Reunion: A Memoir

In this long, self-conscious, apologetic autobiography, Hayden, once a left-wing hero, now a California state legislator, is so busy explaining or qualifying his former radicalism that the effect is stultifying. As he tells it, he achieved a lucky balance in his metamorphosis from self-centered, messianic student organizer to liberal Democrat now ""married to a real Hollywood star Jane Fonda: a beautiful, intelligent, infinitely creative human.'' His windy recitation touches the high points of a well-publicized careerleadership of Students for a Democratic Society, community organizing in Newark, Vietnam War protests, the Columbia University student riots, the Chicago Eight conspiracy trial in 1969, his trip with Fonda to Hanoi. While Hayden notes that he was overly romantic about the Vietnamese revolution, he charges that the U.S. government bears responsibility for continuing to besiege and bleed Vietnam. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour. (May)