Mayday 1971

Book excerpt: 1971. Fiery radicals, flower children, and militant vets gathered for the most audacious act in a years-long movement to end America's war in Vietnam: a blockade of the nation's capital. The White House, headed by an increasingly paranoid Richard Nixon, was determined to stop it. Roberts, drawing on interviews, archives, and newfound White House transcripts, recreates these largely forgotten events. It began with a bombing inside the U.S. Capitol-- a still-unsolved case. To prevent the Mayday Tribe's guerrilla-style traffic blockade, the government mustered the military. Riot squads swept through the city, arresting more than 12,000 people. An inspiring story of how our democracy faced grave danger, and survived. -- adapted from jacket