Anarchy!: An Anthology of Emma Goldman's Mother Earth [Paperback]

Peter Glassgold (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2001

In March 1906, Emma Goldman published the first issue of Mother Earth, a "Monthly Magazine Devoted to Social Science and Literature." Conceived as a forum for anarchists of every school and variety, Mother Earth laid the groundwork for American radical thought. It did more than report on the contemporary scene-it was part of the action-and its preoccupations preoccupy us still: birth control, women's rights, civil liberties, and questions of social and economic justice. Mother Earth appeared without interruption until August 1917, when it was killed by wartime postal censorship. Though Emma Goldman has since become a legendary figure, scarcely any material from her magazine has remained in print. This Mother Earth reader sets right this great wrong, and restores to public memory an important body of work-provocative writings by Margaret Sanger, Alexander Kropotkin, and dozens of other radical thinkers of the early twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Anarchy!: An Anthology of Emma Goldman's Mother Earth, Peter Glassgold (author of the novel Angel Max) culls early 20th-century radical gems from the "Monthly Magazine Devoted to Social Science and Literature." The magazine appeared from 1906 through 1917, when postal censorship interfered. Shortly thereafter, Goldman was imprisoned and then deported to Russia. The entries are divided into categories like "The Woman Question" and "The Social War"; the book features pieces by radical celebrities like Leo Tolstoy ("America and Russia"), Margaret Sanger and Maxim Gorky and by regular contributors such as Alexander Berkman (Mother Earth's primary editor) and Goldman herself ("The White Slave Traffic"). Scholars and progressives will be pleased to find these luminaries of the "Lyrical Left." Eight pages of photos and illus.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Founded by Emma Goldman, Mother Earth magazine presented articles covering social, political, cultural, and historical issues from an anarchist perspective from 1906 to 1917, when it was stifled by wartime censorship. The journal also advocated action on such topics as women's rights, birth control, civil liberties, and social and economic justice. Glassgold (Angel Max) presents 95 articles, letters, poems, essays, stories, and other pieces from the journal. The articles are arranged in six sections covering anarchism, feminism, literature, civil liberties, social issues, and World War I and the Russian Revolution. Goldman, Max Baginski, Alexander Berkman, Margaret Sanger, Voltairine de Cleyre, Leo Tolstoy, and Eugene O'Neill are among the wide range of authors featured in this collection, which Glassgold opens with an excellent brief history of the publication. This anthology provides an exceptional presentation of early 20th-century anarchist ideas. For all academic and larger public library collections. Stephen L. Hupp, Urbana Univ., OH
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Counterpoint; 1st Counterpoint Pbk. Ed edition (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582430403
• ISBN-13: 978-1582430409
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,016,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A magnficent and long-overdue collection, December 2, 2001

By 

Matthew Cheney (New Hampton, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anarchy!: An Anthology of Emma Goldman's Mother Earth (Paperback)

Emma Goldman's magazine Mother Earth was one of the best and liveliest anarchist publications at the beginning of the 20th Century, but until this book was published almost everything which ever appeared in Mother Earth was nearly impossible to find. Peter Glassgold has done a fine job of culling some of the best works from the 5,000 or so pages of Mother Earth into this generous and fascinating collection.

The book is separated into six sections: Anarchism, The Woman Question, Literature, Civil Liberties, The Social War, and War and Peace. Within these sections are articles by classic anarchist writers such as Alexander Berkman, Ben Reitman, Voltairine de Cleyre, Peter Kropotkin, and Goldman herself. There are also a number of works by writers you might not expect to appear in such a book: Eugene O'Neill (what is suspected to be his first publication), Ben Hecht, Louise Bryant, Margaret Sanger, and Maxim Gorky. Peter Glassgold provides an informative and readable introduction, and there is a comprehensive index as well as a section of photographs, mostly of the covers of issues of Mother Earth (some by Man Ray).

Everyone interested in the history of anarchism, radical politics, and 20th-century thought should own this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Red Emma's Mother Earth, May 18, 2005

By 

Andrew A. Gumbs (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anarchy!: An Anthology of Emma Goldman's Mother Earth (Paperback)

Excellent anthology with witty, informative and intelligent prefaces to each chapter. Impossible to put down and sadly though most pieces were written approximately 100 years ago, the themes are as timely as ever/