Radicals Revisited

With Sara Jane Olson heading off to prison -- for plotting to bomb Los Angeles police vehicles -- while other members of the Symbionese Liberation Army are beginning to face trial for the murder of Myrna Opsahl during a 1975 bank robbery in Carmichael, CA, it's clear that countercultural radicals of the Vietnam era have come back into the limelight, often after they've seemingly lived down their illustrious pasts.

Amidst nationwide calls for patriotism and the outcry over John Walker, other former insurgents -- such as several one-time members of the Weathermen Underground, such as John Buttny and Bernadine Dohrn -- have become caught up in controversy as well. Buttny has had his patriotism questioned and has been asked by some to resign from his position in the Santa Barbara County government, while Dohrn's faculty position at Northwestern University's School of Law has become the object of scrutiny as well.

If, as the trials and debates continue, you find your interest piqued by all this talk of counterculture and street-fighting rebels, you might want to check out some of the books below.

The Way the Wind Blew: A History of the Weather Underground
by Ron Jacobs
Street riots, bombing ROTC buildings, an attempt to spring Timothy Leary out of the big house … the history of the Weather Underground is colorful, to say the least. Here, Jacobs details the whole story, from the Underground's emergence as a splinter group of The Students For A Democratic Society to the 1987 arrest of Silas Bissell that marked the official end of the group. Often eye-opening, sometimes frightening, and thrilling throughout, The Way the Wind Blew is a must-read for those with an interest in the extremities of '60s and '70s radicalism.

Fugitive Days: A Memoir
by Bill Ayers
Although he's now a distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois in Chicago, Bill Ayers, the one-time head of the Weathermen, could once find his name on the America's Most Wanted list. Unfortunately released just after September 11, this engaging memoir chronicles Ayers' path from his well-to-do suburban childhood to his days as bomb-throwing radical on the lam. Written in loose bursts of prose, Fugitive Days is one heck of a ride that provides a captivating look at a controversial era of American history.

American Pastoral
by Philip Roth
Roth's 21st book, which took home the Pulitzer Prize, finds Nathan Zuckerman taking a break from his own sexual hang-ups and chronicling the life of his high school idol, Seymour "Swede" Levov. Swede lives the easy life until his daughter gets caught up in protesting the Vietnam War and later goes "underground" as a revolutionary terrorist. In the aftermath of her actions, Swede's life falls apart. A standout among Roth's many successes.

The Smallest Color
by Bill Roorbach
Coop Henry's holding on to a secret: his older brother Hodge has been dead for years. Hodge was a Vietnam War protester who disappeared after bombing an airplane factory. Coop still talks to him. Shuttling between Coop's modern-day first-person confessional and a third-person account of his life as a 15-year-old in 1969, The Smallest Color delves deep into Coop's mind as his marriage falters, his career as an Olympic ski coach is put in jeopardy, and his secret is in danger of being revealed. An auspicious first novel that masterfully deals with the repercussions of Vietnam-era radicalism.

Them: Adventures With Extremists
by Jon Ronson
Profiling members of the left wing, right wing, and just plain wingnut fringe, UK journalist Jon Ronson spoke to KKK members, Ruby-Ridgers, neo-nazis, and Islamic fundamentalists (timely!), among many others, in search of the secrets of the elusive "them," those hush-hush string-pullers that are clandestinely plotting against all of "us." A thought-provoking and hilarious read.