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mefromson's review against another edition
5.0
A compelling history of the people uniting and making themselves heard!
Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties addresses inequality on so many fronts: racial divides, sexual diparity, and the early battles of gay pride. The sixties spawned so many cultural movements, it's shocking to find the stories from Los Angeles less well known. Davis and Weiner have used their own memories as a basis to start digging into how racial inequality was entrenched in L.A. at all levels, their interviews with notable figures providing crucial insight into just how the government and police went about segregating society by restricting housing, education, and even painting justice in shades of white, brown, and black. The truth laid bare in this book reveals a history of police brutality against the people that has never been more necessary than right now. This depiction of corrupt government and a biased justice system completely undermining the very values the United States claims to stand upon is a very pointed reminder where the power in a democracy lies; more people could learn from the story told in these pages of urban uprising and peaceful protest.
Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties addresses inequality on so many fronts: racial divides, sexual diparity, and the early battles of gay pride. The sixties spawned so many cultural movements, it's shocking to find the stories from Los Angeles less well known. Davis and Weiner have used their own memories as a basis to start digging into how racial inequality was entrenched in L.A. at all levels, their interviews with notable figures providing crucial insight into just how the government and police went about segregating society by restricting housing, education, and even painting justice in shades of white, brown, and black. The truth laid bare in this book reveals a history of police brutality against the people that has never been more necessary than right now. This depiction of corrupt government and a biased justice system completely undermining the very values the United States claims to stand upon is a very pointed reminder where the power in a democracy lies; more people could learn from the story told in these pages of urban uprising and peaceful protest.
evsnodgrass's review
5.0
This was an enlightening dive into the history of 1960s social movements in Los Angeles. In the imaginations of many, LA is a whitewashed place without a history. This prevailing image erases the experiences of marginalized communities. This prevailing image erases many marginalized communities and peoples from the vibrant history of LA. Set the Night on Fire eloquently shares this rich history.
This book is riveting. Its 800 pages are filled to the brim with stories and studies told about the unrest around race, class, and sex. The story brings in hundreds of influential players in these years which makes the history feel vast while being extremely personal.
Because of the Davis and Wiener's lived experience of these tumultuous years in LA, this book is an intimate history of an influential decade. This book will become an invaluable piece of history of the history of Los Angeles.
This book is riveting. Its 800 pages are filled to the brim with stories and studies told about the unrest around race, class, and sex. The story brings in hundreds of influential players in these years which makes the history feel vast while being extremely personal.
Because of the Davis and Wiener's lived experience of these tumultuous years in LA, this book is an intimate history of an influential decade. This book will become an invaluable piece of history of the history of Los Angeles.
cvall96's review
5.0
Mike Davis, ya done it again. (And Mr Wiener!) There’s about a thousand movies in here. Give this to someone the next time they thinks 60s LA and California was just the Beach Boys, surfing, Hollywood, white hippies, the Mansons, and Didion. Absorbed the Chicano Moratorium bits the most for reasons that will soon become clear, but my favorite section is the bonkers one about a Buñuelian series of bombings by an anti-Castro terrorist cadre against a hapless folk-rock club whose address got confused with the LA Socialist Party’s due to inept LA Times reporting—lolwat
sweeneysays's review
5.0
january nf book club: https://www.youtube.com/live/6DT_Ts80r90?si=k93tG3HYabyL5cyw
charlottekm's review against another edition
4.25
Why are male activists allowed to be gods where women have to be humanized?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Murder, Racism, Cursing, Hate crime, Child death, Homophobia, Police brutality, Death, and Violence
Minor: Antisemitism
justmolliecate's review against another edition
5.0
Set the Night on Fire is an in-depth and complex look at the history that created the sprawling city of L.A. It starts off by enumerating the factors that contributed to the uprisings that transformed not just life in LA but life in America during the sixties. Mike David does an excellent job of laying out the convoluted ties between the different players in the game and shows how each aspect of the cultural anathema evolved throughout the years until hitting a point of firm resolve. This book brings to light the dark history and realities of America in the sixties and forces readers to acknowledge the absolutely horrific ordeals that white right leaning Americans forced on minority communities.
While at times this book was as sprawling and twisted as L.A. itself is, the sprawling nature seemed necessary to encapsulate the complex factors of how L.A. came to be what it is now. It is a well researched and well written book and should be at the top of anyone’s list for a more nuanced look and realistic perspective of the social, cultural, and political landscape of L.A. in the sixties.
With new names and characters every few sentences, Set the Night on Fire really brings the human aspect of this time period to the forefront and tells and interwoven story by penning the lives of countless players, on every side of the game. The passion and raw emotion of L.A. in the sixties plays out in this book and really drove the narrative forward.
While at times this book was as sprawling and twisted as L.A. itself is, the sprawling nature seemed necessary to encapsulate the complex factors of how L.A. came to be what it is now. It is a well researched and well written book and should be at the top of anyone’s list for a more nuanced look and realistic perspective of the social, cultural, and political landscape of L.A. in the sixties.
With new names and characters every few sentences, Set the Night on Fire really brings the human aspect of this time period to the forefront and tells and interwoven story by penning the lives of countless players, on every side of the game. The passion and raw emotion of L.A. in the sixties plays out in this book and really drove the narrative forward.