The Long Haul: An Autobiography [Paperback]

Myles Horton (Author), Judith and Herbert Kohl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2, 1997

In his own direct, modest, plain-spoken style, Myles Horton tells the story of the Highlander Folk School. A major catalyst for social change in the United States for more than sixty years, this school has touched the lives of so many people, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Pete Seeger. Filled with disarmingly honest insight and gentle humor, this is an inspiring hymn to the possibility of social change.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Grandson of an illiterate "mountain man" and son of a poor Tennessee farmer, Horton worked his way through college and university studies and, after becoming a labor union organizer, founded and directed the Tennessee-based Highlander Folk School (now the Highlander Research and Education Center), with the missions to mobilize voter registration among blacks, further the cause of unions and support civil rights. In this "autobiography" coauthored with the Kohls ( View from the Oak ), Horton describes the struggle to keep Highlander going despite accusations of its Communist orientation, and recalls the people (Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Ralph Abernathy, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Saul Alinsky, Eleanor Roosevelt) and movements that developed or gained inspiration there. A believer in freedom not only of speech but of individual thought, Horton stresses that he has never cast his lot with Communism but tried to provide opportunities for oppressed people to advance themselves. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Horton aspires to a world in which all "people are of worth . . . you not only have to love and respect people, but you have to think in terms of building a society that people can profit most from, and that kind of society has to work on the principle of equality." His Long Haul to help build such a world has led him from a Depression-era Tennessee family to the founding of the Highlander Folk School to a world-renowned position in the field of community education. From 1932 to its abrupt, politically motivated closing in 1961, the Highlander Folk School was a pioneer in experience-based education to address societal inequality in southern Appalachia. This book is primarily a treatise on the beliefs which governed Horton's life, rather than a traditional autobiography. (For a thorough history of the Highlander Folk School, see Aimee Isgrig Horton's Highlander Folk School , Carlson, 1989.)-- Annelle R. Huggins, Memphis State Univ. Libs.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 167 pages
• Publisher: Teachers College Press; First Edition edition (July 2, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807737003
• ISBN-13: 978-0807737002
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #186,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for all in adult social justice education October 4, 1999

By Susan Ives

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

In the 1970s, when I was a college student studying Appalachian sociology, Highlander was a golden beacon - the place where Rosa Parks learned civil disobedience! How I wish this book was available then. It's much more than an autobiography of Highlander's founder, Myles Horton. It's more than a history of Highlander. It explains how Horton and his associates evolved their methods of education. As part of a peace and justice start-up myself, I found myself thinking,"I must tell everyone about this idea!" and, "Oh, that happens to us, too." This book is an inspiration.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A lesson to Learn Now More than Ever March 7, 2004

By Jennifer Primrose

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

How a group of caring people can be transformed into a catalyst for social change. Myles Horton, and threads of the humanity who made up the Highlander School, championed the Appalachian working class, empowering them to stand up to the factory owners and politicians who used their lack of education against them. By respecting the knowledge and intelligence of the poorest, Mr. Horton was able to win the proud mountain people's respect and trust and help them to understand the foundations of the democracy within which they lived.

This book has a great deal to teach about democracy, about learning, about our society's prejudices built on race, sex and education. It is a book about inspiration, about defining and learning about your own beliefs and where you stand on important issues that effect all of humanity today. Read this book for the history, to learn about the strength of a man and a group who followed their beliefs...but you will find yourself, in the end, learning about yourself.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars an inspiring memoir of struggle October 3, 2005

By Phil Myers

Format:Paperback

This is a wonderful, engaging narrative of a life devoted to the struggle for justice, peace and freedom. In plain language, with humility, wit, and vigor, Horton recounts experiences, insights, and anecdotes gathered in his many years as an organizer and popular educator with the Highlander folk school in Tennessee, from the industrial union drives in the 30s, through the civil rights movement, and beyond. The book positively glows with Horton's courage, compassion, and intelligence.