1960s Counterculture: Documents Decoded

Willis delves into the "artifacts" left behind by the free-love generation, how the 1960s were defined by the events of that time, and the mark left on history. The text is divided into eight sections that cover, for example, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and the free speech movement. Documents within these segments feature articles, speeches, congressional testimony, and manifestos. Key passages are highlighted in each chapter with explanations in the margin about the document, its language, or the event in its time period; it is not viewed through 2015 eyes. The remainder of the text includes a time line, further reading suggestions, and an average index and bibliography. The introductory essay promises a "concluding chapter" that compares the millennial generation to the baby boomers on the "spirit of protest and seeking change." This chapter could not be found, and if it were there, it might have explained why the author makes a two-generation jump, as though Generation X didn't exist.