The Sixties | 
 enlarge | Authors: Richard Avedon, Doon Arbus
Publisher: Random House
Category: Book
List Price: $75.00
Buy New: $14.95
You Save: $60.05 (80%)
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Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 293888
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 240
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4.4
Dimensions (in): 13 x 10.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0679409238
Dewey Decimal Number: 779.209046
EAN: 9780679409236
ASIN: 0679409238
Publication Date: November 2, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New - may have a small remainder mark on the edge.
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Amazon.com Review
IThe Sixties/I is the product of a 30-year collaboration between photographer Richard Avedon and writer Doon Arbus, whose images and words combine in this volume to create a compelling portrait of one of the 20th century's most tumultuous decades. Avedon, the celebrated photographer whose portraits of some of the best-known personalities of our age have graced the pages of IHarper's Bazaar/I, IVogue/I, and IThe New Yorker/I magazines since the early 1950s, was prolific during the '60s. Looked at together, his images from those years create a visual time capsule. This large book is filled with a cacophony of Yippies, Black Panthers, Weathermen, Hare Krishnas, Andy Warhol Factory Superstars, pop artists, rock musicians, astronauts, pacifists, politicians, electroshock therapists, media correspondents, civil rights lawyers, antiwar activists, and more--all shot against his signature white background. Arbus, a novelist and writer for magazines including IRolling Stone/I and IThe Nation/I (and the daughter of photographer Diane Arbus), conducted interviews with many of the subjects. Snippets of those conversations provide an intimate and unforgettable document of the tension, vulnerability, anger, recklessness, hope, and empowerment many people experienced during that era. Brief biographies of the portrait sitters, as well as a chronology that spans the first signs of the war in Vietnam in 1960 to its final conclusion in 1973, provide excellent context for the images. IThe Sixties/I is riveting. I--A.C. Smith/I
Product Description
The photographer Richard Avedon and the writer Doon Arbus began collaborating on this book thirty years ago. The photographs and interviews they did then remain faithful to what was, like the contents of a time capsule.brbriMeeting somebody and balling them means something, but it doesn't mean near as much as it used to./i --Janis Joplin, September 1969brbriIn a society where there is institutionalized oppression, the thing is to catch government and business in the grass--actually humping./i --Florynce Kennedy, August 1969brbriI was so afraid of being bad and being caught at it./i --Dr. Benjamin Spock, September 1969brbrThe connection between all the rhetoric and all the poetry, between the words of a Black Panther and those of a rock star or a pacifist, between the scars of a pop artist and those of a napalm victim, have haunted and informed the structuring of this book, with its own peculiar version of a beginning, a middle, and an end.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Amazing potrayal of the sixties by Avedon August 17, 2004
Muhammad Samarkand (San Diego, CA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
What I liked about this book is how Avedon capturing glimpse of sixties atmosphere into his photographs. In this book he includes many famous celebrities from musicians to actress. Although this book has full frontal nudity, horrifying image of impact of war, sex and drugs scenes, it's really portraying "the truth" about sixties. br / br /The writings by Doon Arbus also related into Avedon's image, which is really helpful for the audience to understand what happened at those time period. If you really interested to know about rock and roll, politics and celebrities on the sixties, this book might be suited for you.
 What a time, what a time...before we all melted... August 22, 2002
K. Corn (Indianapolis,, IN United States)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
Okay, forgive my purple prose. But this book seems to evoke that kind of emotion, filled as it is with images of people at their most open, their most shocking and their most vulnerable...and yes, their most naked. If you are offended by nudity or just plain horrorific images, pass this one by. But if you want a glimpse of the 60s in all its countercultural glory (and naivete), buy this one. Read it. Look at the images and hear the voices of some of the people who were considered icons of the time. It was truly the best and worst of times (stealing from Dickens). But also a courageous moment in our collective history. I'm thankful that Avedon took photos throughout these years.
What Were They Thinking? November 15, 2000
Donald Mitchell (Boston)
25 out of 32 found this review helpful
Before going into the merits of this book, let me caution readers that the book (and back cover) contain many images and written material that will shock and appall many including four-letter words and obscene gestures, undressed people portrayed for their shock value, and people involved in activities not often seen in public. If those things offend you, definitely avoid this book.pIn reviewing this book, I found it hard to separate my views of the sixties from my views about the book. I hope I have succeeded. pThe book is comprised of photographic images done by Richard Avedon and snippets of interviews with many of the subjects done by Doon Arbus, daughter of photographer Diane Arbus. The people portrayed in the book include the more bizarre public figures of that age. Their photographs speak eloquently about their lives and mental states. Their words have a hard time being as eloquent, because many of the people had few thoughts. pIn evaluating the book, I saw two significant weaknesses. First, I looked for who was missing. The book nods much more heavily to the counterculture than to the main culture. As a result, the story of the Sixties is biased by its focus, and misses the opportunity for making more interesting comparisons. If I were to show this to my children (which I would not do because of the material in it), they would get a highly inaccurate view of the sixties. Second, I looked for the quality of the photography. Clearly, there were some great photographs, but there were lots of pretty ordinary ones. Combining these perspectives caused me to grade the book down one star.pThe best part of the book was some before and after photography and interviewing with Bob Dylan. The before and after photographs of Frank Zappa were also interesting. Had the volume developed this theme more, it would have been much more valuable. Those who were the counterculture icons of the age could tell us a lot about the sixties by describing how they have changed.pMidst the images of race, war, protest, sex, drugs, and rock, I would be remiss if I did not point out which Avedon photographs moved me. These included images of Louise Nevelson, Dao Dua, Paul McCartney, Dorothy Day, George Wallace with Jimmy Davis (his valet), Cesar Chavez, James Baldwin, a Napalm victim, and Truman Capote. Avedon drew from their souls into mine very powerfully. These photographs were very impressive. In fact, they were so impressive that they made the others seem more bare and uninspiring, which was undoubtedly part of the editorial purpose. pIf you were alive during the sixties, I suggest that you create your own annotated scrapbook of that period to share with your children and grandchildren. They will be enriched by your sharing of the images that were important to you, and what you thought about those images then . . . and what you think about them now. In this way, you may be able to successful transmit what was good about the sixties while discouraging what was not so good. pPeace now!
 Not as good as Evidence or An Autobiography April 17, 2000
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
I'm glad I was able to check this book out at my local library, because I would have been majorly dispared if I had to pay for this book. Once you go through the book you will notice that it is not as grabbing as either Evidence or An Autoboigraphy. In fact much of the book can be found in the other Avedon book An Autiobography. Overall I found the book to be boring and not up to the par that Richard Avedon is know for. The descriptions in the back of the various people and organizations are interesting but do not warrent the () price tag.
An honest view of a decade out of control March 10, 2000
Carl A. Johnson (Lake Orion, Michigan)
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
Anyone who was there knows that all of their conventions and beliefs were challenged or totally discarded. The 1960's was a cultural roller coaster ride that bounced and threw us back and forth like being caught in the teeth of an angry dog. It was an explosion of artistic beauty and also an explosion of unparalleled madness. Richard Avedon's portrait photos convey a brutal honesty that captures the mind set of the decade perfectly. He has an undescribable ability to capture the natural human nature of a subject. When you see a black and white portrait by Avedon, you feel just like you've known the subject for years. He's the Matthew Brady of the 60's battleground. One note of caution: several photos contain nudity perhaps not appropriate for younger viewers.
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