Customer Reviews

Saying No to Power: Autobiography of a 20th Century Activist and Thinker

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

....

Its a very interesting life story in any case. William Mandel grew up in a milieu which is long gone: a highly literate, politically active, urban working class. He spent a significant part of his childhood in the Soviet Union; was deeply, though ambivalently, involved in the Communist Party U.S.A(CPUSA) - (he was kicked out and then readmitted, at which point he resigned); He was interrogated twice by HUAC, as well as by Roy Cohn during the McCarthy hearings; He was the victim of red-baiting through-out his career; He was involved in the Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley; he is a principle actor in the current Pacifica Radio fracas.

Along the way William Mandel has encountered a huge number of characters, ranging from Eleanor Roosevelt, to Paul Robeson, to Jerry Rubin. His political outlook has changed from Marxist-Leninism to his current disavowal of Socialism.

He is such an acclaimed scholar of the late Soviet Union that he was, for a time, a member of the Hoover Institute, a bastion of right-wing American triumphalism.

In short, William Mandel has led an exciting life. His autobiography should be an exciting read.

Sadly - it ain't so. Outside of the first few chapters about his boyhood, which are charming, this book is a chore. Mr. Mandel appears distraught that his contributions to the history of the American Left have been under-appreciated and is therefore concerned with setting the record straight. There are more references to personal correspondence extolling Mr. Mandel's impact on the world then there are to Mandel’s own writings!

Fascinating questions are left unanswered. He infers that he has given up on Marxian Socialism since it has proved to be as utopian as the 19th Century socialisms that it sought to replace. He suggests that civil libertarian concerns gnawed at him while he was a practicing Communist. But he never presents a critique of Marxism. Given that this is a relatively recent intellectual development for Mr. Mandel, one would expect some substance in this regard.

There are also the odd omissions and tantalizing facts that are not followed through upon. William Mandel offers a seemingly cogent case for the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact: tying together Stalin's desire for a secure western border with the incursion into Finland. Mandel seeks to make us understand that this pact was primarily a vehicle for the defense of the Soviet Union against a set of hostile and intractable enemies. trange...there is no mention of the invasion and division of Poland.

As for tantalizing facts, there is one point where William Mandel mentions a recent CPUSA convention wherein the Commies called the Cops! Apparently there was a group of dissidents who were attempting to participate, and the Cleveland Police Department was called upon to enforce Party Disciplne. But this incident is not expanded upon. (This is, in fact not merely an offhand anecdote. The CPUSA subsequently split into two groups: one of which expounds Social Democracy ala Western Europe – and which has left the Party, the other is a bunch of aging ideologues. This has spelled the end of the CPUSA as a viable force, even in left-sectarian terms. Given the sturm and drang that followed the CPUSA throughout its history, and inspired Mandel’s most courageous moments – indeed, given the force that the CPUSA had in Mandel’s personal life, from childhood forward, one would think that the Party’s demise is worthy of comment.

Perhaps William Mandel could author a follow-up volume which details and analyzes the history of the American Left in the 20th Century. He would be in a unique position to do so, and it would be an exciting and entertaining book.

Bottom line: if you're building a library on the American Left, get this book for the sake of completeness.

Otherwise look for William Mandel's other works on the Soviet Union. I note that there is a new one due in July.

Book review by: Mike Rhodes

What's it like to spend your lifetime fighting for social change? SAYING NO TO POWER takes you on a journey that puts you on the front line in the struggle for peace, social justice and socialism. Mr. Mandel is a "red diaper baby" who had graduated from high school at fourteen when his parents took him to the Soviet Union in 1931 to help build socialism. Back in the U.S., he joined the Communist Party at eighteen and was assigned to industrial Ohio where the steel, auto, and rubber unions were being built. In the 1950's when McCarthyism was looking for commies under every bed, they found Bill and ordered him to appear before all three witch-hunting committees, two in the U.S. Senate and also in the House of Representatives' Committee on Un-American Activities. Instead of being intimidated, Mandel turned the tables on Senator Joe McCarthy and demanded an end to the witch-hunt. He had faith in the American people's desire for free speech as stated in the First Amendment to the Constitution.

We follow Mandel into the 60's and learn about the significant role he played in the Free Speech Movement and as a commentator on KPFA (KFCF 88.1 FM, our local progressive radio station). He is one of the most knowledgeable experts in the country on the former Soviet Union. In the 90's he was removed from the air for "deviating" from the subject matter of his regular program.

If you want to learn about the life of someone who has spent most of the last century in the struggle to build a better America, read SAYING NO TO POWER.

###

"Saying No to Power" is a well-documented account of the U.S. climate and history of the past 7-8 decades, a gigantic mural painted with heart. For decades now, Bill Mandel's life has obviously been devoted to promoting world peace by fostering a deeper understanding between his country and the USSR. His insights into the Russian people are priceless, not only because he speaks Russian but, more importantly, because he speaks Human. Came the Cold War and the demonizing of the USSR, and he became a symbol of courage and free speech among the people of the United States when he stood up to McCarthy himself. Over the years, I met many people with extraordinary stories about the McCarthy era, and it was enriching to see them all in context, thanks to this book. Integrity, courage, a burning sense of justice and fairness, a spirited stand for peace and freedom for all, within and without the United States, Bill Mandel has this in common with all those friends I have met along my path. Without people like them, what would have happened to free speech? I also treasure his genuine respect for women and his ongoing fight against racism. I believe that everybody who wants an in-depth look at the main roadblocks to world peace will find this book useful and inspiring. It found its niche among my reference books, as I'm sure I won't lack opportunities to consult it now and again.

Dr. Viviane Lerner, Ph.D.

Born in Brooklyn in the year of the Russian revolutions, Bill has been unfairly pigeon-holed as a USSR analyst/commentator for all of his lengthy diverse careers; he explains within this autobio., clearly, voluminously yet concisely, his origins, influences, and pursuits, an emphasis always on a free people and a free individual exercising that right! Use it or lose it... As Bill was too modest to point out in his brief comment above, Howard Zinn, renowned author of "The Peoples History of the US" ringingly endorses this personal history that is interwoven with the major events of the 20th century, both national and international, with this statement (excerpted): "...the greatness of the US rests not on its wealth or power, but in the courage of those who continued to insist that the principles of the Declaration of Independence be fulfilled -the equal right of all people to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In this long struggle, the ideas and actions of people like Bill Mandel have played an important part...his life story is not only dramatic, but instructive and inspiring." Well worth the money, time and effort to read, nay study, this role-model for our generation! SHALOM

This is a profoundly sad book that encapsulates the intellectual tragedy of our times and as such, is illuminating, though not in the manner its author and his supporters would prefer. Mandel's was perhaps the loudest and most articulate voice serving, in effect, as a propoganda arm of the Soviet Union through decade after decade when the extraordinary brutality of Stalinist dictatorship devoured its own children and created unparalleled police states in Eastern Europe and around the world. Mandel never seemed to realize that the Soviet Union of his dreams was one vast Potemkin village barely masking an unending daily terror. The enormous irony of Mandel hysterically proclaiming his civil liberties before HUAC is apparently lost on both himself and those fellow communists who for some odd reason always want to drape themselves with the grand banners of "fighter for world peace and justice." But no apologist for state fascism could ever publish a self aggrandizing book in America entitled "Saying No to Power" merely for their vigorous assertion of their own first amendment rights to praise dictatorships and deride the one nation on earth whose commitment to freedom of speech has been made foundational. Very very few passionate counterpart activists for freedom and justice within the former Soviet Union ever lived through the Gulags (or even through the basement of that ghastly tower on Dzerzhinsky Square). Commisars Yagoda, Yeskov, and Beria failed to provide microphones, news cameras, and printing presses to the dissidents of the Soviet Union, although for five decades the inhuman screams from the interrogation rooms hardly needed amplification. They were, of course, never heard as far as Mandel's Berkeley. No to power? George Orwell is smiling even now.

Mr. Mandel's book, "Saying No to Power" serves primarily as an apology and justification for 20th century's second most oppressive dictatorship - the Soviet Union. The author is a well-known Soviet sympathizer and apologist, and has been one throughout his life.Saying no to power? Not quite, Mr. Mandel is in fact saying yes to Soviet power.