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oldnew23's review against another edition
2.0
It’s a shame that this is one of the few books that cover this period of American History. A few of the biggest problems I have with this book:
1. The authors appear to be on the defensive about the Communist element that was present throughout this entire occupation of Washington. When members of the march are confronted with accusations of being Communist, the author dispels them with the illogical argument that the said individual or individuals were decorated veterans, therefore not Communist. It is painful to have to write out the obvious: The decorated veteran(s) could also be Communist(s).
2. The first 1/3 of this book would appear to cover the march from the West Coast to Washington D.C. The only problem is that it only covered the story of one group (a few hundred). I’m sure it is intended to represent the hundreds of other groups that made similar journeys, but we are forced to assume a lot about thousands of other marchers using the standards, beliefs and makeup of one small group.
3. The authors openly admit that there were Communist groups in the city during these protests, that speeches were regularly given by Communist leaders and that Communists were involved in several, if not in all, of the confrontations with the police. However, the authors attempt to completely discredit and marginalize any concern shown by the Federal Government of a Communist uprising, either independent or in conjunction with the veterans.
4. Hoover gets a bad rap. He vetoed the Bonus Bills as hard as FDR did after him. It took overriding FDR’s veto YEARS later to actual pass the latest and greatest Bonus Bill.
5. And lastly, let’s not forget that three of the greatest military minds in history were on the opposite side of this and they thrived after this episode. They are known and studied for their decision making abilities. These are the same minds that won WWII. If this episode was as “embarrassing” as the authors described they would not have seen the military or political light of day.
It would be very telling to explore the other side to this story or at least examine the motivations of some of the other groups from around the country that made their way to Washington D.C.
1. The authors appear to be on the defensive about the Communist element that was present throughout this entire occupation of Washington. When members of the march are confronted with accusations of being Communist, the author dispels them with the illogical argument that the said individual or individuals were decorated veterans, therefore not Communist. It is painful to have to write out the obvious: The decorated veteran(s) could also be Communist(s).
2. The first 1/3 of this book would appear to cover the march from the West Coast to Washington D.C. The only problem is that it only covered the story of one group (a few hundred). I’m sure it is intended to represent the hundreds of other groups that made similar journeys, but we are forced to assume a lot about thousands of other marchers using the standards, beliefs and makeup of one small group.
3. The authors openly admit that there were Communist groups in the city during these protests, that speeches were regularly given by Communist leaders and that Communists were involved in several, if not in all, of the confrontations with the police. However, the authors attempt to completely discredit and marginalize any concern shown by the Federal Government of a Communist uprising, either independent or in conjunction with the veterans.
4. Hoover gets a bad rap. He vetoed the Bonus Bills as hard as FDR did after him. It took overriding FDR’s veto YEARS later to actual pass the latest and greatest Bonus Bill.
5. And lastly, let’s not forget that three of the greatest military minds in history were on the opposite side of this and they thrived after this episode. They are known and studied for their decision making abilities. These are the same minds that won WWII. If this episode was as “embarrassing” as the authors described they would not have seen the military or political light of day.
It would be very telling to explore the other side to this story or at least examine the motivations of some of the other groups from around the country that made their way to Washington D.C.
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