Letters to a Young Activist

by Todd Gitlin

Book Overview

"Be original. See what happens." So Todd Gitlin advises the young mind burning to take action to right the wrongs of the world but also looking for bearings, understanding, direction, and practical... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0465027385
• ISBN13: 9780465027385
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

appreciation for Gitlin's "Letters" from a non-activist

I'll start out with my basic reason for reading this book at all, and a little bit of background. I only read this book because Todd Gitlin has been enough of a friend of Kate Coleman, a former lover of mine, that I was able to meet him at a reading Kate gave at the NYU Journalism School in March of 2005 for "The Secret Wars of Judi Bari". Todd was (still is) teaching there at the time, though the event was held under the auspices of Bruce Porter, also teaching there. Although I have not read any other of Todd's books (nor Bruce's at that time), I saw this one being remaindered (!!!) and picked it up on a chance. I was never an activist during the 60s - by the time I was old enough to get out in the streets, the activism had degenerated into factional infighting, and it was clear that the Left was intent on killing itself in a purification rite before it would bother crossing swords with any real adversary. So I was a hedonistic hippie instead, and also bothered to get great grades in school, where I did join protests, but only if they didn't cut into my nookie time and my stoning time. Thenceforth, I went through Law School, passed the Bar, and practiced. I did bring some of the idealism of the 60s with me, but not by becoming a docrinaire libertarian lawyer, just by letting the wholistic healthy attitudes of the bygone days permeate my practice. I retired from the Bar after about 12 years, it really wasn't good for me to be an adversarial professional, even though I did some aspects of it very well, including three winning briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court. Maybe I was activist enough, in my way. "Letters" is a well organised series of mini-treatises, each tightly focussed on a tightly - defined theme. There are Letters about self-perception, about taking a stance, about one's setting in the world, and about what might be appropriate expectations for the results of one's activism. Here's a man who has "been there and done that", but he does not condescend - rather he commiserates. He does not pontificate, rather he relates his feelings about having seen the limitations of the viewpoints of himself and those around him, and gives to the reader the wish that they will learn from both the successes and failures of his generation, that the new group may truly stand on their shoulders, and thus be as giants in the struggle to get some good done in this world. It is very much about "this world" that Gitlin writes. Not only generally about this world, but about being American, being an activist for social and political good, and being in the present day reality. He is an avowed "anti-anti-American", though himself a founder of the SDS, he hung out the American Flag at his New York house in the days following "9-11". Whilst lamenting the squandered opportunities that the U.S.A. had to hand in the weeks and months after those events, he seeks to spur on the new activists to greater achievements whilst cautioning them against many of

A Good Read!

This is politics with attitude, presented by a former sixties activist who has plenty of sincerity and passion, though he has a somewhat convoluted writing style. Todd Gitlin - the former president of Students for a Democratic Society, the SDS - has a great deal to say, much of it worthwhile, though couched in nostalgic reminiscence of his youthful activism. Given that, former sixties protestors may find more here than current rightist young idealists. His observations on the faults of the Left and the strength of the Right are, if not original, stimulating. He does draw potentially useful lessons from the sixties, as seen through his prism of leftist activism and leadership. We recommend this fast, historic and forward-looking read. In these turbulent times, Gitlin encourages participation, discourages violence and believes the individual can still make a difference. Who could quarrel with that?

How Lessons of the 1960s Still Apply Today

One of the values of this book is that it looks back on the 1960s without glossing over the problems, some of the misdirected idealism, etc. It does serve as a testament to social action as a high calling, and in that regard, attempts to encourage activism in today's culture. I thoroughly enjoyed it because I was a teenager in the 1960s, but I also recently sent the book to my 28-year-old son because it presents thoughtful arguments without getting into trite analysis. I totally disagreed with the review by Publishers Weekly. It's well worth reading.