It crossed the border into mod style, yet real mods hardly ever wore them.

With casual clothes came the slip-on and tie shoes in lighter colors (bone, grey, tan) and soft textures such as suede. The suede chukka boot was another popular option on college campuses. As pant hems were rising, boots became more popular in the mid-60s with all men.
Shop men's 60s shoes.
60s Men's Hats & Hairstyles

Conservative men couldn't think of leaving the house with a hat, yet the new generation took pride in their perfectly combed hair. Some people blame President Jack Kenedy for promoting hatlessnes, while others chalk it up to the youthquake movement. This doesn't mean there were no hats, only new styles to reflect a new culture.

The first was the snap-brim fedora - a short crown, V-dent, narrow brim fedora with a snap-up brim at the back. Made of dark felt in winter and light sennet or coconut straws in summer, they had hatbands they were more detailed in design instead of the classic wide stripes. These hats complemented the new slim suits perfectly. Even the mods wore them. Learn more about 1960s mens trendy hats.

Shop mens '60s style hats.
Read 1960s men's hairstyles and facial hair
Swimwear / Surfer Clothes

Displaying young bodies at the beach created a shift in men's swimwear. The bikini brief for men lowered to below the belly button. Stretchy knits made them more comfortable to wear and support. Boxer style swim trunks also lowered a bit and raised up in the leg. The surf style (boardshorts) had longer legs and a drawstring waistband. Colors were bright horizontal stripes as well as psychedelic prints that rivaled non-beach clothing.

The matching cabana set (trunks and camp shirt, t-shirt, or shirt jacket) was an absolute must-have at the poolside (and a perfect cover-up for the not so young and fit bodies). The only truly new design were the Basketball trunks, cut with a tulip-edged side seam and white piping that appeared around 1966 and carried well into the '70s. Learn more about the history of men's swimwear and shop retro swimsuits and cabana sets.

The Mod Fashion

Part throwback to the Edwardian age and part futuristic, Mod men's clothing blended old and new together in a look that could be conservative yet trendy or outright flamboyant. The look dominated the UK but was less mainstream in the USA. Fashion-forward young men were the primary audience who looked to buy Mod clothing, thinking it would attract young girls who were obsessed with the British bands.

Read about the American men's 60s mod style

60s Men's Mod Fashion - American Style

The 60s Hippie Men

Learn more about 1960s hippie fashion part 1 and part 2 and 1960s men's hippie fashion and outfit ideas.

Around 1967, a new era of culture and fashion was replacing the Mods. Counter couture events, gatherings, and peaceful protests were happening in major USA cities. San Fransisco had 1967 The Summer of Love, which was a celebration of global multiculturalism as well as antifashion, non-conformism, and anti-consumerism. In New York, Woodstock in 1969 drew over 400k young music fans to a peaceful 3-day concert series.

The hippies rejected fast fashion, shopping at thrift stores instead. They purchased anything ethnic, western, well worn, or gender-bending. They learned to make bead necklaces and headbands, tie-dye T-shirts, and tool leather. Recycled clothes were upcycled with patches, embroidery, and beading. Trimmed with suede fringe, topped with a floppy western hat, and worn with flared jeans, the men's 60s hippie look was something the mainstream world couldn't comprehend.

In the first years, they also borrowed psychedelic clothing that had entered the mainstream. Vivid swirls of color on shirts and pants mixed with fringe vests and boots. The clash of color, style, and texture made hippies the creators of the Trippy style.

Hippies also created historically inspired throwback fashions. By shopping thrift stores they were able to buy dramatic vintage clothing or recreate historical styles from the Renaissance on up to the Art Deco Hollywood age. Mixing heavily decorated velvet jackets, white ruffles dickies, heavy gold chain necklaces, and psychedelic flares, the Retro hippie look was a costume for those with something important to say.

The final hippie look was the ethnic style. Traditional clothing worn by men in the Middle East was seen as the opposite of tailored Western fashion. Wearing an African Dashiki, Indian Batik tunic, and Native American jewelry and moccasin boots spoke to the old cultural traditions of handmade wearable art long gone from American society.

Learn more about 1960s hippie fashion part 1 and part 2 and 1960s men's hippie fashion and outfit ideas.

1960s Men's Costumes

Dressing in the 1960s style today is fairly easy. Thanks to a revival of the Mod look, especially in the UK and the boho hippie look in the USA, there are plenty of choices locally as well as online. Here are a few outfit ideas to get you planning your next 60s outfit. Don't forget a ready-made costume for Halloween too.

Shop All 60s style men's clothing:

More options for UK shoppers here.

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1960s Men's Fashion, 60s Fashion for Men

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By 1965, half of the USA's population was under 25 years of age. The young men and women of the '60s had witnessed social injustices of their parent's generation and wanted change. That change, reflected in 1960s men's clothing, was a continuation of casualness, a slimming of the figure (boyish shapes), and brighter colors and patterns last seen in the late 1920s.

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These Vintage Photos of '60s Hollywood Stars Will Leave You Feeling Nostalgic

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Take a peek into the lifestyles of the rich and famous

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Growing Environmental Concerns and Clean Air Act of 1967 

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Growing Environmental Concerns and Clean Air Act of 1967 

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During the 1960s, hundreds of thousands of young Americans rejected the stable, comfortable middle-class life their parents had built in the years after World War II, driven instead by a spirit of rebellion that would leave a lasting impact on the nation.

But long hair and beards for men, tight bell-bottom blue jeans and flower crowns for women, and the widespread use of mind-altering drugs were only the most visible, and easily dismissed, signs of this '60s "hippie" counterculture.

Far more transformative were the radical social and political movements that many of its adherents embraced, including the civil rights movement, the movement to oppose the Vietnam War and-at the tail end of the 1960s and the outset of the 1970s-the environmental movement.
WATCH: How the Earth Was Made on HISTORY Vault.
Growing Environmental Consciousness

Rachel Carson's bestselling book Silent Spring, published in 1962, introduced many Americans to the devastating effects of the large-scale use of pesticides, especially DDT. As the 1960s continued, more and more people became aware of other threats to the environment, such as automobile emissions, oil spills and industrial waste.

By 1967, the federal government had passed the first Clean Air Act, the first federal emissions standards and the first list of endangered species (including the bald eagle, America's national symbol). These laws were a start, but they did not go far enough to address the serious environmental problems facing the nation.

In January 1969, the Union Oil well in Santa Barbara, California spilled more than 200,000 gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean over 11 days. That June, oil and chemicals floating on the surface of the Cuyahoga River in Ohio burst into flames. Images of such disasters, broadcast across the country, helped fuel a growing outrage over the state of the environment, especially among young radicals.

Drawing Inspiration from the Anti-War Movement

Despite this growing consciousness, environmental activists hadn't yet come together as a true movement by the end of the 1960s, as civil rights and anti-war activists had. This lack of momentum had long frustrated Gaylord Nelson, a Democratic senator and former governor of Wisconsin (1959-63) who was one of Congress' most passionate environmentalists. During his years in the Senate, Nelson had also backed civil rights legislation and voted against appropriating funds for the war in Vietnam.

In August 1969, Nelson traveled to California, where he spoke at a water conference and visited the scene of the Santa Barbara oil spill. On that trip, he was struck by an article he read in Ramparts magazine about the anti-war "teach-ins" held on college campuses in the mid-1960s. Though teach-ins had been abandoned as an anti-war tactic, Nelson now saw their potential to energize people-especially young people-by educating them about the need to protect the environment.

On September 20, 1969, speaking at the annual symposium of the Washington Environmental Council in Seattle, Nelson announced that he was planning a nationwide teach-in on the environment for the following spring. "I am convinced that the same concern the youth of this nation took in changing this nation's priorities on the war in Vietnam and on civil rights can be shown for the problem of the environment," he said.

Grassroots Action and Bipartisan Backing

To put his plan into action, Nelson reached across the aisle in Congress, recruiting the Republican congressman Pete McCloskey of California to serve as his co-chair on the steering committee behind the event. Despite his otherwise conservative views, McCloskey was a committed environmentalist who also opposed the Vietnam War.

In December 1969, Nelson hired Denis Hayes, the 25-year-old former president of the student body at Stanford University, as national coordinator of the Environmental Teach-In, as Earth Day was originally known. On a tight budget, Hayes recruited a small staff of volunteers, many of them students, to come to Washington, D.C. and coordinate Earth Day events in various regions of the country.

Thanks in large part to these committed young grassroots activists, the first Earth Day took place on April 22, 1970. In New York, 250,000 people flooded Fifth Avenue, after Mayor John Lindsay agreed to bar traffic for two hours between 14th and 59th Streets, all the way up to Central Park. In Miami, supporters of Eugene McCarthy, the anti-war presidential candidate in 1968, staged a parody of the Orange Bowl parade called the "Dead Orange Parade." As Adam Rome recounted in his book The Genius of Earth Day, one of the parade's floats featured the Statue of Liberty wearing a gas mask, standing on a pedestal made out of garbage.

Lasting Impact of Earth Day

Though these urban events made the biggest splash in the press, the true impact of Earth Day would come from the more than 12,000 events scattered around the country, attended by an estimated 20 million Americans. Many were held at high schools and colleges, and they featured more than 35,000 speakers, from scientists to folk singers to members of Congress, which had adjourned for the day.

Earth Day's success helped spur long-delayed action in Washington on behalf of the environment. Just eight months later, Congress authorized the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the 1970s would see passage of a slew of environmental bills, including the Clean Air Act of 1970, the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

At the same time, colleges across the country established environmental studies programs, aiming to harness the wave of youthful energy for the future. Environmentalism may have begun as a countercultural force, but Earth Day made it into a movement.

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How the First Earth Day Was Born From 1960s Counterculture

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During the 1960s, hundreds of thousands of young Americans rejected the stable, comfortable middle-class life their parents had built in the years after World War II, driven instead by a spirit of rebellion that would leave a lasting impact on the nation.

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60s Motown: When An Independent Detroit Record Label Ruled The World

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Defining ‘The Sound Of Young America’ in the 60s, Motown dominated the decade with some of the most life-affirming music of all time.

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The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr on April 4, 1968 

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The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr on April 4, 1968 

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Moments in Civil Rights History - April 4th, 1968 - Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassinated

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Assassination of Senator Robert F Kennedy on June 6, 1968

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Assassination of Senator Robert F Kennedy on June 6, 1968

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Fiction/Non-Fiction books about the Vietnam War

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Fiction/Non-Fiction books about the Vietnam War

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The Vietnam War has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners. While the list of books about this conflict includes hundreds of enlightening works, we pick ten of the best texts offering illuminating perspectives on the war, its context and the effects it had on Vietnam.

Diving into a book about the Vietnam War can be a daunting task. With so many choices out there. It is difficult to commit to one without dwelling on what the others could have offered. Stewart O'Nan's The Vietnam Reader is perfect for the indecisive as it highlights the best texts from an American perspective, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, film, still photos and song lyrics. Using a mixture of excerpts from the works themselves and also O'Nan's thoughts and analysis. The Vietnam Reader represents an excellent introduction to a web of viewpoints on one of the world's most controversial wars.

Although holding a similar title, Michael H. Hunt's A Vietnam War Reader is a very different text to O'Nan's. Perhaps more targeted at the scholarly minded, this book collects official documents and private letters from a sea of sources: US soldiers, Communist leaders, Saigon Loyalists, Vietnamese peasants and even Nixon himself. It paints a complicated narrative that is both enlightening and captivating. Although academic in tone, this book is far from dry. Its focus on the 'facts' that both sides claimed provides a fascinating insight to the miscommunication of the conflict.

Critically acclaimed since its release in 1977, Dispatches was one of the first books which offered an insider's account of the Vietnam War to the general public. Michael Herr was a war correspondent for Esquire between 1967 and 1969. His coverage of the war in Dispatches was ground-breaking for its presented a type of journalism that traded monotonous details for visceral descriptions. Revealing the scarring effects of war on the soldiers, the landscape of the country, some have described the book's style as 'dreamlike', 'poetic' and 'illuminating'. Dispatches not only changed the world's view of the war but also what non-fiction reportage should be.

Another revolutionary telling of the Vietnam War, Bao Ninh's The Sorrow of War is reported to have been written against the Communist Party's wishes. The novel explores the war from the perspective of a former North Vietnamese soldier, Kien, and is a non-linear telling of how the conflict transformed himself, his country and those around him. The novel presents warfare from a non-heroic perspective, removing all romantic connotations of war, and is renowned for its harsh descriptions of all aspects of the Vietnam War. The Sorrow of War has gained international acclaim for its brutal honesty and has won numerous awards both in Vietnam and around the world.

Looking at the wider picture, Michael MacLear's Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War investigates both Indochina wars from 1945 to 1975. Praised for providing a clear context to both conflicts, their developments and the key figures involved, MacLear highlights the sometimes forgotten Vietnamese perspective that saw two wars blend into one, as the Americans replaced the French as the enemy in many native's eyes. The Ten Thousand Day War is a compelling read that offers further insight into a complex situation.

Critically acclaimed for its presentation of the war and its physical and psychological effects, Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried is a series of non-linear short stories that focus on a platoon of American soldiers. Blending fact and fiction, O'Brien uses his own experience of the war as a drafted solder and even includes similar characters that appeared in his earlier autobiography If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home. Despite this, the book remains a piece of metafiction, highlighting its power to cross the borders of fiction and non-fiction, which it does exquisitely.

Looking at the war from a different perspective, Kao Kalia Yang's The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir is about Yang's family and their struggles through the war and its aftermath. Suffering persecution and massacres for their collaboration with America during the conflict, the Hmong people are often overlooked in the effects of the war. Yang's memoir tells her family's story as they escaped the war-ridden jungles of Laos and travelled first to Thailand and then to the United States. Passionate and powerful, The Latehomecomer is a tale that highlights the universal pain of immigration, one of leaving home and adapting to new worlds.

Taking 30 years to write and drawing on his own experiences as a marine in Vietnam, Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War was written by Karl Marlantes follows the men of Bravo Company, Fifth Marine Division, and paints a dark picture of war. The first side focuses on the boredom and meaningless nature of war, full of hiking, building outposts and repetition. The other side is one of violence, which is described in visceral and horrifying detail, but also in a deeply affecting style. Internationally acclaimed, Matterhorn has won numerous awards and stands as a universal yet distinctly poignant depiction of war.

Denise Chong's The Girl in the Picture focuses on a person who millions of people have seen but only few know the name of: Kim Phuc, the girl who was severely burnt by napalm and captured on film in the iconic image of the Vietnam War. This haunting image was one of the pivotal photos that changed mass opinion of the Vietnam War in the West, and Phuc's story is equally moving. Described as inspirational, captivating and yet powerfully illuminative of the destructive nature of war, Chong focuses on how this photo came to be, and what happened to Phuc and Vietnam after the war.

Described by the New York Times Book Review as "the troubled conscience of America speaking passionately, truthfully, finally", Philip Caputo's A Rumor of War is a brutal depiction of the war from Caputo's own perspective as a Lieutenant in the US army. Powerful and heartbreaking, the personal viewpoint the book forces the reader to contemplate what they would have done in the horrific circumstances, adding moving insight to war and the actions of soldiers. A Rumor of War provides a raw look back on the war, giving a voice to the men who experienced it first-hand.

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From All Perspectives: The Best Books About The Vietnam War

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The Vietnam War has scarred, transformed and inspired countless writers and art practitioners. While the list of books about this conflict includes hundreds of enlightening works, we pick ten of the best texts offering illuminating perspectives on the war, its context and the effects it had on Vietnam.