A Gathering of Fugitives [Paperback]

Diana Anhalt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1931122032 | ISBN-13: 978-1931122030 | Publication Date: January 31, 2002 | Edition: 1

Cultural Writing. "A fascinating exhumation of a little-known group of American communists-idealists, artists, spies and Hollywood types-who migrated to Mexican exile in the late 1940s and 1950s. Diana Anhalt tells their story-and her own-sympathetically but not uncritically"-Dr. Harvey Klehr. "Diane Anhalt's lively personal account introduces us to the heretofore unknown story of this struggling community.It's an important story-and Anhalt tells it well-reminding us of the personal costs that political repression can inflict upon its victims and their families"-Dr. Ellen W. Schrecker.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

During the McCarthy era in the 1950s, over 60 American families involved in left-wing, Socialist, and Communist activities moved to Mexico. Anhalt's own family settled in Mexico City, and her parents never returned home, nor did they explain to her why they had left the United States. This engaging first book, based on interviews with expatriates, sheds light on this little-known story. Anhalt discusses the reasons why these people left America and how they supported themselves in a very different society. She also presents American and Mexican efforts to spy on, discredit, and, in some cases, deport or kidnap individuals for trial in America. Notable people such as Albert Maltz and Dalton Trumbo appear, but the book concentrates on the lives of idealistic souls forced to leave home owing to their beliefs. While not a scholarly study of the subject, this is an excellent addition to the literature of Cold War America. For all libraries. Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ., Parkersburg
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: Archer Books; 1 edition (January 31, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931122032
• ISBN-13: 978-1931122030
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,190,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I come from a long line of wanderers, people who roamed the length and breadth of Europe. My grandparents, on both sides, traveled to America from towns in Poland one day, in Russia the next. Few, as far back as I can remember, have ever left their bones in the countries where they were born and, up until recently, I thought I wouldn't either.

Born in New York in 1942, I lived in Mexico most of my life. Over the years I have taught high school, edited a newsletter, and been involved in community affairs. In addition to my book" A Gathering of Fugitives: American Political Expatriates in Mexico, 1948-1965" my articles, essays and short stories have been published in Mexico and the United States in a number of anthologies and in the following publications, among others: "El Nacional," "The Mexico City Times," "Miami Herald International Edition," "The News," "Grand Tour," "Voices of Mexico," "Jewish Currents," " Midstream," "Southwest Review," and "Passager."

My poetry has been appeared in "Lucid Stone," "Buckle &...," "Nimrod," "Cloudbank," "Comstock Review," " Into the Teeth," "Mid-America Poetry Review," "California Quarterly," "Prole," and others.

Today I continue to write and live in Atlanta where, if I have anything to say about it, I intend to remain.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strangers in a Strange Land, May 10, 2002

By 

John Virtue (Miami Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gathering of Fugitives (Paperback)

We've heard about the Hollywood Ten and other Communists and those suspected of Communist activities who sought haven in Mexico in the 1950s. What happened to these people and their families as they struggled to earn a living in an alien culture, always fearful of being deported? Diana Anhalt, who was 10 years old when her parents left the Bronx for Mexico City, has tracked down many of these people and their families whom she knew from her childhood. The stories she tells sound like they could have come from the movie scripts and other writings of the fugitives who gathered in Mexico. As a witness, she makes their stories come alive in a very personal book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A solid reference and historical narrative, April 10, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gathering of Fugitives (Paperback)

A Gathering Of Fugitives: American Political Expatriates In Mexico 1948-1965 by Diana Anhalt is a solid reference and historical narrative about a group of Americans (ranging from Spanish Civil War veterans, Communist Party organizers, Hollywood activists, and other post-World War II political dissidents) who went through political exile and expatriation in Mexico for a variety of different reasons. Their individual and community struggles to adapt, political clashes, along with the personal stories of some who returned to America are all covered in-depth in this most remarkable and recommended study.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We should learn from our past, January 9, 2002

By 

Juan Cardenas "huatusco" (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Gathering of Fugitives (Paperback)

I was motivated to read Diana Anhalt's book in almost one sitting. Having grown up in the setting she describes but being well sheltered from the events, I am very impressed by her very thorough research into the smallest details of the events. She is objective and points out the extent to which governments, including our own and not excluding others, will go to in order to protect their current objectives. It makes us painfully aware of how much we should or should not allow our government to do in the name of expediency.