''Dreams Die Hard'' is an

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

book published in 1982 and re-issued in 1993 by David Harris, a prominent anti-

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

activist during the 1960s. The book chronicles the experiences of three men (Harris,

Allard Lowenstein Allard Kenneth Lowenstein (January 16, 1929 – March 14, 1980)Lowenstein's gravestone, Arlington National Cemeteryphoto onlineon the cemetery's official website. Accessed online 28 October 2006.paranoid schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. ...

and two decades of accumulated disillusionment and

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

eventually led a deranged Sweeney to murder Lowenstein. One-term Congressman Lowenstein, "the world's oldest student activist," had, by his forties, lived decades in various political arenas. From the Mississippi Freedom Summer project in the Deep South, to the Dump Johnson campaign of 1968, Allard was passionate and well-connected in liberal circles. He was most likely

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

before the word was current., Harris's detailed and historical narration, written in an attempt to explain the lives of each of the characters, discusses how the three activists began their affiliations at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, and continued through the turbulent decade. Lowenstein's sexual orientation reappears throughout the book and serves as one of many connections between the three main figures: both Harris and Sweeney rejected overt passes from Lowenstein; Harris's reaction was thoughtful, empathetic, and verbal; but Sweeney's reaction was decidedly irrational and physical and ended in

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

. ''Dreams Die Hard'' was adapted into a two-act play of the same name by John Binder which was first produced at the Met Theater in Hollywood in 1995.

References

*David Harris, ''Dreams Die Hard: Three Men's Journey Through the Sixties'' (New York: St. Martin's/Marek, 1982). *David Harris, ''Dreams Die Hard: Three Men's Journey Through the Sixties'' (San Francisco: Mercury House, 1993). 1982 books Political autobiographies Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War {{US-poli-bio-book-stub