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The Russian revolution of 1917 was a defining event of the twentieth century, and its achievements and failures remain controversial in the twenty-first. This book focuses on the retreat from the revolution’s aims in 1920–24, after the civil war and at the start of the New Economic Policy – and specifically, on the turbulent relationship between the working class and the Communist Party in those years.It is based on extensive original research of the actions and reactions of the party leadership and ranks, of dissidents and members of other parties, and of trade union activists and ordinary factory workers. It discusses working-class collective action before, during and after the crisis of 1921, when the Bolsheviks were confronted by the revolt at the Kronshtadt naval base and other protest movements.

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Distinguished British expert Bill Lomax brings together this international collection of studies about the Hungarian Workers' Councils in the year of the Hungarian Revolution. It is the first comprehensive volume dedicated to this aspect of the events of 1956. ... Read more

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" ...essential for serious students of prerevolutionary Russian industry, labor, and management."- Mark Steinberg. Led by a powerful group of entrepreneurs, financiers, and engineers who spearheaded the drive to industrialize Russia at the end of the nineteenth century, the metalworking industry in St. Petersburg, paradoxically, employed Imperial Russia's most militant workers. "Forging Revolution" explores the competing interests and claims of labor, employers, and the state in an effort to understand why the metalworking industry became a principal site of urban unrest in the period from 1890 to 1914. The book argues that changes in the administration, organization, and technology of heavy industry, initially designed by employers to augment the profitability of their industry, ultimately contributed in an important way to the extraordinary militance of metalworkers by the outbreak of World War I. ... Read more

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Real Analysis of Real People
Too often most of the stuff people churn out about the era of the Russian Revolution is long on b.s. and short on facts.It is to often a re-hash of already over used scholarship based on hearsey---very seldom do you comeacross anything original.Heather Hogan's work is original.

ForgingRevolution takes a look at the material basis of the Russian revolution. Itlooks at the the Russian industrial workers who made the revolution and attheir workplaces.

I am hoping that Heather will carry on and do a parttwo covering 1914 to 1924.Possibly, adding some facts on Russianindustrial technology in 1914; which may turn out to have been not asbackwards as portrayed by other analysts.

Another thing that I foundre-freshing about this book is that has no political axe to grind and onesenses no slavophobic viewpoint all too common among authors; just anattempt to get at the facts!

Forging Revolution is seriouspolitical/economic/historical analysis! ... Read more

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Ten original essays examine the years between 1930 and 1979 when workers in Latin America participated in strikes, unionization efforts, and populist and revolutionary movements. These essays investigate the everyday acts through which workers attempted to assert more control over the work process and thereby add dignity to their lives. Graphs. Maps. Notes. Index. 11 illustrations . ... Read more

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Chinese Workers provides the most detailed and complete picture of workers' protest in China to date and locates their position within the context of Chinese political history. ... Read more

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A nice collection of material on a little known side of the Spanish "Civil War"
This is an odd but interesting volume.Sam Dolgoff edits a volume, using primary sources, to discuss a little known aspect of the Spanish Civil War.Indeed, partisans would say that the term "Civil War" is wrong, and that what is described in this volume is actually a "Revolution."

The work begins with a useful essay by Murray Bookchin on the Spanish context.He outlines the dizzying array of groups with a stake in the conflict between the Republic and General Franco's forces. The focus of this book is the anarchist collectives--and how they functioned--after the start of the Civil War/Revolution until the eventual triumph of Franco and his allies.

The first part of the book is a set of readings that Dolgoff puts together to present the background and context of the "Revolution" (anarchists describe the conflict as a "Revolution," while others use the term "Civil War").Among subjects covered: the trend toward workers' self-management (also referred to as syndicalism), the rural collectivist tradition, and so on.

The heart of the book is a set of essays by actors of the time (as well as some quick essays by Dolgoff himself): Augustin Souchy, Diego Abad de Santillan, Gaston Leval, and Jose Peirats). Focal points include urban collectivization (e.g., the efforts by the anarchist unions to collectivize Barcelona) and rural collectives.

This volume ends with an essay by Gaston Laval written many years ago as well as a concluding essay by Dolgoff.

The work is useful, as it describes what was going on in parts of Spain that were not often reported upon by reporters or others at the time.George Orwell (if memory serves) was with POUM, the Trotskyite organization), although he wrote of the anarchists in his "Homage to Catalonia."It provides a somewhat different perspective on the events in Spain in the mid-1930s that helps fill out the picture of the desperate struggle between different groups--from fascists to Republicans to various Marxist groups to anarchists.A fascinating period of time. . . .Too sanguinary for my tastes, but still fascinating.

beautiful!
An amazing, amazing book stuffed full of anarchist ideals and provides real, documented evidence of anarchist collectivism in ACTION.Society was reorganized based on the fundamental principle: From each according to his ability to each according to his need.The book provides first-rate accounts and an objective analysis of the Spanish Social Revolution.If any of you are doubting anarchism or simply need proof to support your anarchist convictions, BUY this book.The ideas in it are simply priceless.It doesn't take much to bring you down.Read this book.It will cement your belief in libertarian communism.Bask in the righteousness that springs from the truth!

An excellent book about the Spanish Anarchists.
This is not a book about making bombs. If you read this book you will know what anarchism really is and why it's original meaning has been bastardized. Anarchism is a legitimate and serious political ideology. This book was recommended to me personally by the famous MIT professor and scholar Noam Chomsky. Sam Dolgoff's work is very well documented and insightful. It will give you a peek at what a meaningful democracy really is and how IT CAN WORK!

This is a killer book!
This book is brilliantly written.It has many stories of famous Anarchists, including poems and recipes for homemade weapons and survival items. Overall a great book and worth ten billion times the money.I giveit two thumbs and two toes up! ... Read more

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From the time the first tracks were laid in the earlynineteenth century, the railroad has occupied a crucial place inAmerica’s historical imagination. Now, for the first time, EricArnesen gives us an untold piece of that vital Americaninstitution—the story of African Americans on the railroad.

African Americans have been a part of the railroad from its inception,but today they are largely remembered as Pullman porters and tracklayers. The real history is far richer, a tale of endless struggle,perseverance, and partial victory. In a sweeping narrative, Arnesenre-creates the heroic efforts by black locomotive firemen, brakemen,porters, dining car waiters, and redcaps to fight a pervasive systemof racism and job discrimination fostered by their employers, whiteco-workers, and the unions that legally represented them even whilebarring them from membership.

Decades before the rise of the modern civil rights movement in themid-1950s, black railroaders forged their own brand of civil rightsactivism, organizing their own associations, challenging white tradeunions, and pursuing legal redress through state and federalcourts. In recapturing black railroaders’ voices, aspirations, andchallenges, Arnesen helps to recast the history of black protest andAmerican labor in the twentieth century. ... Read more

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Brotherhoods of Color: Removing the Silence
The Brotherhoods of Color written by Eric Arnesen is a well documented and historical account of African-American men and women attempts at obtaining social equality and opportunity while constructing and working working on in America's railroads. Arnesen masterfully provides dramactic details of Black railroad workers struggle to change a both the midset of the railroad industry, mangers, and their fellow white workers.

While tempted, the Author limits his judgements and personal perferences about the legal outcomes of the countless legal proceedings to overcome racist practices and obstacles. Instead, he draws the reader into to public policy debates with open ended ideas and powerful suggestions. His analysis of the African-American experiences neither surprising or profound. However, the effort to provide a foundation of truths and facts is achieved.

The reader will be enlightened by such candid facts and news reports from the African-American perspective, obtained from labor newspapers and journals. The Brotherhood of Color is an excellent read and a strong addition to the body ofknowledge that is often too silent on the subject matter. The Brothhoods of Color is a Classic. ... Read more

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This volume seeks to assuage the notion of East Indian docility and passivity in the Caribbean by demonstrating that they responded resolutely to pressures. Based primarily on documentary evidence at the Public Records Office and the India Office Library and Records in England, the book argues that it was resistance, both overt and covert, rather than accommodation which asserted itself on the plantations in the indenture and post-indenture periods. Stymied by a lack of indigenous leadership and organization, and confronted by a powerful, influential plantocracy and repressive state apparatus, Indian workers had demonstrated consistently that they were not afraid to protest when aggrieved. The nearly 1000 strikes and 54 deaths attested to the militancy. By its concentration on relatively unexplored topics, this study seeks to make a contribution to Guyanese, Caribbean, and imperial history. ... Read more