The American counterculture : a history of hippies and cultural dissidents / Damon R. Bach.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 291-336) and index.

Imprisoned in the American dream : Cold War America and the origins of the counterculture, 1945 to 1965 -- Something happening : the emergence of the counterculture, 1965 to 1967 -- Vibrations across the nation : the expansion of the counterculture, 1967 to 1970 -- Freaks and Harries everywhere : the rise of the countersociety and its apogee, 1970 to 1972 -- Changing the world : the politicization of the counterculture and its decline, 1972 to 1974 -- Conclusion.

"The Rise, Journey, and Demise of the American Counterculture provides a comprehensive history of the counterculture throughout the United States from its antecedents in the 1950s, origins in the early 1960s, emergence in the mid-1960s, and massive expansion in the late 1960s, to its demise in the early 1970s. Working against a historical narrative that portrays hippies and cultural dissidents as a brief-yet-vibrant phenomenon limited to the mid- to late 1960s, Bach focuses on the counterculture's overarching utopian and idealistic goals rather than the trite shorthand of "sex, drugs, and rock and roll." Exploring its connections to other movements of the period, including the New Left, civil rights, Black and Red Power, women's and gay liberation, and environmentalism, he demonstrates that the counterculture's push to create a new society fundamentally transformed American culture, and that its core ideals of egalitarianism, environmentalism, community, and creating alternative institutions have persisted to the present day. His is also the first history of the counterculture to draw upon numerous documents written by self-described "freaks" from 1964 through 1973, such as underground newspapers, memoirs, personal correspondence, flyers, and pamphlets"-- Provided by publisher

Restricted to the shorthand of "sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll," the counterculture would seem to be a brief, vibrant stretch of the 1960s. But the American counterculture, as this book clearly demonstrates, was far more than a historical blip and its impact continues to resonate. In this comprehensive history, Damon R. Bach traces the counterculture from its antecedents in the 1950s through its emergence and massive expansion in the 1960s to its demise in the 1970s and persistent echoes in the decades since. The counterculture, as Bach tells it, evolved in discrete stages and his book describes its development from coast to heartland to coast as it evolved into a national phenomenon, involving a diverse array of participants and undergoing fundamental changes between 1965 and 1974. Hippiedom appears here in relationship to the era's movements-civil rights, women's and gay liberation, Red and Black Power, the New Left, and environmentalism. In its connection to other forces of the time, Bach contends that the counterculturea central objective was to create a new, superior society based on alternative values and institutions. Drawing for the first time on documents produced by self-described "freaks" from 1964 through 1973-underground newspapers, memoirs, personal correspondence, flyers, and pamphlets-his book creates an unusually nuanced, colorful, and complete picture of a time often portrayed in clich�ed or nostalgic terms. This is the counterculture of love-ins and flower children, of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane, but also of antiwar demonstrations, communes, co-ops, head shops, cultural feminism, Earth Day, and antinuclear activism. What Damon R. Bach conjures is the counterculture in all of its permutations and ramifications as he illuminates its complexity, continually evolving values, and constantly changing components and adherents, which defined and redefined it throughout its near decade-long existence. In the long run, Bach convincingly argues that the counterculture spearheaded cultural transformation, leaving a changed America in its wake.

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