Never Stop Running (Paperback)

~ William H. Chafe (Author) "ON JANUARY 16, 1968-HIS THIRTY-NINTH BIRTHDAY-ALLARD LOWENstein stood poised on the threshold of one of the great triumphs of twentieth-century political history..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Allard Lowenstein, Long Island (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chafe's remarkably intimate biography of liberal activist New York Congressman Allard Lowenstein underscores this charismatic leader's relevance to the survival of liberal politics. Lowenstein, who was assassinated at age 51 by a demented ex-protege in 1980, played a pivotal role in the 1960s civil rights movement and the campaign to end the war in Vietnam. In Duke history professor Chafe's probing portrait, Lowenstein emerges as a torn individual who rebelled against his tyrannical father and controlling stepmother by fashioning the self-image of a noble crusader, while he grappled with ambivalence about his Jewish identity and, from adolescence onward, with strong homoerotic impulses. Lowenstein's divorce from Boston Brahmin Jennifer Lyman shattered his personal world, suggests Chafe, who maintains that the ultimate failure of the Democratic firebrand's political mission to change the system from within stemmed in part from inherent personality flaws, and in part from the loss of a common ground as centrifugal forces tore American society asunder. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Lowenstein, the brilliant, enigmatic 1960s radical, congressman, and ambassador to the United Nations, is depicted in this outstanding, sympathetic biography as a metaphor for an era of great social upheavals. Chafe (history, Duke Univ.) skillfully relates Lowenstein's grassroots leadership in the Civil Rights and the "Dump Johnson" movements and, most significantly, as the defender of liberalism, his belief that government must play a vigorous role in promoting social welfare. Despite his political successes, Lowenstein was tormented by his unresolved homosexual tendencies and his religious alienation. While dwelling too much on Lowenstein's personal demons, Chafe has captured the spirit of a man who devoted his life to the service of others. Murdered in 1980 by an unbalanced follower, Lowenstein received a hero's funeral and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery near John and Robert Kennedy. Chafe's study is indispensable to an understanding of the student movements of the 1960s. Highly recommended for large public and most academic collections.
- Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, Pa.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 556 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (October 26, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 069105973X
• ISBN-13: 978-0691059730
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,116,218 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific writing, captures America in the 1950s and 1960s, July 27, 2000

By A Customer

This is a sensitive, beautifully-written biography of a man whose life both shaped the United States in the 1960s and and reflects the promises and contradictions of the country in that tumultuous era. What Chafe does best is to place Lowenstein's complex and hurly-burly personal life amid the confusion and aspiration that marked the period. Never Stop Running is a truly great biogrpahy--a stunning combination of character and context.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lowenstein is absent from this biography., July 21, 1999

By A Customer

Chafe is to be commended for succinctness in his presentation of the facts which he sets forth. But the heart of Allard Lowenstein's story is the power of his personality. At no point does Chafe give the reader a sense of this personality.

Frequent references to Allard Lowenstein's "biting but brilliant wit," his "superb" writing, and his eloquent speeches lead to exactly one extended quote from him- and that not until the next to last page of the epilogue. Chafe provides ample quotes from friends, relatives, aides, follwers, colleagues, casual acquaintances of Lowenstein, and we learn how all of them felt about Lowenstein's habitually untucked shirt-tail, his chronic lateness, his perpetual attempts to get young men to share a bed with him, and so on. Fine. But the man himself never appears.

Moreover, the book bears many signs of hasty preparation. While I was irritated to find that a woman named Jessie Helms had become prominent in North Carolina politics, I think I should at least mention Chafe's free and often puzzling use of square brackets in quotations.