What was life like in the 1960s and 1970s?

• Where can I find out what life was like in the 1960s and 1970s? I want to find out more about how life was in the 1960s and in the 1970s with the view of trying to find out more about the culture, politics and daily life that was part of my father's and grandfather's existence. Any advice on where I can find out how life would be like for a young man in his 20s in the 1970s and/or a man in his 30s in the 60s? If it has an African, and especially East African bent to it that would be perfect, but failing that UK and US based experiences would be close enough. I'm open to anything from picture-books to autobiographies -- anything that would give me a good idea on how it felt to live through those periods.

• Answer:

  Yes, one of your best bets is to seek out magazine pieces from the 1960s and 1970s. Try New African for pan-African pieces. English-language magazines and newspapers based in the United Kingdom are probably more likely to cover African issues; try the London Review of Books, the Sunday Times Magazine, The Economist, or of course papers like The Times or The Guardian. For example, I found this piece from 1980, "http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/1980/feb/09/zimbabwe.simonhoggart," in The Guardian. You should definitely look into the Internet Archive's archival film sections, like the http://www.archive.org/details/prelinger, which has thousands of short films from 1927 to 1987 available for completely free online viewing or download. You will find things like cheery animated shorts shown to schoolchildren about http://www.archive.org/details/DuckandC1951, or "social hygiene" films about how to be a http://www.archive.org/details/FlyingBu1953 or a http://www.archive.org/details/AreYouPo1947, or how to avoid the dangers of http://www.archive.org/details/boys_beware or http://www.archive.org/details/HaveITol1958 (ca. 1958), or commercials for http://www.archive.org/details/LuckyStr1948_2, http://www.archive.org/details/Dentu-CremeA, and http://www.archive.org/details/FolgersCoffe_2. As for books, Peter Godwin, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0802141927/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ and http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316018716/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/. The New York Times has a http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/18/books/18book.html?pagewanted=all. Interesting memoirs largely on life in southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), one following upon the other. Alexandra Fuller's Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood, mentioned above, is in the same vein. Joan Didion, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0374531382/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/. Anyone interested in American or Californian life in the 1960s and 1970s must read this. She's neither a man nor African, sorry, but it's very compelling reading. If you like it, follow up with her http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0374522219/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ and http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679752862/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/. Similarly, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1560258160/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ is a very good collection of essays written mostly during the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s by Didion's late husband.