Overview

On May 4, 1970, at Kent State University in Ohio, political crosscurrents that had been building in America during the 1960s reached critical mass. Anti-war protestors sporting bell-bottomed pants and long hair hurled taunts and rocks at another group of young Americans-National Guardsmen wearing gas masks and rifles. At half past noon, violence unfolded with chaotic speed, as Guardsmen-many of whom had joined the Guard to escape the draft-opened fire on the students. Two reductive narratives emerged: one, that lethal state violence was aimed at Americans who spoke their minds; the other, that law enforcement gave troublemakers the comeuppance they deserved. For over 50 years, little middle ground has been found due to incomplete and contradictory evidence. In Kent State, historian Brian VanDeMark draws on crucial new research and interviews-including, for the first time, the perspective of the Guardsmen who were there that day-for a complete reckoning with the tragedy that bookended the '60s.

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9781324066255

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Reviews

"""Kent State is a brilliant book, a riveting and emotionally wrenching story about the day the Sixties died. Brian VanDeMark has achieved something rare, a narrative that honors both those who died and those who killed on May 4, 1970. When I was an ‘angry young man’ at the time, I could not understand it, but VanDeMark has revealed the facts behind the tragedy. It is a remarkable scholarly achievement about a tipping point in America’s divisive political landscape."" -- Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer and Executive Director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography ""Brian VanDeMark’s beautifully written book forcefully reminds us of the Vietnam War’s impact on American domestic life, and the strife that tore us apart and destroyed innocent lives—as at Kent State."" -- Robert Dallek, presidential historian ""Brian VanDeMark provides an insightful look back at one of the most tragic moments of the 1970s when four students at Kent State University were killed by the Ohio National Guard. VanDeMark unpacks how the story unfolded, shattering some conventional narratives that we have about what took place in this shocking moment in American history."" -- Julian E. Zelizer, Princeton University ""Masterful.... The definitive book about the atrocity that took place at Kent State in early May 1970.... VanDeMark's thorough, balanced, and nuanced reporting, extensive quotes from scores of principals, and vivid, absorbing prose will stay with readers for a long time.... [This] top-notch book embodies the term must-read."" -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review"

"""Brian VanDeMark’s beautifully written book forcefully reminds us of the Vietnam War’s impact on American domestic life, and the strife that tore us apart and destroyed innocent lives—as at Kent State."" -- Robert Dallek, presidential historian"

"""Brian VanDeMark’s beautifully written book forcefully reminds us of the Vietnam War’s impact on American domestic life, and the strife that tore us apart and destroyed innocent lives—as at Kent State."" -- Robert Dallek, presidential historian ""Brian VanDeMark provides an insightful look back at one of the most tragic moments of the 1970s when four students at Kent State University were killed by the Ohio National Guard. VanDeMark unpacks how the story unfolded, shattering some conventional narratives that we have about what took place in this shocking moment in American history."" -- Julian E. Zelizer, Princeton University"

Author Information

Brian VanDeMark teaches history at the United States Naval Academy. The author of several books on American history, he also co-authored Robert McNamara's best-selling Vietnam memoir, In Retrospect, which became the basis of the Academy Award-winning documentary The Fog of War. He lives in Maryland.

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