The Class of 67

About the Book

The Class of 67 is a historic novel; an episodic, coming-of-age story set on the Ohio State campus in the sixties. The protagonist, Jerry Roush, and his classmates live through turbulent social upheaval—the free speech movement; the struggle for civil rights, open housing, and access to “the pill;” the space race, and the threat of nuclear war. Jerry and his friends struggle to incorporate the changes, while dealing with their own identities, relationships, commitments, and expectations – all played out on a college campus.
The reader will discover – or relive – what it was like to be in the epicenter of a storm of generation-splitting conflicts – including the threat of the military draft and the freedom of “sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll.”

What was the boomer generation’s reaction to mandatory military training, to girls’ hours and PDA (Public Display of Affection)? What did they think and feel during the Cuban missile crisis? Where were they on the day John F. Kennedy was shot? What did white suburban kids do when they discovered how rental housing worked, or racial tensions flared? How did couples obtain an abortion before Roe vs. Wade?
Growing up is never easy, but the times made it even more confusing for Jerry and his classmates as they struggled with their idealism – when the world they thought they could make clashed with the one their parents sought to keep.

About the Author

Forrest Brandt attended Ohio State University in the sixties, living through the civil rights struggle, the rise of feminism, free speech, and anti-war movements. He accepted a commission in the U.S. Army in 1967 and returned to Ohio State to finish his B.S. degree in 1971.

In 1976, he completed his M.Ed. at the University of Cincinnati and worked as a reading specialist for thirty years before retiring. In that same period, he wrote articles for the Dayton Daily News, various military publications, several literary reviews, and the Ohio State Alumni Magazine.

Since retiring, he has worked as an English adjunct at Northern Kentucky University.

In 1996, he was awarded a fellowship to the Ohio Writing Project, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. He later served three years as a member of the board of advisors for OWP. His poem, “Going Home,” was featured on NPR’s Morning Edition for Veterans’ Day, 2008.

Brandt served a tour in Vietnam in 1968–69 and was activated for six months during Operation Desert Storm. He was retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel in 1997. He lives in Cincinnati along with his wife and fellow writer, Kathleen Wade.