"The war in Vietnam - a turning point in twentieth-century American history - affected every aspect of life in this country. A case study of the political passions, spiritual pain, and cultural divisions produced by the wars, What's Going On? California and the Vietnam Era provides for the first time a balanced and personal look at the Vietnam years in California." "Conceived in tandem with the Oakland Museum of California's innovative national touring exhibition of the same title, this collection of essays captures the essence of a unique time and place. The exhibition itself centers on events between 1965 and 1975 and examines the legacy of those years in the state today through some five hundred historical artifacts - documents, new accounts, photographs, film clips, musical excerpts, and personal stories, presented in multiple formats. These accompanying essays delve deeper into the themes raised by the exhibition, looking into such topics as the relationship between cold war politics, the Vietnam War, and California's economy; social activism from the Right and the Left; the rise of the feminist, African American, Chicano, and veterans' movements; Vietnamese refugees: and media images of the war."--BOOK JACKET.