Battleground Chicago

The 1968 Democratic Convention best known for police brutality against demonstrators has been relegated to a dark place in American historical memory. Battleground Chicago ventures beyond the stereotypical image of rioting protestors and violent cops to reevaluate exactly howand whythe police attacked antiwar activists at the convention. Working from interviews with eighty former Chicago police officers who were on the scene Frank Kusch uncovers the other side of the story of 68 deepening our understanding of a turbulent decade.Frank Kuschs compelling account of the clash between Mayor Richard Daleys men in blue and anti-war rebels reveals why the 1960s was such a painful era for many Americans. . . . to his great credit [Kusch] allows the pigs to speak up for themselves.Michael KazinKuschs history of white Chicago policemen and the 1968 Democratic National Convention is a solid addition to a growing literature on the cultural sensibility and political perspective of the conservative white working class in the last third of the twentieth century.David Farber Journal of American History