Red Diapers: Growing Up in the Communist Left
Encyclopedia
Red Diapers: Growing Up in the Communist Left is the first anthology
of autobiographical
writings by "Red Diaper Babies" — children of communist or other radical-left parents. Edited by Judy Kaplan and Linn Shapiro, it consists of memoirs, short stories, and poems. Among the 40 authors are such well known figures as journalist Carl Bernstein
, feminist
writer Kim Chernin
, scientist Richard Levins
, and author/activist Robert Meeropol
(son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
).
The book has been widely praised by some of the major figures of 20th century radical politics, reviewed in radical and academic periodicals, and used as a textbook in radical history courses at Pennsylvania State University and East Stroudsberg University, as well as being reviewed by the mainstream media.
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of autobiographical
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
writings by "Red Diaper Babies" — children of communist or other radical-left parents. Edited by Judy Kaplan and Linn Shapiro, it consists of memoirs, short stories, and poems. Among the 40 authors are such well known figures as journalist Carl Bernstein
Carl Bernstein
Carl Bernstein is an American investigative journalist who, at The Washington Post, teamed up with Bob Woodward; the two did the majority of the most important news reporting on the Watergate scandal. These scandals led to numerous government investigations, the indictment of a vast number of...
, feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
writer Kim Chernin
Kim Chernin
Kim Chernin is an American fiction and nonfiction writer, feminist, poet, and memoirist. She has published fiction, non-fiction and poetry.- Biography :Kim Chernin was born on May 7, 1940, in the Bronx, New York...
, scientist Richard Levins
Richard Levins
Richard "Dick" Levins is a mathematical ecologist, and political activist. He is best known for his work on evolution in changing environments....
, and author/activist Robert Meeropol
Robert Meeropol
Robert Meeropol is the younger son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. Meeropol was born in New York City. His father Julius was an electrical engineer and a member of the Communist Party. His mother Ethel , a union organizer, was also active in the Communist Party...
(son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg and Julius Rosenberg were American communists who were convicted and executed in 1953 for conspiracy to commit espionage during a time of war. The charges related to their passing information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union...
).
The book has been widely praised by some of the major figures of 20th century radical politics, reviewed in radical and academic periodicals, and used as a textbook in radical history courses at Pennsylvania State University and East Stroudsberg University, as well as being reviewed by the mainstream media.
Reviews
- Bettina ApthekerBettina ApthekerBettina Fay Aptheker is an American activist, author, feminist, and professor.-Early years and education:Aptheker was born in Fort Bragg, North Carolina to the first cousins Fay Philippa Aptheker and Herbert Aptheker, a radical activist and Marxist historian. She was raised in Brooklyn, New York....
Humbooks, U.C. Santa Cruz: "extraordinary multi-author account of how it felt and what it meant to grow up Communist in twentieth-century America"
- Angela DavisAngela DavisAngela Davis is an American political activist, scholar, and author. Davis was most politically active during the late 1960s through the 1970s and was associated with the Communist Party USA, the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party...
: "A remarkable collective memoir.... It bears witness to a powerful tradition of radical 'family values' from which emerged a generation of leftist organizers who have made an indelible mark on U.S. social movements. Perhaps most importantly, this wonderful volume demystifies the process of radicalization by foregrounding the humanity of those of us whose family legacies have been defined by radicalism."
- Pat DevinePat DevinePat Devine is a radical economist concerned mainly with industrial economics and comparative economic systems. He made one of the most thorough descriptions of a future economy where allocation is done by democratic planning and social ownership without any social division of labour...
, University of ManchesterUniversity of ManchesterThe University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
in Communist History Network Newsletter: "This is a wonderful book. Through it we enter a world populated by ordinary people who did extraordinary things in exceptional circumstances as they worked to make the world a better place."
- Howard ZinnHoward ZinnHoward Zinn was an American historian, academic, author, playwright, and social activist. Before and during his tenure as a political science professor at Boston University from 1964-88 he wrote more than 20 books, which included his best-selling and influential A People's History of the United...
: "These are fascinating glimpses of the lives of a special group of people, poignant and thought-provoking — an important contribution to the social history of our time."
- Meredith Tax, Women's Review of Books," April, 1999: "Not only does it address historical issues central to the Left, but also questions of concern to anyone who wants to know how a political subculture can be maintained..."
- Journal of American History v.87 (2), Sept. 2000.
- Socialist History Journal, v.19
- Society and Science v.64 (2000)
- First Things: the Journal of Science Religion and Culture" (1999)
- Leslie Paris, "Journal of Women's History" v.12 (4)
- Womens Review (Wellesley College)
Publishing information
- Red Diapers: Growing Up in the Communist Left Edited by Judy Kaplan and Linn Shapiro, University of Illinois PressUniversity of Illinois PressThe University of Illinois Press , is a major American university press and part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic projects...
, 1998. ISBN 0-252-02161-4