![]() | Class Of ''66: Living in Suburban Middle America Subjects: United States -- Social conditions -- 1945– -- Case studies; Baby boom generation -- United States -- Case studies; Middle class -- United States -- Case studies; Suburbs -- United States -- Case studies; Seeking to challenge the notion that all members of the '60s generation ``raised holy hell as they grooved on acid rock, smoked grass, dropped acid, and fought against authority in general and the Vietnam War makers in particular,'' Lyons interviewed 47 graduates of the class of 1966 at Coastal High School, the fictionalized name of a southern New Jersey high school in the suburbs of Atlantic City. The different chapters-``Vietnam,'' ``The Sixties,'' ``White on Black,'' ``Growing Up Female''-hit all the major topics, and the interviewees come across as honest and frank about their experiences. As subjects, however, they are nearly uniformly bland. The very things that define them-solid, middle class, largely untouched by the social upheavals of the '60s-preclude much variety in their voices, and the author falls into the trap of trying to prove his point in every chapter, so that the subjects often seem chosen because they fit his thesis. The attempt to give voice to a group not often heard is worthy, but a more dynamic approach is necessary to make the result interesting. The author is professor of Social Work at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved Paul Lyons is Professor of Social Work at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. |
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