By the Light of Burning Dreams: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Second American Revolution
New York Times bestselling author David Talbot and New Yorker journalist Margaret Talbot illuminate “America’s second revolutionary generation” in this gripping history of one of the most dynamic eras of the twentieth century—brought to life through seven defining radical moments that offer vibrant parallels and lessons for today.
By the Light of Burning Dreams crackles with the radical energy of the 1960s and 70s. It’s a shot in the arm of bold idealism, an indispensable companion for today’s revolutionaries that reminds us what can happen if we dare to believe in – and fight for – a better world." -- Jessica Bruder, author of Nomadland
“In these linked portraits of activists and radicals at a watershed moment in history, David and Margaret Talbot tell a profound story about idealism in action and the rousing, inspiring, often messy ways in which popular movements and charismatic individuals fight injustice and bring about revolutionary transformation. By turns sweeping and intimate, and built on fresh interviews and original reporting, By the Light of Burning Dreams feels like necessary reading in our own tumultuous moment: an urgent reminder that change can happen and a vivid illustration of how it does.” -- Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Say Nothing
“[The Talbots] survey the seismic sociocultural changes that transpired in the U.S. during the 1960s and 1970s—what they call the Second American Revolution—by identifying seven discrete yet often intertwining movements or events of consequence…. The authors clearly admire the courage, political savvy, and sheer physical effort required to create and then sustain such critical movements, but they’re also unsparing in saying that mistakes were made…. As a result, the Talbots have created a coherent narrative of mid-century political activism, from which readers can see the through lines of modern-day success or failure, and proceed from there.” -- Booklist, starred review
“Charismatic but flawed figures dominate this vibrant portrait of 1960s radical movements. …. An exhilarating, inspiring outing.” -- Publishers Weekly
“An intelligent and sympathetic reappraisal of the political upheavals of the ’60s and’ 70s…. An abundance of fresh material gives this book an intergenerational appeal…. Through sharp reporting and good storytelling, the authors enliven a journalistic genre that in less skilled hands might have gone flat.” -- Kirkus
The Entertainer: Movies, Magic, and My Father’s Twentieth Century
“Sharp and engaging . . . Talbot père comes across as a sort of Zelig-with-personality, a life-embracing man whose career spans, and illuminates, the first 60 years of the 20th century.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Margaret Talbot’s wry, wonderful new book . . . That Talbot is a writer gifted enough to evoke not just images but their attendant music through her words will come as no surprise to anyone who’s read her in The New Yorker or elsewhere. One of the things The Entertainer makes abundantly clear, though, is that she comes by her aesthetic sense naturally. . . . Talbot has woven a tale as romantic and vivid as any film could hope to be, while still seeing every bit of it plain. She is as clear-eyed about her father as she is about history—no easy feat. . . . [Lyle] never had even a starring role as dazzling as the one his youngest child, with history as her guide, has now written for him.”—Slate
“In The Entertainer: Movies, Magic and My Father’s Twentieth Century, New Yorker staff writer Margaret Talbot succeeds at what Hollywood failed to do for her father: She makes him a star. . . . Talbot employs novelistic style in bringing this period to life . . . [and] vividly imagines her way into her father’s world. . . . Lyle Talbot had one humdinger of a life story.”—Los Angeles Times
