Well Beings
How the Seventies Lost its Mind and Taught Us to Find Ourselves
by James Riley
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Pub Date Mar 28 2024 | Archive Date Jun 27 2024
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Description
James Riley, author of the cult hit The Bad Trip: Dark Omens, New Worlds and the End of the Sixties, returns with another incisive and thought-provoking cultural history, turning his trenchant eye to the wellness industry that emerged in the 1970s.
Concepts such as wellness and self-care may feel like distinctly twenty-first century ideas, but they first gained traction as part of the New Age health movements that began to flourish in the wake of the 1960s. Riley dives into this strange and hypnotic world of panoramic coastal retreats and darkened floatation tanks, blending a page-turning narrative with illuminating explorations of the era's music, film, art and literature.
Well Beings delves deep into the mind of the seventies - its popular culture, its radical philosophies, its approach to health and its sense of social crisis. It tells the story of what was sought, what was found and how these explorations helped the 'Me Decade' find itself. In so doing, it questions what good health means today and reveals what the seventies can teach us about the strange art of being well.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
'As James Riley points out in Well Beings, if the 1960s were about changing the world, the 1970s were about changing yourself. From ashrams to the wellness industry, from primal screaming to neoliberalism, Riley's fresh take on the 1970s lays bare the rampant culture of narcissism that characterised this decade. Wide-ranging and written with flair, this is an eye-opening account of 1970s culture.' Douglas Field
'Riley weaves an attractively readable story from hot tubs to high theory, via Hollywood movies and British sitcoms. And he urges us to continue taking the pursuit of well-being seriously despite the many disconcerting deviations along the way. Highly entertaining and enlightening.' Alastair J. Reid
'Having navigated us through the late 1960s' Bad Trip, James Riley now explores how the 1970s sought to make us Well Beings. Diving deep into the rich cultural resources of a much derided decade, Riley uncovers a complex history chartered towards self-discovery and a cure for our collective ills.' Matthew Worley, Professor of Modern History (University of Reading)
'From gurus and encounter groups to flotation tanks and rebirthing, Riley's account is informed by an impressive breadth of research and provides real insight and understanding.' Judith Noble, Professor of Film and the Occult, Arts University Plymouth
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781785787898 |
| PRICE | $40.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 480 |
