In these times when we^re numb from watching 6000 people killed as the WTC
collapsed, it may be important to remember that millions who never attacked
the United States were killed in Vietnam ^ and many blacks were jailed,
beaten, and killed in the US for simply trying to excercise their right to
vote. And as Congress debates giving more power to the FBI, it may be useful
to remember the excesses of the Sixties when the FBI was unleashed against
the civil rights and antiwar movements. For this and more, check out my new
book, Prairie Radical: A Journey Through The Sixties.
Robert Pardun
Prairie Radical: A Journey Through The Sixties is a memoir by Robert Pardun,
whose life was radically changed when he joined the civil rights movement and
spoke out against the war in Vietnam. It is a grass-roots inside history of
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the largest student organization of
the 1960s, as seen by a founder of the University of Texas SDS chapter in
1964 who was elected in 1967 to be a national officer. Robert worked in the
SDS national office in 1967-68 as the war escalated, the antiwar movement
became more militant, and government repression increased dramatically.
Prairie Radical is also the history of the vibrant and innovative Austin,
Texas SDS chapter, one of the Prairie Power strongholds, where the cultural
rebellion and the political movement overlapped. Because of these activities,
Robert was placed on the FBI^s ^Rabble Rouser Index^ and targeted to be
^neutralized^ by the FBI^s COINTELPRO program. The story of that tumultuous
period is set within the context of what was happening in Vietnam and
interwoven with what we now know was happening inside the government and the
FBI. From 1971-76, Robert lived on a commune in the Ozarks, in an attempt to
put the values of the Sixites into practice. The book is illustrated with
many photos, posters, and FBI documents.
Prairie Radical: A Journey Through The Sixties by Robert Pardun. 376 pages,
illustrated, $15, paperback. Shire Press. ISBN: 0-918828-20-1. Available
from local bookstores, Amazon.com, or from Shire Press, 26873 Hester Creek
Road, Los Gatos, CA 95033. (408) 353-4253.
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