Free Press: Underground & Alternative Publications 1965-1975
by Jean-Francois Bizot
Free Press: Underground & Alternative Publications 1965–1975 is a handsome, oversized collection of images from the height of the underground press era of the United States and Europe. The oversized format well accommodates the newspaper style and silk-screened beauty of many of these extraordinary publications. The second word in Barry Miles' introduction is "nostalgic" and nostalgia is all that remains of "the sixties" for many of this book's potential "readers". This book is all about the striking image, the breathtaking slice of cover art, and for some a frozen moment of remembrance of an entire era past indeed. This book is about the idea of Black Power, revolution, the peace movement, anti-imperialism, and obviously something called "the sixties." Atlanta's excellent underground newspaper, The Great Speckled Bird is proudly represented with a "You Can't Jail the Revolution" Huey P. Newton, silk-screened cover. The underground press did not really come to a close in 1975. It continued until it was pushed into the dumpster of history by a new generation of non-print technology. This process is going on today. But this is a book about yesterday, about a time when phrases like "Freak Out" and "Power to the People" meant something. Certainly it is a lovely thing to behold, a reminder of what could have been and maybe even about what could be again. — Glen Thrasher
Jean-Francois Bizot
Free Press: Underground & Alternative Publications 1965-1975
$45.00