Too Good To Be Forgotten; Changing America in the '60s and '70s

v, [1], 282, pages. Index. Few people saw as much or knew as many of the primary figures of the '60s and the '70s as David Obst. A journalist in the maelstrom of the anti-war movement, he helped break Seymour Hersh's Pulitzer Prize-winning My Lai Massacre story. A behind-the-scences operators, he babysat The Pentagon Papers for Daniel Ellsberg. And as the hottest literary agent of the period, Obst quickly sewed up deals with the Watergate intelligentsia, including Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein and John Dean. Obst's knack for being in the center of every interesting story makes Too Good to Be Forgotten a rare, you-are-there joy ride across the political and cultural frontier of that era. A definitive look at the baby boomer's coming of age, Too Good To Be Forgotten is a memoir of a generation. David Obst is an American literary agent and author. Obst was the agent of Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. He also was involved in the productions of the films Revenge of the Nerds, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and All the President's Men. Obst became Seymour Hersh's literary agent. Obst had also associated with activist Abbie Hoffman. Obst wrote the memoir Too Good To Be Forgotten: Changing America in the '60s and '70s. In a review of the book, Hersh stated that Obst was "in the middle of" important political movements in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1998 Obst further explained the idea Deep Throat was non-existent in a New York Times interview. Too Good To Be Forgotten: Changing America in the '60s and '70s is a 1998 memoir by David Obst, published by John Wiley & Sons. It is Obst's account of the 1960s and the 1970s. Book segments include Obst's childhood, his studies and travels, and his interactions with historically significant political figures during the subject decades. The start of each chapter includes the list of the subject year's popular films, television, and record albums. Alex Kyczynski of The New York Times argued that the inclusion of the lists was a "waste" of space. Jamie Stiehm of The Baltimore Sun wrote that the book "succeeds in his mission of breathing life into a series of snapshots of his youth and capturing the tempo of the times". Few people saw as much or knew as many of the primary figures of the '60s and '70s as David Obst. A journalist in the maelstrom of the anti-war movement, he helped break Seymour Hersh's Pulitzer Prize-winning My Lai Massacre story. A behind-the-scenes operator, he baby-sat the Pentagon Papers for Daniel Ellsberg. And as the hottest literary agent of the period, Obst quickly sewed up deals with the Watergate intelligentsia, including Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein and John Dean. Given his insider status, Obst offers some intriguing speculation on the identity of Deep Throat. Obst's knack for being at the center of every interesting story makes Too Good To be Forgotten a rare, you-are-there joy ride across the political and cultural frontier of that era. Surviving a youth of nuclear drop drills, Sputnik, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Obst went on to study Chinese in Taipei. There, while working as an impromptu translator for GIs trying to pick up women in a local bar, he heard the truth about what was happening in the Vietnam War. Returning to America, he immersed himself in the anti-war movement and the countercultural zeitgeist of the '60s. Through Obst's eyes, we see the casual mix of idealism and excitement of the times: the 1968 Democratic Convention, where he barely escapes the beatings of Chicago police in Lincoln Park; the People's Park protests in Berkeley where he gets a face full of tear gas while trying to impress a comely woman; the Black Panther rally, where he receives a "Honkies for Huey" button; and the 1972 Republican Convention where Abbie Hoffman slips him an illegal substance that hits at the very moment Richard Nixon steps to the podium to accept the nomination. A definitive look at the baby boomers' coming of age, Too Good To be Forgotten puts you right in the thick of.…