I love a good book to read. I always scan the best sellers list in the Sunday paper, as well as checking out those promoted on Amazon.

I download the ones I think I will enjoy on my Kindle. Unfortunately, I find I don’t always agree with the critics.

However, I just finished reading a novel called Summer of ’69 by Elin Hilderbrand. I was a bit dubious about the title, thinking it must be some kind of light beach read; and in a way it was; but I was surprised to find it intriguing as it reminded me of all the things that happened that year. Things I had moved on and away from.

1969 was quite a year!

The United States was bogged down in the extended Viet Nam war. Richard Nixon was president and there were many anti-war demonstrations being held across the country.

It was the summer of the Woodstock music festival. It was the time of flower children, open use of drugs, free sex and a significant change in societal mores.

Remember the Chappaquiddick incident when Ted Kennedy drove his automobile off a bridge into the water and his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne died while trapped inside? That also happened in 1969.

And, don’t forget the successful launching of Apollo 11 and mankind’s first steps on the moon

All of these subjects are woven into the novel as author Hilderbrand so cleverly incorporates them into her story about a family that spends the summers on Nantucket each year. This was the year everything changed. The summer of 1969, 50 years ago, has been hailed as the most tumultuous summer of the twentieth century.

One of my assignments here at the paper each week is to scroll through the pages of old editions of The Post Searchlight and find the news of 50 years, 25 years and 10 years ago. I am finding many of the references in 1969 to be especially interesting as to how they were viewed or mentioned here in Bainbridge, Decatur County, Georgia.

I hope our readers enjoy seeing some of the local history reprinted.

And, I can recommend Hilderbrand’s latest novel Summer of ’69 to all who like a good book to read while at the beach—or anywhere else.