For author Dick Caplan, the small town of Wallingford, Connecticut, was an idyllic place to grow up-even if he did have to practice hiding under his desk in case of a nuclear attack. His 1950s childhood was filled with birthday parties, baseball, and fantasies of becoming a superhero. But in the sixties and seventies, Caplan confronted shocking moments of political turmoil and cultural upheaval.

To illustrate the genesis of many boomers' liberal political leanings, Caplan discusses numerous horrifying events that his generation witnessed-the assassinations of John F. Kennedy,...