Just finished 'Red Star Over China' by Edward Snow which is a page-turning-if-meandering first hand account of the Chinese Civil War through 1937. Snow was the first wh*te journalist to interview Mao and paints 1) a realistic picture of land reform and peasant life in the soviets, and 2) a glowing portrait of the party and Mao.
Also read 'Cycling to Asylum' by Su Sokol which was dissapointing. It documents the lead up to and flight-by-bike of an 'anarchist' high school teacher from New York to Montreal. Except the actual bike journey takes all of a few pages and the protagonist's political work even less than that. The book transitions into a very Vox smart urbanism ode to a future progressive Montreal and leaves a lot to be desired.
3/4 of the way through 'Detroit, I do mind dying' which is an incredibly well-research account of revolutionary black auto workers in Detroit during the 1970s. There is a huge depth of analysis about organizational forms and tactics both from the authors and from their interview subjects. These contributions feel incredibly fresh and relevant to political work in the United States today. But more important has been how much incredible effort and struggle has been COMPLETELY HIDDEN FROM the US conciousness. I was only passingly aware of these events through a brief mention in Settlers and was blown away by the size and intensity of militancy in the 70s. This book shattered my illusion that the hippies and the weatherman were the only two tendencies of the New Left. 11/10 can't recommend highly enough.
Just finished 'Red Star Over China' by Edward Snow which is a page-turning-if-meandering first hand account of the Chinese Civil War through 1937. Snow was the first wh*te journalist to interview Mao and paints 1) a realistic picture of land reform and peasant life in the soviets, and 2) a glowing portrait of the party and Mao.
Also read 'Cycling to Asylum' by Su Sokol which was dissapointing. It documents the lead up to and flight-by-bike of an 'anarchist' high school teacher from New York to Montreal. Except the actual bike journey takes all of a few pages and the protagonist's political work even less than that. The book transitions into a very Vox smart urbanism ode to a future progressive Montreal and leaves a lot to be desired.
3/4 of the way through 'Detroit, I do mind dying' which is an incredibly well-research account of revolutionary black auto workers in Detroit during the 1970s. There is a huge depth of analysis about organizational forms and tactics both from the authors and from their interview subjects. These contributions feel incredibly fresh and relevant to political work in the United States today. But more important has been how much incredible effort and struggle has been COMPLETELY HIDDEN FROM the US conciousness. I was only passingly aware of these events through a brief mention in Settlers and was blown away by the size and intensity of militancy in the 70s. This book shattered my illusion that the hippies and the weatherman were the only two tendencies of the New Left. 11/10 can't recommend highly enough.
I've had Detroit on my reading list for quite some time, sounds awesome
I cannot recommend it highly enough!