What do readers think of Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young by Zayd Ayers Dohrn? Write your own review.

Author Zayed Ayers Dohrn, born in 1977, spent the first few years of his life in the 'Weather Underground' when his parents, Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, with help from friends and associates, went underground, travelling between safe houses and other off-the-grid locations, to evade arrest by the FBI.

Dohrn, now in his late 40s, combines his own memories and experiences of the times with those of his parents, and wide-ranging interviews he collected from an extensive network of former revolutionary contacts accumulated over the decades, from organizations such as The Weathermen, The Black Liberation Army, The Black Panthers, and others. The result is an informative, concise, and engaging narrative of revolutionary movements and activists in the United States from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s of the 20th century.

Zayd Dohrn, who, as an adult, chose to become a writer rather than a revolutionary, employs his notable literary skills to produce a compelling, exceptionally readable, and flowing story that brings to life the turmoil of those decades and the lives of individuals and entities. Dohrn continues the timeline into the twenty-first century, updating the reader on the fate of many of the militant activists involved.

He adds his own astute perspective on those past decades, which include two thought-provoking definitions of the word revolution: "a sudden, radical, or complete change; or a progressive motion of a body around an axis so it returns to its initial position."
In summary, an inspiring, informative, highly readable page-turner that examines a significantly unsettled period of American history in some detail.

Having lived through the 60's, 70's, and 80's, I found this book fascinating. The story is told from the perspective of an insider with original source material and presents questions that are difficult to consider. It is well written and moves quickly. Mr. Dohrn does an excellent job providing insights into the motivations and thoughts of his parents and other Weather Underground members. It would be a great book club selection. It offers an opportunity to consider competing values and commitments. Highly recommended.

Dangerous Dirty Violent and Young is the most informative, fascinating, heartwrenching work of nonfiction that I have ever read.

Zayd Dohrn is a gifted writer. His account of the revolutionary lives of his parents, Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers, is so richly descriptive that the reader is there with them: physically, mentally, and emotionally. Exuberant friendships; alienation from family; bewildering multiple identities; unquestioned loyalty; terrifying close calls with law enforcement; certainty vs. ambiguity; extreme empathy for the oppressed; incomprehensible risk taking; love and concern for children; crippling exhaustion: the reader experiences it all.

The story of the underground life of Bernadine Dohrn and her fellow radicals was intriguing to me because I am a member of their generation. I grew up with them, I went to college with them, I had my children in the same decade; I was living in the same country… but in a different universe.

I graduated from college and married my Naval Academy sweetheart in 1967. We spent 5 years as a military family, went to graduate school together, and then settled in a small university town in Tennessee. We had 3 three sons and were as normal as blueberry pie.

So reading this book introduced me to an America I never knew. I was vaguely familiar with the SDS, the Weathermen, and the Black Panthers; but they had nothing to do with my life. We were totally in favor of the Civil Rights movement; but wanting to violently overthrow the government was beyond our imagination. I will be mulling over this disparity for a long time.

As a high school student of the late sixties, I remember the radicals of the day, the SDS, Weather Underground, Black Panthers, and absolutely loved this book. What a novel approach to the history of the time, an insider who grew up inside revolution. Zayd Dohrn does not gloss over what his parents did or view their actions with rose colored glasses. His story is factual and with great heart.

The parents' history is captivating, coming full circle from revolutionary to members of society, always having the desire to make the world a better place. The commitment to the cause no matter what the cost to themselves was bewildering. But their reasoning, which I still do not get, is not the point. The point is that they believed what they were doing would change the world for the better. Their cause was bigger than themselves. The story of Bernardine Dorhn, her fellow activists and husband Bill Ayers is a totally engrossing story.

Zayd Dohrn is a wonderful storyteller. This is not a child's story of funny family memories. This is the story of the radical politics of the 1960's as you have never heard it. What a timely book for the times we are living in now, 2026.

So many questions.

When is violence justified? Do the hoped for ends justify the means? What about the innocent victims – are they just necessary collateral damage? Is it noble to sacrifice your children to make the world better for other people's children – especially since there are so many more of them?

And even if the cause is just, does the violence actually advance it? Did bombing buildings and killing police end the Vietnam war/pave the way for Civil Rights legislation/end racism/sexual assault/human trafficking etc. etc? And finally when the author asks about today – and whether it's just as bad? Is it? Is ICE the Gestapo – does attacking them make for a better world? Are all illegal immigrants deserving of all rights including absolute freedom from arrest – even if they have committed multiple assaults on innocent people – are they today's radical victims acting out in virtuous violence? (Admittedly he doesn't defend the violence of the immigrants, but he does seem to believe defending them no matter what they may have done – as with the Black victims of the 60's70's who were arrested for actual crimes may be the new ideal.)

The author is ambivalent on these questions – particularly on the question of the effect on the children of the radicals. His adopted brother, particularly, suffered greatly as a result of his parents decisions.

Yet at the same time, the author wants us to understand the motivations of the revolutionaries– which are presented as pure and noble. And he makes us see that they were true believers. It wasn't just virtue signaling. They put their own lives literally on the line (and put their children at risk even when they hated doing it).

He makes us see them as humans doing what they thought was right. He forgives his parents for any harm he, himself, and his brothers suffered and shows us the love he also experienced.

Yet the questions remain.

I grew up during the times of the things that were going on in the book! So it was wonderful to recall those troubled times in history.

The Weathermen and other Underground groups were active when I was a teenager. I remember hearing about the Underground, the Weathermen, and the accidental bombing of the townhouse in New York killing some of their own members. Two members of some fringe groups in the Underground even entered and took over one of my Engilsh classes when I was in high school. They were trying to recruit new members. It was a scary, violent, chaotic time. I never thought of any of the members Underground as parents. The author Zayd Ayers Dohrn is the son of Bernardine Dohrn, one of the most notorious leaders of the Underground. It is interesting to read about the Underground from the viewpoint of one of their children. However, it is horrifying to me that some of the members were so irresponsible to continue their dangerous activities while they had small children. The book seems to jump around in time, which made it difficult for me to follow what was going on sometimes. For some reason, I found parts of the book to be rather flat. I thought it could have been more exciting and evocative of the violence and revolutionary spirit of the times. However, I am glad that I read it.

This book was an intriguing read. The author goes into great detail describing his early childhood on the run from the law as his mother was seen as an outlaw, a terrorist as she was resisting the "American " lifestyle and instead fighting for a life of equality in a country so divided. This is a great lesson for anyone unaware of this country's views in the 60s, 70s and 80s and just how archaic things were. The author does an amazing job of bringing this story to life and you can tell he has really done his research into his parents' history.