Slouching Towards Bethlehem – Joan Didion (1967)

https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2017/06/didion/

Comments

AmorymeltzerJan 21, 2026, 8:59 PM
I highly recommend the book of the same title—a collection of her essays. I read it year or two ago, and it's excellent: gorgeous writing, and definitely a touchstone of the time. "I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not," from "On Keeping a Notebook," is something I think about a lot.

The essay itself is, of course, fantastic, but I find that, although she specifically tells us not to, it is impossible not to dwell on young children taking acid.

bryanrasmussenJan 22, 2026, 12:47 AM
>although she specifically tells us not to, it is impossible not to dwell on young children taking acid.

well any of those young kids taking acid would be coming up on retirement age now, so I guess the reasonable thing would be to try to find out how it all went.

trhwayJan 22, 2026, 2:36 AM
I'm sure their files have been paid necessary attention to deep inside some 3-letter agency. One hell of a coincidence:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haight_Ashbury_Free_Clinic

"Louis Jolyon West—a LSD researcher involved in MKUltra—lived near the clinic, and was allowed by Smith to recruit clients for experiments.[7]"

scarmigJan 22, 2026, 5:52 AM
All files related to MKUltra were destroyed in 1973, at the orders of CIA director Richard Helms. So, not so much.

Guess the CIA really didn't want their experiments with Charles Manson to come to light.

(Yes, yes, there only exists circumstantial evidence of a CIA/Manson connection. Because they burned the files.)

solomonbJan 22, 2026, 12:17 AM
Such an incredible essay (and book) and author. I highly recommend all of her essay writing. She captures the dark death of the California hippy era in a captivating and beautiful way.

Whenever I drive up the 5 leaving Los Angeles I get this strange sense of freedom and I think about Joan Didion and Philip Dick.

emmelaichJan 22, 2026, 12:45 AM
Among many memorable passages, I think I find this the most memorable:

> Right there you’ve got the ways that romanticism historically ends up in trouble, lends itself to authoritarianism. When the direction appears. How long do you think it’ll take for that to happen?” is a question a San Francisco psychiatrist asked me.

seanhunterJan 22, 2026, 6:27 AM
For people who are not aware, the title is a reference to the absolutely amazing poem “The Second Coming” by W. B. Yeats[1]. It’s one of my favourites, and one particular line from it seems incredibly resonant at the moment

   > The best lack all conviction, while the worst   
   > Are full of passionate intensity.
[1] https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43290/the-second-comi...
dcsommerJan 22, 2026, 4:31 AM
Great reading to see beyond the clichéd, sanitized retellings of that era. It really makes you consider the prices paid for what some call progress.
hatmanstackJan 22, 2026, 4:51 AM
That's the first piece by Didion I've read, after her death, I'd always meant to read her more. The mask-less account was refreshing, the only counter-weight to flower-power I knew about was Altamont, was getting heavy Hunter S. Thompson vibes.
vpribishJan 22, 2026, 12:28 AM
I liked "The White Album" even more! Beyond those two I can't universally recommend.

I read those around the same time as I re-read Neuromancer (written only 15 years later) -- i found a similar descriptive style and sense of detachment from their characters set in deeply changing worlds. might have just been my mood.

Then there's Fear and Loathing - same time and place as Didion and also an author whose personality is as important as the writing. quite a different vibe, though

tclancyJan 22, 2026, 1:53 AM
The White Album is awesome. Other Didion on California is kind of conservative and dismissive of the changes in culture among young people.
tyreJan 22, 2026, 4:04 AM
Her writing on El Salvador is excellent as well.
just-the-wrkJan 21, 2026, 11:08 PM
After her quote about Christmas in Sacramento, I wanted to enjoy Joan so much. I discovered a scold instead. Her viewpoint is contempt, and its tiring (slouching). Sometimes its boring (a year of magical thinking). I found a guilty pleasure in her writing about Nancy Reagan, because I also despise Nancy Reagan.

The last time I tried to enjoy her was an essay criticizing the first carpool lanes in California.

I hope her work is lost to voices who see possibilities

mturmonJan 21, 2026, 11:46 PM
On the other hand, right when you think you have her pegged as contemptuous, or boring, this beautiful essay on accidental wonders and catastrophes:

https://loa-shared.s3.amazonaws.com/static/pdf/Didion_Malibu...

46493168Jan 22, 2026, 4:54 AM
Fascinated that you found Magical Thinking a bore, it has come back to me in my grief and proved immensely valuable.
larrywrightJan 22, 2026, 2:27 PM
I also loved magical thinking. Even though I haven’t experienced anything close to losing a spouse, it was a wonderful read.
jchip303Jan 22, 2026, 2:48 AM
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jchip303Jan 22, 2026, 2:48 AM
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