Drafted; a memoir of the 60s

 

Title of the book: Drafted: a memoir of the 60s 

Author: Heywood Gould 

Publisher: Tolmitch Press 

Publishing Date: 2021

ISBN: 978-1-63760-534-9

Summary:

It's 1966, and young Heywood Gould, a Brooklyn boy with literary ambitions, has his dream job. He is a reporter at the ultra liberal (that's right liberal) New York Post, alongside young writers like Nora Ephron, Pete Hamill and Anthony Scaduto. New York is a newspaper town, six dailies trying to beat each other to the big story. He revels in the action and competition.

It's one of the most consequential moments in American history. Gould chases stories about the civil rights struggle, the anti-war movement, riots and rat infestation and World's Fair scandals. He covers everything from toy shows to murder trials. This is the best training for an apprentice writer.

Then he gets that fateful letter that begins, "Greetings." After five years of dodging, Uncle Sam has caught up with him. He's been caught in the Vietnam draft.

Now he is torn between his hatred of the war and his loyalty to his intensely patriotic family, Jewish immigrants who credit America with saving their lives, all of whom served in World War II.

In this comic memoir of his early life, screenwriter, director and novelist Gould cuts back and forth between vivd scenes of childhood as early as age 2, and coming of age in New York City in the '60's. Fighting anti-Semitic bullies in the neighborhood. Collecting corpses for a Brooklyn funeral home. Dropping acid in Greenwich Village and dropping out of college for a year of sleazy encounters and one bittersweeet love affair in the down and out world of left bank Paris.

He tell of the strategies he employed as his draft day approached. Shrink's notes, urine switches, bogus arrests, arranged marriages, freakouts at the physical-all to no avail.

Possessed of uncanny recall for details, an unparalleled ear for dialogue, and disarming candor about his foibles, young Heywood is great company. Reader will be treated to a ride to another era, not so terribly long ago. 

Author Info:
(From goodreads)

Born in the Bronx and raised in Brooklyn, Heywood Gould got his start as a reporter for the New York Post. Later he financed years of rejection with the usual colorful jobs, cabdriver, mortician's assistant, industrial floor waxer, bartender and screenwriter. He has written twelve books and nine screenplays, among them "Lading Lady," "Fort Apache, the Bronx," "Boys From Brazil," "Cocktail," "Rolling Thunder," "Double Bang," "One Dead Debutante," and "Glitterburn." His new novel is "The Serial Killer's Daughter." 

Personal Opinion:

Heywood Gould has definitely led an interesting life, at least from time of his birth to 1966, when he gets called up for Vietnam War draft. The entire tale focuses a lot on him growing up in Brooklyn, a man of Jewish descent and an attempt in trying to find a niche of his own in the secular world. A lot of what has shocked me are how 1960s feel a lot like 2020, especially the race relations. In other words, how LITTLE has changed during the sixty years between the start of civil rights versus now. Some of the stories, especially when he delves deeply into his past didn't really connect with the current narrative, that of him post 1960s and trying to get out of fighting Vietnam War. In my mind, the story has some resemblance to David Hirshbergs MY MOTHERS SON, but it feels as if the memoir is simply a scratch on the surface into his psyche. 

This was given for review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)