Agnes Smedley: The Life and Times of an American Radical [Paperback]

Janice R. MacKinnon (Author), Stephen R. MacKinnon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 14, 1988

Country school teacher, birth control pioneer, socialist journalist, freedom fighter, writer--Agnes Smedley (1892-1950) was on the battlefront of American politics, the Indian struggle for independence, and the Chinese Communist revolution. In this coherent, intelligible, and engaging book, the MacKinnons offer us a superb portrayal of one of the most significant female political figures in recent American history.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Smedley emerged from hard poverty to become a writer, a participant in Margaret Sanger's birth control movement, and a self-appointed warrior for the poor and powerless. As a journalist, she traveled with the Red Army in China in the 1930s and wrote vivid accounts of the Chinese. Some regarded this flamboyant woman as a martyr, others as a dangerous Communist spy (she was not a party member). She had many friends and lovers but could not agree with anyone for long. The authors have examined an impressive array of sources. They succeed in effectively portraying a larger-than-life woman in a time of upheaval. Mary Drake McFeely, Univ. of Georgia Libs., Athens
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A first-rate biography -- rich in detail, lucid in expression and judicious in interpretation." (John Patrick Diggins, New York Times Book Review

"A painstakingly researched and truly riveting account of this unique American journalist. . . . In Agnes Smedley, the MacKinnons have found an unusual American woman whose private odyssey was every bit as fascinating as her public one." -- Orville Schell, The Nation

"In this splendid biography. . . . Smedley emerges as an intense, passionately committed radical (with all of the martyrdom and vision of the medieval saints. . . . Her life story, skillfully reconstructed and interpreted in this first biography, makes compelling reading." -- Joyce Antler, Los Angeles Times

"The authors skillfully blend a thorough grasp of the first half of the century with a sensitive use of psychobiographical techniques." -- Gaddis Smith, Foreign Affairs --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 460 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1St Edition edition (December 14, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520066146
• ISBN-13: 978-0520066144
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,377,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive biography that will stand the test of time., September 29, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Phoenix, Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Agnes Smedley: The Life and Times of an American Radical (Paperback)

The Mackinnons have done a great service in writing this book about a great American, as shown by their interviews which started on June 10, 1974 and ended on July 25, 1985. They also covered the world, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, New Delhi, Calcutta, Zurich and in all parts of the U.S. Their knowledge and fluency in Chinese contributed to their research in ways that other biographers will have difficult in overcoming. Their devotion and sacrifice to their subject is amply demonstrated.

It seems to this reviewer that two themes came together in Agnes Smedly's life and in the interests of the biographers, the feminist movement and China's attaining its status on the world political stage. Unfortunately during the time that it took to gather the material and write the book, both of the movements have changed substantially and the people interested in them have moved to other concepts and ideas. Another cross lays over the book- is it to be an academic treatise or a popular biography? The academic treatise seems to have won out and in large sections become a rote laying out of dates, times and movements.

Not coming from the academic world, I have to assume that in order to have a proper foundation and references, this is the way it has to be done. Unfortunately, Smedly does not come to life. I had no feeling of the person involved. The parts that have fire and verve are those quotations from Smedley's own writings. Nothing is presented that contradicts her own analysis of herself and her point of view, whether from her novelized form, her personal correspondence or her other writings. I got the feeling that more of her own writings would have given a better picture than what was written.

The book is well worth reading, but its greatest value may be in bringing together the material about Smedly in an organized form and its whereabouts for either the MacKinnons or others to write the biography that will bring her to life.

(The MacKinnons were the principle organizers of the US/China Peoples Friendship Association of Phoenix in 1975).

This review was written on August 15, 1988 by Frank Kadish. Jan MacKinnon died on Sunday, September 26, 1999 in Phoenix, Arizona.