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A review by otterno11
Strange Days Indeed: The 1970s: The Golden Days of Paranoia by Francis Wheen
4.0
For some reason, I have found myself intrigued by the period of history known as the 1970s, the “me decade.” While dividing history into convenient decade long portions may be an oversimplification, as pointed out by Francis Wheen in “Strange Days Indeed,” particularly in a century of such drastic change, something about the “Seventies” seems to represent a turning point in the 20th century. While missing the decade personally by two years, I still have found study of this time of mixed crisis and banality to be oddly familiar.
Wheen’s book examines this ten year period through the lens of one it's, arguably, most defining features, paranoia, and paints a vivid and disturbing picture, yet one compelling in the similarities that can be found to the world today. Paranoia, according to Wheen, truly erupted onto the world scene at the time and his anecdotes involving Nixon, Mao, Harold Wilson, and Idi Amin illustrate how a deep fear of the future had haunted the halls of power throughout the world. In addition, he describes the emergence of fears of a doomed economy, terrorism, growth in occult and conspiratorial beliefs, and other interesting themes. I particularly enjoyed Wheen’s citing of various period literature and cinema to illustrate his points, which really help to evoke the thoughts and feelings of the time.
On the other hand, the variety of these diverse themes brought together in “Strange Days Indeed” under the overarching theme of paranoia can bury his arguments in these many interesting stories. While linked loosely by date, his chapter’s can seem a bit disorganized. Still, I found every subject described by Wheen to be interesting. His conclusion, linking many of these themes to conditions today, was something that I had noted throughout the work- there seem, culturally, to be many parallels between the 1970s and the 2000s that Wheen was able to hint at during the course of the book.
“Strange Days Indeed,” then, was one of the most interesting and thought provoking accounts of the 1970s I’ve read, even when it runs into problems tackling such broad topic. It is a very topical book as well, and a good read for anyone interested in the 1970s and its relation to the contemporary world.
Wheen’s book examines this ten year period through the lens of one it's, arguably, most defining features, paranoia, and paints a vivid and disturbing picture, yet one compelling in the similarities that can be found to the world today. Paranoia, according to Wheen, truly erupted onto the world scene at the time and his anecdotes involving Nixon, Mao, Harold Wilson, and Idi Amin illustrate how a deep fear of the future had haunted the halls of power throughout the world. In addition, he describes the emergence of fears of a doomed economy, terrorism, growth in occult and conspiratorial beliefs, and other interesting themes. I particularly enjoyed Wheen’s citing of various period literature and cinema to illustrate his points, which really help to evoke the thoughts and feelings of the time.
On the other hand, the variety of these diverse themes brought together in “Strange Days Indeed” under the overarching theme of paranoia can bury his arguments in these many interesting stories. While linked loosely by date, his chapter’s can seem a bit disorganized. Still, I found every subject described by Wheen to be interesting. His conclusion, linking many of these themes to conditions today, was something that I had noted throughout the work- there seem, culturally, to be many parallels between the 1970s and the 2000s that Wheen was able to hint at during the course of the book.
“Strange Days Indeed,” then, was one of the most interesting and thought provoking accounts of the 1970s I’ve read, even when it runs into problems tackling such broad topic. It is a very topical book as well, and a good read for anyone interested in the 1970s and its relation to the contemporary world.