Synopses & Reviews
The 1968 Democratic Convention, best known for police brutality against demonstrators, has been relegated to a dark place in American historical memory.
Battleground Chicago ventures beyond the stereotypical image of rioting protestors and violent cops to reevaluate exactly howand#8212;and whyand#8212;the police attacked antiwar activists at the convention.
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Working from interviews with eighty former Chicago police officers who were on the scene, Frank Kusch uncovers the other side of the story of and#8217;68, deepening our understanding of a turbulent decade.
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and#8220;Frank Kuschand#8217;s compelling account of the clash between Mayor Richard Daleyand#8217;s men in blue and anti-war rebels reveals why the 1960s was such a painful era for many Americans. . . . to his great credit, [Kusch] allows and#8216;the pigsand#8217; to speak up for themselves.and#8221;and#8212;Michael Kazin
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and#8220;Kuschand#8217;s history of white Chicago policemen and the 1968 Democratic National Convention is a solid addition to a growing literature on the cultural sensibility and political perspective of the conservative white working class in the last third of the twentieth century.and#8221;and#8212;David Farber, Journal of American Historyand#160;and#160;
Review
"Battleground Chicago is especially valuable because it lets the police officers involved in the riots in Lincoln and Grant Parks have their say."
Review
and#8220;This retelling of a well-known story is significant partly for its detail and objectivity, but mostly because the author focuses on telling the story from the perspective of the police rather than the protesters. . . . Highly recommended.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Masterful. . . . Kuschand#8217;s interviews contribute invaluable material to one wishing to decipher and make theoretical sense of what happened in Chicago during the 1968 Convention.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Kuschand#8217;s history of white Chicago policemen and the 1968 Democratic National Convention is a solid addition to a growing literature on the cultural sensibility and political perspective of the conservative white working class in the last third of the twentieth century.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;A fascinating story unfolds, of family-oriented cops recruited from white ethnic communities confronting middle-class and#8216;longhairsand#8217;; of both the police and the activists able to perceive one another only as stereotypes . . . of the cumulative and destructive mutual antipathy between police and press.and#8221;
About the Author
Frank Kusch has worked as a freelance editor, a communications consultant, and a political speechwriter. He is the author of All American Boys: Draft Dodgers in Canada from the Vietnam War. and#160;and#160;
Table of Contents
Preface to the Paperback Edition
Preface
Timeline
1. "An American City": The Roots of a Creed
2. "Freaks, Cowards, and Bastards": The War at Home
3. "What's America Coming To?": January--June 1968
4. "On to Chicago": Countdown to August
5. "A Perfect Mess": Convention Week
6. "Terrorists from Out of Town": Fallout in the Second City
7. "Half the Power of God": Chicago in '68 Revisited
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Photo essay follows chapter 5.