Dear Dr. Spock

Dear Dr. Spock

by Michael Foley

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"At the height of the Vietnam War, thousands of Americans wrote moving letters to Dr. Benjamin Spock, America's pediatrician and a high-profile opponent of the war. Personal and heartfelt, thoughtful and volatile, these missives from Middle America provide an unprecedented glimpse into the conflicts that took place over the dinner table as people wrestled with this divisive war and with their consciences." "Providing one of the first clear views of the home front during the war, Dear Dr. Spock collects the best of these letters and offers a window into the minds of ordinary Americans. They wrote to Spock because he was familiar, trustworthy, and controversial. His book Baby and Child Care was a staple on the shelves of most homes, second only to the Bible in the number of copies sold. Starting in the 1960s, his activism in the antinuclear and antiwar movements drew mixed reactions from Americans - some puzzled, some supportive, some angry, and some desperate."--Jacket.

Discussion questions for Dear Dr. Spock

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  1. 1

    Dr. Spock was an iconic pediatrician who became a controversial anti-war activist. How do the letters reveal the struggle Americans had reconciling these two facets of his public identity, and how did his unique position both amplify and complicate the national conversation about the war?

  2. 2

    The book highlights the deep divisions the Vietnam War created, even at the family dinner table. Can you recall a time in your own life, or in recent history, when a national issue created such profound personal and familial rifts? How did people navigate those conversations, or avoid them?

  3. 3

    The description states this book offers "one of the first clear views of the home front during the war." What specific insights or perspectives did you gain from reading these private letters that you might not have encountered in traditional historical accounts of the Vietnam War?

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