1968

The Year That Rocked the World

De: Mark Kurlansky

Narrado por: Christopher Cazenove

A cultural and political examination of a monumental year—by the author of Salt: A World History.

Over the course of one year, significant events that shaped American and world history took place: The North Vietnamese launched the Tet offensive. Prague Spring began. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated. Students protested across the United States and around the world. Robert Kennedy was assassinated. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago was besieged by riots. Apollo 11 launched. And Richard Nixon was elected president of the United States. In the same year, Black athletes raised their fists in protest at the Olympic Games, "Hey Jude" became the Beatles biggest hit, and 2001: A Space Odyssey was released.

In many ways, this momentous year led us to where we are today. Encompassing popular culture, politics, war, economics, and the media, Mark Kurlansky—author of Salt and Cod—shows how twelve volatile months transformed who we were as a people. But above all, he offers provocative insights into the underlying causes of the historical phenomenon that was the year 1968.

©2004 Mark Kurlansky (P)2004 Phoenix Books, Inc.

The poorest narration I have listened to

I am an audiobook addict and own over 1,200 titles. There are narrators I avoid and Christopher Cazenove has just been added to my list. When the whole book is about international matters with a cast of real people (some still alive) from a dozen countries or more, it behooves the narrator to at least make an effort to figure out the pronunciations of the locations, organizations and main characters' names. Being familiar with Polish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Spanish and German pronunciations, I found it painful to the ear to listen. I also find it arrogant. I don't think a single non-English name was pronounced correctly. And some pronunciations were inconsistent over the course of the book (like the famous German activist Rudi Dutschke). I would say that the producers of the audio version bare considerable responsibility, of course. I guess nobody on their side bothered to listen to the 15-hour plus audio they were putting out. Mark Kurlansky's book deserved better.

Not for Me

1968 seems like a random number. The author goes back in times and tangle us up with details that might eventually tie in to 1968. I generally love a Kurlansky book, like Salt. This book didn't work for me.

I returned it.