The people’s way

In West of Eden: Communes and Utopia in Northern California (PM Press, $24.95), observers and participants alike offer striking takes on communal living in Northern California during the ’60s and ’70s via a series of essays and analytical pieces. Jeff Lustig, a one-time Sacramento State professor who died June 14, highlights the crucial roles of public spaces, namely Golden Gate Park and UC Berkeley. Janferie Stone, with help from students and faculty in the Native-American Program at UC Davis, recalls the Indian occupation of Alcatraz Island. Robyn C. Spencer’s eye-opening chapter sheds light on communal living among members of Oakland’s Black Panther Party, and the sexual politics that raged within the organization. One could read this splendid book as the stories of people living and struggling cooperatively to build a better world—a little like those in the Occupy Wall Street movement are doing now. I did.