 Days Of Future Past, February 19, 2010 From
Dr. K, the Rock 'n Roll dentist Presented as a sports book, this is more about the confusing
changes baby boomers were confronting as the 1960s dwindled - and no less what those changes meant to parents and those in authority. There was the unrest about
the Viet Nam war and more pressure than ever for equality of the races and sexes. In the face
of that there was an old guard that didn't understand or want change and felt threatened when a bunch of hormonally imbalanced kids wanted to turn the world upside down idealistically,
culturally and politically. One of the protagonists of the book is a college football player
who has to balance the supposed Cro-Magnon jock mentality with a strong sense of political purpose
intent on overthrowing everything that the jock mentality embodied. As someone who remembers the ambivelant feelings of being awarded a sports letter in front of all
his cool long-haired friends in that era, this certainly hits home.
The
book doesn't only focus on that one character which makes it far more interesting. What emerges
is that in many ways the most compelling and sympathetic characters are the President of the
College and even more the head football coach. They come across as far more astute and savvy
than the kids around them probably would have acknowledged back in the '60s. I'm certain that anyone like me now old enough to understand what those people went through have apologized for being idealistically shallow when all those
parents/authority figures wanted to do was earn a living to help their kids to a better life.
That is what this book is about - exposing the confusion of 1968 in an entertaining fashion (Hollywood, are you listening?). "It's hard for one person
to change the world; but maybe no less important to change a life." That is from page 100
and sums up this book beautifully. As we now know, not everything has a tidy ending and if you
want to wonder how the characters may turn out in life - stop without reading the last chapter. If, however, you like "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"
sort of story - read Chapt. 38. | 
