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History was the most boring subject I studied in school because there was no way to relate to it. Memorization of dates and place names was meaningless to me.
Then I realized one day that my generation had lived through some of the most exciting, and at times frightening and deplorable events in history. I’ve also come to realize that the one element missing in all history and civics lessons is a personal perspective by people who actually witnessed those historic moments.
To document history since World War II, 20 writers and extraordinary Americans recount their memories of pivotal moments since 1940 along with their personal views on what happened. We were there, and we sometimes suffered anxiety over events like assassinations, wars, politics, and civil unrest that, at times, threatened our democracy. We also shared moments of sheer joy as we watched the first man walk on the moon. We watched (and some participated) as the counterculture rocked our safe, orderly existence. Then on 9/11, all of our lives were shattered by an attack that revealed to the world our nation’s weaknesses and vulnerability.
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