Episode #19: A Road Trip Into the Heart of America (1961) – Interview with Author Lee Livingston

Escape to 1961 – before the assassinations of JFK and MLK, and the chaos of the Vietnam War – when America was still civil and hopeful, in Lee Livingston’s new book In the Rearview Mirror: A Road Trip Into the Heart of Another Country – America 1961, published by Carthay Press. In our exclusive author interview with Lee Livingston, he tells us what 2018 America can learn from 1961 America.

SHOW NOTES

• 3:57 Learn how Lee was inspired to write this book while watching Cleveland the Indians spring training!
• 4:26 In the Rearview Mirror tells a story of American camraderie and community – you won’t find party labels in this book.
• 5:50 Listen to Lee discuss how the culture of friendship has weakened and broken down since the early 60s.
• 8:13 Lee says never mind safe spaces in colleges today – in 1961, two boys spent five days hitchhiking across America because the whole country was genuinely a safe place.
• 10:07 Hear about how Lee wrote this book, two hours a day in the Beverly Hills Library for a year and a half!

OUR GUEST AUTHOR – Lee Livingston

• Lee Livingston born in Los Angeles, California, spent his early childhood in New York City and most of his school years in Cleveland, Ohio.  He graduated from Claremont Men’s College in 1965 with a BA in Literature and finally completed his MFA in Theater Arts from UCLA in 2005.  He was a Vice President/Creative Director at Grey Advertising in Los Angeles.
• From 1980 until the present, he has been running his own commercial film production company in Los Angeles.
• He lives currently in Los Angeles with his wife and two sons.

BOOK OVERVIEW – In the Rearview Mirror

• In the Rearview Mirror tells the story of two carefree 18-year-olds hitchhiking across a country of wide-open highways and wide-open people.  Livingston takes his readers on a nostalgic look back at “America of the Big Heart.”

RESOURCES

• Make sure to get your own copy of In the Rearview Mirror HERE!
• Read about Lee Livingston HERE!
• Check out one of Lee’s favorite authors: Tom Wolfe!

ENDORSEMENTS

IndieReader says thAt In the Rearview Mirror is:

An adventure out of adolescence into the beginning of responsibility… A must read not only for the baby boomer generation, but also a great commentary on friendship, mental illness and, ultimately – the road towards redemption.

Entertainment Weekly says:

It’s exciting, warm, funny, touching, and tragic – a can’t-miss trip for baby boomers of all ages looking to relive innocent and guilt-free pleasure.

IF YOU LIKED THIS EPISODE…

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Tags: In the Rearview Mirror, Lee Livingston