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luciaeve's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
joeldrama's review against another edition
5.0
An incredible autobiography about the most incredible woman. E.G. suffered so much and yet the book remains brilliantly inspiring because of these ordeals; at no point does she seem to give up, forever fighting for a better world and to improve people's lives.
A long read, yes. But one I would heartily recommend.
A long read, yes. But one I would heartily recommend.
savaging's review against another edition
5.0
I discovered Emma Goldman a decade ago through the [a:E.L. Doctorow|12584|E.L. Doctorow|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1235983484p2/12584.jpg] masterpiece [b:Ragtime|175675|Ragtime|E.L. Doctorow|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320531790s/175675.jpg|551195]. The professor asked for historical research on one of the characters, and that's how a conservative, orthodox undergrad wound up at the little shelf of anarchist theory in the basement of the Brigham Young University library. Reading E.G.'s biographies and letters I was introduced to this gracious, charming, sane, and brave woman, and ergo had my world flipped upside down.
And for all that I never read her autobiography until now. Maybe I assumed that a person who could live such a full and meaningful life could never have the additional gift of being able to write about it well. But E.G. is as vivacious and sprightly in her writing as she was on the dance floor.
And she also has flaws. She's full of herself, she holds court, she revels in her fame and recognition. She's a little too eager to speak her truth without thought for the consequences for others involved (similarly to how Berkman set out to kill Frick without first talking to the striking workers he was "defending"). But she's also capable of some real reflection and self-criticism, whether it's struggling with the Bolsheviks or thinking through her young beliefs in ends always justifying means. The most compelling tension in the book for me is how a principled person lives in a world of 'two evils.' Do you dedicate yourself to the 'lesser,' or remain critical to both at the risk of being perpetually misunderstood?
Without knowing what was removed, I think this abridged version worked well. But I found the introduction by Miriam Brody unfortunate -- why would you open this work with a long-winded, centrist-liberal academic rather than one of the many radical activist-organizers who have been motivated by E.G.? But as she herself points out: publishers have always been getting Emma Goldman all wrong.
And for all that I never read her autobiography until now. Maybe I assumed that a person who could live such a full and meaningful life could never have the additional gift of being able to write about it well. But E.G. is as vivacious and sprightly in her writing as she was on the dance floor.
And she also has flaws. She's full of herself, she holds court, she revels in her fame and recognition. She's a little too eager to speak her truth without thought for the consequences for others involved (similarly to how Berkman set out to kill Frick without first talking to the striking workers he was "defending"). But she's also capable of some real reflection and self-criticism, whether it's struggling with the Bolsheviks or thinking through her young beliefs in ends always justifying means. The most compelling tension in the book for me is how a principled person lives in a world of 'two evils.' Do you dedicate yourself to the 'lesser,' or remain critical to both at the risk of being perpetually misunderstood?
Without knowing what was removed, I think this abridged version worked well. But I found the introduction by Miriam Brody unfortunate -- why would you open this work with a long-winded, centrist-liberal academic rather than one of the many radical activist-organizers who have been motivated by E.G.? But as she herself points out: publishers have always been getting Emma Goldman all wrong.
irreverentreader's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up this book because I had heard of Emma Goldman in connection with the women's movement, with her specifically focusing on access to birth control and free love. I too knew that she was an anarchist, but I thought this book would be a good balance of both--and in this, I found it lacking.
The first fifty pages or so are quite fascinating as there she primarily focuses on her beliefs and how they were cultivated. Enamored by her forward thinking for the time, I was hopeful that the rest of the book would carry on with how she put her ideals into action and how those beliefs grew and changed over time. Unfortunately, I think what Emma Goldman struggled with most while writing her autobiography was knowing what to include and exclude, and therefore, the book became more a laundry list of the places she went and the people she knew rather than focusing on the deep and poignant events that would be most telling and moving. That isn't to say that Goldman is a bad writer; she's not. But as this was an already abridged version, I was surprised by how much more abridgement I wanted.
While I agreed with a lot of the things Goldman stood for in terms of societal betterment and government corruption, she also had a lot of troubling viewpoints, such as being okay with men she knew in their 30s romancing 15 and 16 year olds, her belief that women are the cause of men's violence and depravity, and that the ends justify the means, even at the cost of innocents. The men she fell in love with also greatly gave me the ick. It is definitely a cast of historical characters that I'm glad to have learned about in order to expand my knowledge, but that which I'm more than happy to leave behind.
All in all, definitely read the abridged version, and even then be prepared to skim. It's a fine book if you are interested in anarchism of the early 1900's or Emma Goldman herself, but a good history writer might be able to teach you those things more succinctly than this book.
The first fifty pages or so are quite fascinating as there she primarily focuses on her beliefs and how they were cultivated. Enamored by her forward thinking for the time, I was hopeful that the rest of the book would carry on with how she put her ideals into action and how those beliefs grew and changed over time. Unfortunately, I think what Emma Goldman struggled with most while writing her autobiography was knowing what to include and exclude, and therefore, the book became more a laundry list of the places she went and the people she knew rather than focusing on the deep and poignant events that would be most telling and moving. That isn't to say that Goldman is a bad writer; she's not. But as this was an already abridged version, I was surprised by how much more abridgement I wanted.
While I agreed with a lot of the things Goldman stood for in terms of societal betterment and government corruption, she also had a lot of troubling viewpoints, such as being okay with men she knew in their 30s romancing 15 and 16 year olds, her belief that women are the cause of men's violence and depravity, and that the ends justify the means, even at the cost of innocents. The men she fell in love with also greatly gave me the ick. It is definitely a cast of historical characters that I'm glad to have learned about in order to expand my knowledge, but that which I'm more than happy to leave behind.
All in all, definitely read the abridged version, and even then be prepared to skim. It's a fine book if you are interested in anarchism of the early 1900's or Emma Goldman herself, but a good history writer might be able to teach you those things more succinctly than this book.
joarholtter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.5