Radical Nomad: C. Wright Mills and His Times (Great Barrington Books) [Hardcover]

Tom Hayden (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1594512019 | ISBN-13: 978-1594512018 | Publication Date: April 30, 2006

Not long after co-authoring "The Port Huron Statement," the charter document of 1960s activism, Tom Hayden completed, at the University of Michigan, an intellectual biography of eminent scholar C. Wright Mills. It is published here for the first time, along with newly written essays by Hayden and by prominent social theorists who are experts on Mills and his ongoing influence today.

Hayden cogently traces MillsÂ’s scholarship and his progressive activism to the events and thinkers of earlier generations. Ideas in major books by Mills (The Power Elite, New Men of Power, White Collar, Character and Social Structure, The Sociological Imagination) can now be better understood in light of the influences on Mills during and before his time, including the impact of two world wars, the Great Depression and the New Deal, the failures of the Soviet state, and changing relations between workers and industry in America and worldwide. The book thus brings us a new and much more complete understanding of MillsÂ’s political theories and philosophy.

With only one previous biography of Mills in print, this book is a major contribution.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tom Hayden, activist, senator, and Professor at Occidental College, is author most recently of Rebel: A Personal History of the 1960Â’s (Red Hen Press, 2003).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Paradigm Publishers (April 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594512019
• ISBN-13: 978-1594512018
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,179,874 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A terrific look at a slice of Americana, May 14, 2007

By 

RonAnnArbor (Ann Arbor, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Radical Nomad: C. Wright Mills and His Times (Great Barrington Books) (Paperback)

This is a terrific look at the creative forces of Mills and Hayden during the 60's and the revolution that changed American college student thinking. Interesting and well-written. One caveat -- the primary text is based on Tom Hayden's Masters Thesis at the University of Michigan -- as such, the reading is somewhat less developed than his other writing, and tends to sound academic throughout. That being said, this is wonderful reading and places into context Mills thinking, his influences, and how world events changed his thinking and the New Left. This will no doubt be required reading some day in American History courses covering the 60's and radical change.