New York, NY (Top40 Charts) 2018 is the 50th Anniversary of the 1968 political riots (led by Jerry Rubin & the Yippies) at the
Chicago Democratic Convention. That same week in August saw the release of the
Beatles single "
Revolution" and the
Rolling Stones '45 "Street Fighting Man" - the perfect protest soundtrack.
In Pat Thomas' new oral and visual history of Jerry Rubin and the Yippies Did It! Jerry Rubin: An American Revolutionary published by Fantagraphics Books - he interviews 75 radicals and activists, including dozens of women telling their stories for the first time ever. Along the way, from the personal journals of Rubin are interactions with Bob Dylan,
John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, Tim Leary, Phil Ochs, Eldridge Cleaver and of course his comrade Abbie Hoffman. Their relationship was much more complex than previous books have examined.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the '68 political riots and the publication of Did It, Pat
Thomas and guests have secured multiple live book events that will feature vintage recordings of Rubin speaking during his 1968-1972 prime. Come and see why in 2018's political climate, this is all still relevant.
"America hasn't lost its way, just its sense of humor and the sound of Jerry Rubin's laughter, as captured in Pat Thomas' excellent book. Thomas's writing combines a true fan's enthusiasm and curiosity with an aficionado's deep knowledge of music, politics and pop culture, not to mention the kind of intellectual's wiseass skepticism that would have made Lester Bangs a kindred spirit." - Rex Weiner, author of The Woodstock Census and The Adventures of Ford Fairlane
Saturday March 24th (4 to 5:30 pm)
Special guest: Paul Krassner (Yippie and editor of The Realist)
Unoppressive Non-imperialist Bargain Books
34 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014
Monday March 26th (7 pm)
Wesleyan R. J. Julia Bookstore
413 Main St, Middletown, CT 06457
Tuesday March 27th (6 pm)
The
Institute Library
847 Chapel St, New Haven, CT 06510
Saturday March 31st (3 to 4:30 pm)
Seminary Co-op Bookstore
Special guests: Bill Ayers (Weather Underground) & Nancy Kurshan (Yippie)
5751 S Woodlawn Ave, Chicago, IL 60637
Tuesday April 3rd (7 pm)
Bookbound Bookstore
1729 Plymouth Rd, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Wednesday April 4th (6 pm)
The Book Beat Bookstore
26010 Greenfield Rd, Oak Park, MI 48237
Thursday April 5th (6 pm)
Last Exit Books
124 E Main St #1, Kent, OH 44240
Friday April 6th (7 pm)
Burning Books
420 Connecticut St, Buffalo, NY 14213
"In Did It!'s outstanding chapter on Yippie Nancy Kurshan, Pat
Thomas gives an insider's view of a life committed to the movement, as if he were there, with an uncanny understanding of a woman's subordinate position during the '60s revolution in which feminism emerged as one of the defining issues of the decade; he also gives us a timeline of what happened when, and how it all fit together, whether it was Jerry and Abbie strategizing with
John & Yoko or trying to get Dylan involved in a tour for the cause; read this if you want to know what it was like to be there, then put Thomas' unusual document in an honored position in your library next to
David Harris' Dreams Die Hard and The Murder of Fred Hampton." - Ronee Blakely, singer/songwriter: Rolling
Thunder Revue and actress: Nashville
