Living My Life, Vol. 1
by Emma Goldman

List Price: $15.95
Our Price: $5.70
You Save: $10.25 (64%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.98 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Book Reviews of Living My Life, Vol. 1

Book Review: Emma Goldman's autobiography--an essential document
Summary: 5 Stars

The details are both inspiring and disturbing, as the actions of the American public and its government against immigrants, activists, or anyone else whom it deemed un-american are described with clarity by the victim who lived through it, and not by the patriot historian. One of the most heartwrenching descriptions in the entire book is the mass deportation to Russia on Christmas, 1919, of hundreds of first and second-generation Russian immigrants(Goldman included), many of whom could not even speak Russian.

Much of the second volume is devoted to Goldman's life in Russia after her deportation--a period of her life that is a book in itself. It includes rich details of post-revolutionary Russia-- conversations with Lenin, train rides to remote regions of the country, visits to towns deracinated by the Russian pogroms against the Jews, and her eventual unceremonious departure from the country.

As I already mentioned, the book is a long read. I'd recommend taking a break between volumes one and two. It's worth the time it takes to get through it. Emma Goldman's autobiography is an essential document for anyone who harbors a passion for social change, a curiousity about turn-of-the-century America or the Bolshevik Revolution, or just enjoys good non-fiction.

Summary of Living My Life, Vol. 1

Biographies & Memoirs Books

• Subjects > Biographies & Memoirs
• Politics
• Social Sciences
• Women's Studies