Eyewitness: 1960-1969: A History of the Twentieth Century in Sound

by Joanna Bourke, Tim Pigott-Smith (Narrator)

Authentic voices from the past illustrate this unique history of the twentieth century, written by Joanna Bourke and presented by Tim Pigott-Smith Eyewitness provides a rare and fascinating opportunity to hear the events of the century described by those who saw them happen. A wealth of BBC archive recordings, some never previously broadcast, is interwoven with an illuminating commentary by the historian Joanna Bourke. Published in ten volumes, Eyewitness examines the role and the life of the British people in each decade of the century.

The Sixties is one of the landmark decades of the 20th Century. An era of profound social revolution, it created, for good or ill, the permissive society. A repressive, paternalistic culture gave way to greater individual freedom and it was a good time to be young.

But although London was swinging, economic crises, cold war fears, industrial strife and an emerging drug culture dampened the optimism. By the end of the decade, man may have reached the moon, but in Northern Ireland discrimination and the revival of ancient hatreds had erupted into sectarian violence.

The voices of Harold Macmillan, Harold Wilson, Ian Paisley, Bernadette Devlin and Richard Ingrams; as well as students, feminists, Beatles fans and hippies; combine to throw light on this iconic decade.

Thought-provoking and moving, these are the voices of the past, speaking to the present.

5 pages, Audio CD

First published March 7, 2005

About the author

Joanna Bourke (born 1963 in New Zealand) is an historian and professor of history at Birkbeck, University of London.

Reviews

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the content and listening to original audio. My only complaint is the original audio can be very hard to hear at times and if you turn it up you may blow out your eardrums when it switches to the next piece without warning.

[Blake Donley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heavy on politics and unrest, lite on culture--I was hoping for the reverse.