Overview
“What this remarkable book does . . . is to remind us of that passion, that revolutionary fervor, that camaraderie, that persistence in the face of political defeat and personal despair so needed in our time as in theirs.” —Howard Zinn “Fascinating …With marvelous clarity and depth, Candace Falk illuminates for us an Emma Goldman shaped by her time yet presaging in her life the situation and conflicts of women in our time.” —Tillie Olsen One of the most famous political activists of all time, Emma Goldman was also infamous for her radical anarchist views and her “scandalous” personal life. In public, Goldman was a firebrand, confidently agitating for labor reform, anarchism, birth control, and women’s independence. But behind closed doors she was more vulnerable, especially when it came to the love of her life. Reissued on the sesquicentennial of Emma Goldman's birth, Love, Anarchy, & Emma Goldman is an account of Goldman’s legendary career as a political activist. But it is more than that—it is the only biography of Emma Goldman. The flow of her life and words is at its core. Here, Candace Falk offers an intimate look at how Goldman’s passion for social reform dovetailed with her passion for one man: Chicago activist, hobo king, and red-light district gynecologist Ben Reitman. This takes us into the heart of their tumultuous love affair, finding that even as Goldman lectured on free love, she confronted her own intense jealousy. As director of the Emma Goldman papers, Falk had access to over 40,000 writings by Goldman—including her private letters and notes—and she draws upon these archives to give us a rare insight into this brilliant, complex woman’s thoughts. The result is both a riveting love story and a primer on an exciting, explosive era in American politics and intellectual life.
Full Product Details
Author: Candace Falk
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Imprint: Rutgers University Press Classics
Edition: First Edition, First Edition, Rutgers University Press Classics edition
Dimensions:
Width: 13.20cm
, Height: 3.60cm
, Length: 20.30cm
Weight: 0.680kg
ISBN: 9781978804289
ISBN 10: 1978804288
Pages: 549
Publication Date: 27 June 2019
Recommended Age: From 16 to 99 years
Audience:
General/trade
,
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
General
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
What this remarkable book does . . . is to remind us of that passion, that revolutionary fervor, that camaraderie, that persistence in the face of political defeat and personal despair so needed in our time as in theirs. --Howard Zinn Fascinating. . . . With marvelous clarity and depth, Candace Falk illuminates for us an Emma Goldman shaped by her time yet presaging in her life the situation and conflicts of women in our time. --Tillie Olsen To read the sometimes sappy, often moving, ever scandalous love letters of Emma Goldman and her great passion Ben Reitman is to ride the roller coaster of True Romance. Candace Falk renders a valuable service by giving us plain the inside story of this intense ten-year affair. --Alix Kates Shulman Wherever social and intellectual history is taught instructors will welcome this paperback edition. . . . This is a notable biography of one of the twentieth century's most remarkable women. --Merle Curti From a 'lone and woeful childhood, ' Goldman took a vision of what might have been. Her ability to transform her memories of oppression and abandonment into an abiding energy on behalf of other victims of injustice and desiring love was her great triumph. The counterpoint between the two romances, private and public, silent and spoken, creates the tension of her life. Candace Falk...draws us into this story that [Goldman] never quite tells - about the relationship between love and anarchy, Goldman's two grand passions. The story contains the anarchist ideal - of a love that overcomes the seeming contradiction between security and freedom - but also the proverbial anarchy of women's love. The 'spirit of revolt' that Goldman defined as the essence of anarchism also marks the love that calls into question on the institutions of war, the inevitability of aggression and the conventions of moral justification. And it expresses the love that was manifest in Goldman extraordinary friendships. --New York Times Fascinating. --The Nation For public figures, a clash between their inner and outer lives is nearly inevitable. In the case of Emma Goldman, the struggle was epic--and stunningly first brought to light in Candace Falk's groundbreaking biography. --Peter Glassgold editor, Anarchy! An Anthology of Emma Goldman's Mother Earth New York Times most notable biographies, 1990.--New York Times Book Review
What this remarkable book does . . . is to remind us of that passion, that revolutionary fervor, that camaraderie, that persistence in the face of political defeat and personal despair so needed in our time as in theirs. --Howard Zinn Fascinating. . . . With marvelous clarity and depth, Candace Falk illuminates for us an Emma Goldman shaped by her time yet presaging in her life the situation and conflicts of women in our time. --Tillie Olsen To read the sometimes sappy, often moving, ever scandalous love letters of Emma Goldman and her great passion Ben Reitman is to ride the roller coaster of True Romance. Candace Falk renders a valuable service by giving us plain the inside story of this intense ten-year affair. --Alix Kates Shulman Wherever social and intellectual history is taught instructors will welcome this paperback edition. . . . This is a notable biography of one of the twentieth century's most remarkable women. --Merle Curti From a 'lone and woeful childhood, ' Goldman took a vision of what might have been. Her ability to transform her memories of oppression and abandonment into an abiding energy on behalf of other victims of injustice and desiring love was her great triumph. The counterpoint between the two romances, private and public, silent and spoken, creates the tension of her life. Candace Falk...draws us into this story that [Goldman] never quite tells - about the relationship between love and anarchy, Goldman's two grand passions. The story contains the anarchist ideal - of a love that overcomes the seeming contradiction between security and freedom - but also the proverbial anarchy of women's love. The 'spirit of revolt' that Goldman defined as the essence of anarchism also marks the love that calls into question on the institutions of war, the inevitability of aggression and the conventions of moral justification. And it expresses the love that was manifest in Goldman extraordinary friendships. --New York Times Fascinating. --The Nation New York Times most notable biographies, 1990.--New York Times Book Review
Author Information
CANDACE FALK is the editor and director of the Emma Goldman Papers, a project of the University of California, Berkeley and of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission of the National Archives. She was awarded the Kanner Prize for the best bibliographical work in Women’s History, as well as a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship.
