Alum relives '60s journey, his and the world's

Amidst the assassinations, protests and riots of 1968, a rising senior at Penn hitchhiked across Europe.

Thirty eight years later, Joe Mack has finally published the story of his travels.

Mack returned to Penn last night to present and read excerpts from 1968 and I'm Hitchhiking Through Europe to an small audience at the Penn Bookstore. Afterwards, he fielded questioned and signed copies of his book.

The memoir interweaves the political turmoil of the times with Mack's personal experiences.

Riots are a significant part of the book, along with demonstrations, anti-war protests and other elements of the counterculture of the '60s and '70s, he said.

"This book is a story of a grand adventure," Mack said. "This was an adventure that's amazing and true."

Yet despite the personal nature of his book, Mack hopes it has an impact in changing the current social and political climate.

"I want to get the pendulum to swing in the other direction," he said. "It's about trust as well as danger."

Mack said he has been busy over the past several decades - he is a photographer at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, an activist in community politics and a father of three - but he has never forgotten his experiences from 1968.

"I've told myself this story 1,000 times," Mack said. "It's like a well one goes back to for good feelings."

Once his children grew up, he said he had the time to put his thoughts on paper. Plus, he added, there were some things in the book he did not want his children to know when they were young.

The audience last night consisted of members of the Penn community as well as Mack's friends and co-workers.

College freshman Ben Greenberg said he was drawn to the event because the book title caught his eye.

Greenberg bought the book for his father, who is also a Penn alumnus from Mack's generation, but said he definitely plans to read it as well.

Mack's friends shared the students' interest and enjoyment, but, to them, the bigger picture was even more important.

"I'm very happy for him," Scott Homolka, who works with Mack, said. "This is something he's wanted to write about - a story he wanted to tell - his whole life. We don't all have a chance to do that."

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