Listen to a sample
Beauty is in the Street
- Author
- Joachim C. Häberlen
- Narrator
- Nadia Albina
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Publish Date
- 5 October 2023
- Run Time
- 14 hours 55 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
In post-war Europe, protest was everywhere. On both sides of the Iron Curtain, from Paris to Prague, Milan to Wroclaw, ordinary people took to the streets, fighting for a better world. Their efforts came to a head most dramatically in 1968 and 1989, when mass movements swept Europe and rewrote its history.
In the decades between, Joachim C. Häberlen argues, new movements emerged that transformed the nature of protesting. Activism moved beyond traditional demonstrations, from squatting to staging 'happenings' and camping out at nuclear power plants. People protested in the way they dressed, the music they listened to, the lovers they slept with, the clubs where they danced all night. New movements were born, notably anti-racism, women's liberation, gay liberation, and environmentalism. And protest turned inward, as activists experimented with new ways of living and feeling, from communes to group therapy, in their efforts to live a better life in the here and now.
Some of these struggles succeeded, others failed. But successful or not, their history provides a glimpse into roads not taken, into futures that did not happen. The stories in Häberlen's book invite us to imagine different futures; to struggle, to fail, and to try again. In a time when we are told that there are no alternatives, they show us that there could be another way.
©2023 Joachim C. Häberlene (P)2023 Penguin Audio
Critics Review
-
Well written and informative ... The stories of Provo and other groups, less mythologised than the brick-throwers of 1968 but equally important, illuminate the pages of this book, showing that their efforts 'changed the society in which we live' not merely by achieving things, but also by encouraging us to try it ourselves.
Financial Times
-
[Haeberlen's] particular strength is in covering not just protests in the West, such as the 1968 movements, but on the other side of the Iron Curtain ... intricate details ... a rich and readable account of left-wing activism in the West and opposition to Soviet-style communism in the East.
The Spectator
-
An amiable history of countercultural agitators, from Amsterdam’s anti-car anarchists to Poland’s ‘revolution of dwarfs’, shows the myriad faces of postwar dissent ... A dream, perhaps, but one that still sounds worth fighting for, even beautiful.
The Observer
-
Although Europe had the uprisings in Paris and Prague in 1968, the revolutionary violence of the 1970s and theorists such as Herbert Marcuse and Guy Debord, the counter-culture it produced tends to take second place in the Anglophone world’s imagination. Joachim C. Häberlen’s wide-ranging book gives the continent its due.
Literary Review
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
An engaging book with many fascinating details... which reminds us that revolution and counter-revolution are not the only possible outcomes in history
Foreign Policy
-
An ambitious and masterly account of utopian protest in Europe from the 1950s to 1989 and beyond, ranging from political revolt to environmental and humanitarian movements and the sexual revolutions, lifestyle changes, music and laughter of the counterculture. Fast-paced, with an eye for telling detail and written with a light touch.
Robert Gildea
-
Vibrant ... a book that pulses with colour and light ... vividly demonstrates that the post-war impulse to build a better world was so much more than mere theory.
The Interpreter
-
A fascinating book
Jacobin
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Joachim C. Häberlen
- Narrator
- Nadia Albina
- Duration
- 14 hours 55 minutes
- Release Date
- 5 October 2023
- ISBN
- 9780241604472
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Genre
- Pressure groups, protest movements and non-violent action, European history, Left-of-centre democratic ideologies, Social and cultural history
Synopsis
Brought to you by Penguin.In post-war Europe, protest was everywhere. On both sides of the Iron Curtain, from Paris to Prague, Milan to Wroclaw, ordinary people took to the streets, fighting for a better world. Their efforts came to a head most dramatically in 1968 and 1989, when mass movements swept Europe and rewrote its history.In the decades between, Joachim C. Häberlen argues, new movements emerged that transformed the nature of protesting. Activism moved beyond traditional demonstrations, from squatting to staging 'happenings' and camping out at nuclear power plants. People protested in the way they dressed, the music they listened to, the lovers they slept with, the clubs where they danced all night. New movements were born, notably anti-racism, women's liberation, gay liberation, and environmentalism. And protest turned inward, as activists experimented with new ways of living and feeling, from communes to group therapy, in their efforts to live a better life in the here and now.Some of these struggles succeeded, others failed. But successful or not, their history provides a glimpse into roads not taken, into futures that did not happen. The stories in Häberlen's book invite us to imagine different futures; to struggle, to fail, and to try again. In a time when we are told that there are no alternatives, they show us that there could be another way.©2023 Joachim C. Häberlene (P)2023 Penguin Audio
About xigxag
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.