Madison, Wisconsin has long been known as a dynamic cultural center and focus of political-intellectual ferment in the middle of America. This collection of essays and interviews traces the rise of an intellectual New Left from 1950 to 1970 as experienced by activists and scholars with ties to the University of Wisconsin. Its thirty-two contributors, including prominent historians, journalist-scholars, and veteran political activists, re-examine their own personal histories in different eras and draw fresh, often surprising conclusions. The city and campus of Madison provide a veritable laboratory for the study of deep continuities in American dissenting thought. Photographs and cultural documents accompany these poignant, candid oral histories. The volume explores a crucial period of Madison's intellectual life as a crossroad of history and culture. Interviews with the scholars and former students who politicized historical analysis in light of the Cold War, McCarthyism, nuclear and environmental holocaust, civil rights, and the Vietnam War, recall the debates and alliances that kept Madison in a state of ferment. Author note: Paul Buhle is Director of the Oral History of the American Left Project at the Tamiment Library of New York University and teachers U.S. History at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Series Information:
American Radicals

A graphic history featuring the true story of three friends from Brooklyn who join in the global fight against fascism In this exhilarating graphic novel about the Spanish Civil War, three American friends set off from Brooklyn to join in the fight--determined to make Spain "the tomb of fascism" for the sake of us all. Together they defy the U.S. government and join the legendary Abraham Lincoln Brigade, throw themselves into battle, and conduct sabotage missions behind enemy lines. As Spain is shattered by the savagery of combat during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), readers see the darkening clouds of the World War to come. Artist Anne Timmons has created a thrilling graphic novel in the spirit of the "war comic" genre that appeared after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States' entry into World War II. Drawing upon the real-life experiences of Lincoln Brigade veteran Abe Osheroff, writer Miguel Ferguson offers a lively, accessible resource based on actual events during the Great Depression and the Spanish Civil War. ¡Brigadistas! will stir the memories of older audiences who remember the Spanish Civil War as a time of unparalleled international solidarity and heartbreak, and it will expose young audiences to the passions, politics, and conflicts of a bygone era with striking contemporary relevance.

"The American Radical" tells the story of American democracy from the late 18th century to the present, through the lives of the women and men who have fought to advance it. The original biographical portraits presented in this collection show how, in every period of history, Americans from various backgrounds have stood as activists, authors and artists to challenge the powerful. The editors have assembled a group of writers on the radical tradition, who introduce the movements, ideas and struggles of the revolutionaries, rebels and reformers important to the American national experience; they include independence fighters, Labourists, suffragists, socialists, feminists, pacifists, environmentalists, and campaigners for social justice and the civil rights of the oppressed.

First published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In this history of "business unionism", Paul Buhle and Julius Jacobson explain how trade union leaders in the USA became remote from the workers they claimed to represent, as they allied with the very corporate executives and government officials who persistently opposed labour's interests. At the centre of the tale are three of the most powerful labour leaders of the last century: Samuel Gompers, George Meany and Lane Kirkland, successive presidents of the Federation of Labor and its descendent, the AFL-CIO. Many other labour leaders, from John L. Lewis to Walter Reuther receive in-depth treatment. This work demonstrates how a union hierarchy heavily populated by former radicals thwarted women and people of colour from joining unions, suppressed shop floor militance, and colluded with business and government at home and abroad. Buhle and Jacobson show how these leaders defeated generations of radical union members who sought a more democratic, class-based approach for the movement. The book explains why policies and practices at the highest levels of labour came to be counter-productive to workers' interests - a pattern the authors speculate may have been disrupted by the 1995 election of John Sweeney's "New Slate" in the AFL-CIO.

In "The Beats: A Graphic History," those who were mad to live have come back to life through artwork as vibrant as the Beat movement itself. Told by the comic legend Harvey Pekar, his frequent artistic collaborator Ed Piskor, and a range of artists and writers, including the feminist comic creator Trina Robbins and the "Mad" magazine artist Peter Kuper, "The Beats" takes us on a wild tour of a generation that, in the face of mainstream American conformity and conservatism, became known for its determined uprootedness, aggressive addictions, and startling creativity and experimentation. What began among a small circle of friends in New York and San Francisco during the late 1940s and early 1950s laid the groundwork for a literary explosion, and this striking anthology captures the storied era in all its incarnations--from the Benzedrine-fueled antics of Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs to the painting sessions of Jay DeFeo's disheveled studio, from the jazz hipsters to the beatnik chicks, from Chicago's College of Complexes to San Francisco's famed City Lights bookstore. Snapshots of lesser-known poets and writers sit alongside frank and compelling looks at the Beats' most recognizable faces. What emerges is a brilliant collage of--and tribute to--a generation, in a form and style that is as original as its subject. Harvey Pekar is best known for his graphic autobiography, "American Splendor," based on his long-running comic-book series that was turned into a 2003 film of the same name.
Paul Buhle is a senior lecturer at Brown University. In "The Beats: A Graphic History," those who were mad to live have come back to life through artwork as vibrant as the Beat movement itself. Told by the comic legend Harvey Pekar, his frequent artistic collaborator Ed Piskor, and a range of artists and writers, including the feminist comic creator Trina Robbins and the "Mad" magazine artist Peter Kuper, "The Beats" takes us on a wild tour of a generation that, in the face of mainstream American conformity and conservatism, became known for its determined uprootedness, aggressive addictions, and startling creativity and experimentation. What began among a small circle of friends in New York and San Francisco during the late 1940s and early 1950s laid the groundwork for a literary explosion, and this striking anthology captures the storied era in all its incarnations--from the Benzedrine-fueled antics of Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs to the painting sessions of Jay DeFeo's disheveled studio, from the jazz hipsters to the beatnik chicks, from Chicago's College of Complexes to San Francisco's famed City Lights bookstore. Snapshots of lesser-known poets and writers sit alongside frank and compelling looks at the Beats' most recognizable faces. What emerges is a brilliant collage of--and tribute to--a generation, in a form and style that is as original as its subject. "This revelatory and exhilarating and funny book not only tells us of the Beat generation, but of a time when we as individuals felt truly free. It is as fresh and pertinent as the latest scholarly history only far more entertaining."--Studs Terkel "This revelatory and exhilarating and funny book not only tells us of the Beat generation, but of a time when we as individuals felt truly free. It is as fresh and pertinent as the latest scholarly history only far more entertaining."--Studs Terkel
"History with a deeper perspective is the province of "The Beats," a multifaceted effort led by writer Harvey Pekar, his frequent collaborator Paul Buhle and artist Ed Piskor. It delivers the texture of a movement easy to underestimate in brief biographies of touchstones like poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, novelists William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac and lesser-known lights like poet d.a. levy (an underground Cleveland icon) and mythopoeic poetess Diane di Prima . . . This fearless, substantial history entertains as it uncovers."--Carlo Wolff, "The Boston Globe
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"Pekar's history of the post-war literary, cultural and spiritual awakening is well researched and intended . . . Piskor is joined by such stellar artists as Kuper, Tooks, Gary Dumm and Fleener . . . More writers pitch in, too, and the diversity of images and narrative voices add texture and resonance to the proceedings . . . The absorbing graphic presentation may elicit interest from unexpected quarters."--Richard Pachter, "The Miami Herald"

"Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs need no introduction, but here they are introducing "The Beats: A Graphic History"--in the section written by Harvey Pekar and illustrated by Ed Piskor. It's warts and all: the alcohol-fueled writings, the drug-fueled globe-trotting, not to mention the rampant sexuality and jaw-dropping misogyny . . . But there's humor here too by Joyce Brabner and Summer McClinton on a topic ripe for latter-day ridicule: 'Beatnik Chicks.' Good thing too that Pekar et al. salute some lesser lights in this primer on the birth of the cool: City Lights bookstore founder and poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, in addition to poets Philip Whalen, Kenneth Patchen, and D.A. Levy, plus former hobo Slim Brundage."--Leonard Gill, "The Memphis Flyer "
"Graphic novels don't just have to be about dystopian alternative universes, no matter if "Watchmen" might indicate otherwise. Just peruse the eye-catching "The Beats: A Graphic History" (in stores as of Tuesday), from Harvey Pekar, Ed Piskor and Paul Buhle, which takes an illustrated look back at a very real part of American pop-culture history, when beat culture of the '40s and '50s--sandwiched between the improvisational nature of jazz and the recklessness of rock 'n' roll--began to speak to a part of a generation at odds with mainstream society. One word sums it up: Cool."--Cary Darling, "Star-Telegram
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"Do we really need another bio on the lives of Kerouac, Ginsberg, et. al.? Yes, especially should it be one like "The Beats." I expected "The Beats" to be dry, regurgitated history presented in graphic novel form simply because graphic novels are so 2009. So much for first impressions. "American Splendor"'s Pekar leads a troop of writers who bring these influential--and often seriously flawed--writers to life . . . "The Beats" is strong, dramatic storytelling that is executed and illustrated by major leaguers."--Randy Myers, "Contra Costa Times"
"Written by Harvey Pekar and four other authors, with art by eleven cartoonists and illustrators, "The Beats" covers all the major writers of the generation--Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Philip Whalen, Robert Duncan, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Charles Olson, Diane DiPrima, and many more. 'No one claims this treatment to be definitive, ' Buhle and Pekar write in their introduction to the book. 'But it is new and it is vital.' And, perhaps more important, it's fun."--"Poets & Writers"

"If you're a fan of Harvey Pekar, author of the successful graphic novel-turned-film "American Splendor," then you can imagine how his voice sounds on a weekday morning, discussing topics including homophobia, Yiddish, and moves about Joseph McCarthy. In his latest project, "The Beats: A Graphic History," Pekar conjures an imagined, often hilarious d

The countercultures that came to define bohemia spanned the Atlantic, encompassing Walt Whitman's Brooklyn and the Folies Bergere of Josephine Baker, Gertrude Stein's salons and the Manhattan clubs where Dizzy Gillespie made his name. Edited by Paul Buhle and David Berger, Bohemians is the graphic history of this movement and its illustrious figures. The stories collected here revisit the utopian ideas behind millennial communities, the rise of Greenwich Village and Harlem, the multiracial and radical jazz and dance worlds, and the West Coast, Southern, and Midwest bohemias of America, among other radical scenes. Drawn by an all-star cast of comic artists, Bohemians is a broad and entertaining account of the rebel impulse in American cultural history. Featuring work by Spain Rodriguez, Sharon Rudahl, Peter Kuper, Sabrina Jones, David Lasky, Afua Richardson, Lance Tooks, Milton Knight, and more. The ebook edition is expanded from the paperback edition, and includes additional chapters on the swing music scene, La Boheme and midwest bohemians, as well as expanded material on the Greenwich Village intellectuals, Walt Whitman and Harlem jazz club Minton's Playhouse.

First published in 1994. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor and Francis, an informa company.

"I believe that Marcuse's ideas can be as valuable today as they were fifty years ago."-Angela Y. Davis, from the foreword Herbert Marcuse was one of the twentieth century's most unlikely pop stars: a celebrity philosopher. In the 1960s, his argument for a "principled utopianism" catalyzed the idealism of a rebellious generation, and Marcuse became an intellectual guide for activists and revolutionaries around the world. From his early studies with Martin Heidegger, to his flight from Nazi Germany with Frankfurt School colleagues, to his status as a countercultural icon, readers are introduced to the development of Marcuse's philosophical theories and the political realities that shaped his work. Marcuse's advocacy for a more humane, sustainable world was grounded in a personal knowledge of authoritarianism's violence, and the risk of its resurgence. Perennially relevant, radical, and inspiring, Marcuse's concept of a "Great Refusal"-the protest against that which is-is a guide for our times. Praise for Herbert Marcuse, Philosopher of Utopia: "Nick Thorkelson's exploration of the ideas and personality of Herbert Marcuse is exactly the sort of comic book I have longed to read. It is engaging, artful, and explores the world of revolutionary ideas. Books like this keep the fire going inside."-Joe Sacco, author of Footnotes in Gaza "A warm, funny, richly detailed biography. Thorkelson has found a powerful graphic style and narrative voice that animate Marcuse's life and his theory of rebellion. As both personal saga and primer on radical political philosophy, it could not be more relevant to today's resistance movement."-Dan Wasserman, editorial cartoonist for The Boston Globe "Marcuse's energizing sense of critique, hope, politics, and utopian vision are more necessary than ever, especially for the emerging generations of young activists."-Henry A. Giroux, author of American Nightmare: Facing the Challenge of Fascism "A riotous romp through 20th-century philosophy. The story of a man who exists at the eye of storm of ideas, of movements and of social strategies. With workers and students on the streets of Paris once more, Marcuse's life and work has never been more relevant."-Kate Evans, author of Red Rosa: A Graphic Biography "Philosopher of Utopia is art on the attack! A perfect celebration of this unique public intellectual done through a fusion of skill and imagination, Thorkelson's book provides access to the genius and the grit of this master of the dialectic."-Lowell Bergman, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and Distinguished Chair in Investigative Reporting at UC Berkeley "[This book] confirms my belief that our medium can convey the most complex ideas while being witty and entertaining at the same time."-Sharon Rudahl, author of A Dangerous Woman: A Graphic Biography of Emma Goldman

"Mike Alewitz's art has given eloquent voice to the aspirations of working people throughout the world."
--Martin Sheen

The most prolific U.S. labor muralist since the 1940s, Alewitz illuminates the hidden spaces where connections between the U.S. workforce and its extended relatives across the planet are to be found.

Insurgent Images contains murals for the Teamsters, the Oil Chemical and Atomic Workers, the Communications Workers, United Electrical Workers, the United Farm Workers, as well as the Highlander Folk School and other labor institutions. Other works respond to dramatic events such as the 1984 strike of P-9 workers in Austin, Minnesota, the 1991 rebellion in Los Angeles, and the tragedy at Chernobyl. Altogether, this collection presents an inspiring artistic reading of our epoch.

C.L.R. James is one of the twentieth century's most remarkable individuals. As the author of the influential book The Black Jacobins, he is widely recognized as the premier scholar of slave revolt; the publication of his acute and sensitive volume Beyond a Boundary established an equal reputation as a historian of sport; and his tireless political and intellectual interventions have become the hallmark of a highly creative Marxist thinker, a brilliant dialectician and the last surviving pioneer of Pan-African liberation.
James's work has never previously been studied in its entirety. Now Paul Buhle, a longtime editorial collaborator with James, has produced a rich and informed analysis of his accomplishments. Drawing upon extensive interviews with James, his critics and his erstwhile supporters, together with many previously unpublished documents, Buhle's book offers an appreciative and enlightening portrait of the man and his times. The author also sheds new light on subjects ranging across Pan-Africanism, West Indian literature, British and American Marxism and the rise of third world nationalism.

Since his murder 50 years ago in Bolivia, Ernesto "Che" Guevara has become a universally known revolutionary icon and political figure whose image is among the most recognizable in the world. This dramatic and extensively researched book breathes new life into his story, portraying his struggle through the medium of the underground political comic - one of the most prominent countercultural art forms since the 1960s. Spain Rodriguez's powerful artwork illuminates Che's life and the experiences that shaped him, from his motorcycle journey through Latin America, his rise to prominence as a leader in Fidel Castro's revolutionary movement, his travels in Africa, his involvement in the insurgency that led to his death in Bolivia, and his extraordinary legacy.

Under the Banner of King Death is a tale of mutiny, bloody battle, and social revolution, bringing to life an itinerant community of outsiders behind today's legends. This graphic novel breaks new ground in our understanding of piracy and pirate culture, giving us real reasons to love the rebellious and stouthearted marauders of the seas. At the pinnacle of the Golden Age of Atlantic piracy, three unlikely companions are sold into servitude on a merchant ship and thrust into a voyage of rebellion. They are John Gwin, an African American fugitive from bondage in South Carolina; Ruben Dekker, a common seaman from Amsterdam; and Mark (a.k.a. Mary) Reed, an American woman who dresses as a man. When the crew turn to mutiny, they and the freed slaves establish democracy aboard The Night Rambler. This new dispensation provides radical social benefits, all based on the documented practices of real pirate ships of the era: democratic decision-making, a social security net, health and disability insurance, and an equal distribution of spoils taken from prize ships. But before long the London elites enlist a war-hungry captain to take down The Night Rambler in a war that pitches high society against high-seas freebooters. Adapted from the scholarship and research of celebrated historian Marcus Rediker, Under the Banner of King Death is an inspiring story of the oppressed steering a course against adversity and injustice.

By the late 1960s, America felt like it was teetering on the edge of a vast transformation. Helping push it over that edge was a brigade of young radicals, the Students for a Democratic Society, who were fighting the establishment for peace abroad and equality at home. In "Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History," the famed graphic novelist Harvey Pekar, the gifted artist Gary Dumm, the renowned historian Paul Buhle, and a marvelous cast of they-were-there contributors illustrate their struggle, bringing to life the tumultuous decade that first defined and then was defined by the men and women who gathered under the SDS banner.
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Students for a Democratic Society "captures the idealism and activism that drove a generation of young Americans to believe that even one person's actions can help transform the world.

"Hide in Plain Sight" offers a powerful examination of the effects of Hollywood's blacklist era, taking up the question of how blacklistees fared after they were driven out of the mainstream. A good number entered careers in television, with many finding work in children's and family programs, writing for shows like "Rocky and Bullwinkle, Lassie," and "Flipper," Many also wrote adult sitcoms such as "Hogan's Heroes, The Donna Reed Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, M*A*S*H, Maude," and A"ll in the Family," Ultimately, many returned to Hollywood in the sixties and seventies to work creatively on films that contained a dose of radical politics and influenced the creative outburst of that decade. The list of impressive films from the survivors of HUAC includes "Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia," and "Midnight Cowboy. Hide in Plain Sight" completes Paul Buhle and Dave Wagner's trilogy, which includes "Tender Comrades" (1998) and "Radical Hollywood" (2002). Together these books provide a thorough and disturbing portrait of the McCarthy era's impact on an important aspect of American culture and society.

A graphic history featuring the true story of three friends from Brooklyn who join in the global fight against fascism In this exhilarating graphic novel about the Spanish Civil War, three American friends set off from Brooklyn to join in the fight--determined to make Spain "the tomb of fascism" for the sake of us all. Together they defy the U.S. government and join the legendary Abraham Lincoln Brigade, throw themselves into battle, and conduct sabotage missions behind enemy lines. As Spain is shattered by the savagery of combat during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), readers see the darkening clouds of the World War to come. Artist Anne Timmons has created a thrilling graphic novel in the spirit of the "war comic" genre that appeared after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States' entry into World War II. Drawing upon the real-life experiences of Lincoln Brigade veteran Abe Osheroff, writer Miguel Ferguson offers a lively, accessible resource based on actual events during the Great Depression and the Spanish Civil War. ¡Brigadistas! will stir the memories of older audiences who remember the Spanish Civil War as a time of unparalleled international solidarity and heartbreak, and it will expose young audiences to the passions, politics, and conflicts of a bygone era with striking contemporary relevance.

For more than half a century, C. L. R. James (1901-1989)-"the Black Plato," as coined by the London Times-has been an internationally renowned revolutionary thinker, writer, and activist. Born in Trinidad, his lifelong work was devoted to understanding and transforming race and class exploitation in his native West Indies, as well as in Britain and the United States. In C. L. R. James's Caribbean, noted scholars examine the roots of both James's life and oeuvre in connection with the economic, social, and political environment of the West Indies. Drawing upon James's observations of his own life as revealed to interviewers and close friends, this volume provides an examination of James's childhood and early years as colonial literatteur and his massive contribution to West Indian political-cultural understanding. Moving beyond previous biographical interpretations, the contributors here take up the problem of reading James's texts in light of poststructuralist criticism, the implications of his texts for Marxist discourse, and for problems of Caribbean development.

A crown jewel of New Left historiography, this overview of U.S. Marxism was hailed on its first publication for its nuanced storytelling, balance and incredible sweep. Brimming over with archival finds and buoyed by the recollections of witnesses and participants in the radical movements of decades past, Marxism in the United States includes fascinating accounts of the immigrant socialism of the nineteenth century, the formation of the CPUSA in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution, the rise of American communism and of the hugely influential Popular Front in the 1920s and '30s, the crisis and split of the '50s, and the revival of Marxism in the '60s and '70s. This revised and updated edition also takes into account the last quartercentury of life in the U.S., bringing the story of American Marxism up to the present. With today's resurgent interest in radicalism, this new edition provides an unparalleled guide to 150 years of American left history.

The stories of the hard-rock miners' shooting wars, young Elizabeth Gurly Flynn (the "Rebel Girl" of contemporary sheet music), the first sit-down strikes and Free Speech fights, Emma Goldman and the struggle for birth control access, the Pageant for Paterson orchestrated in Madison Square Garden, bohemian radicals John Reed and Louise Bryant, field-hand revolts and lumber workers' strikes, wartime witch hunts, government prosecutions and mob lynching, Mexican-American uprisings in Baja, and Mexican peasant revolts led by Wobblies, hilarious and sentimental songs created and later revived-all are here, and much, much more. The IWW, which has been organizing workers since 1905, is often cited yet elusive to scholars because of its eclectic and controversial cultural and social character. Wobblies! presents the IWW whole, scripted and drawn by old-time and younger Wobbly and IWW-inspired artists. Contributors include Carlos Cortez (former editor of the Industrial Worker), Harvey Pekar (author of American Splendor), Peter Kuper (MAD's Spy vs. Spy), Sue Coe, Seth Tobocman, Chris Cardinale, Ryan Inzana, Spain Rodriques, Trina Robbins, Sharon Rudahl, and the circle of artists for World War 3 Illustrated.