A closer look at three American writers sheds new light on the evolution of socialist thought in the U.S.

"This is the epic story of the struggle to build a mass socialist movement in ragtime America. Kipnis was a brilliant historian, and this is his enduring gift to activists." --Mike Davis A new edition of the out-of-print classic.

This book analyzes the continuity and change within socialist thought in this century and the perception by socialists of themselves as both a part of an American movement having concrete goals yet operating within the ideological framework of social democracy. The author focuses on the socialists' understanding of American democracy and the modern capitalist system and their prescriptions for social change. He examines the moderate socialism of Morris Hillquit, John Spargo, and Victor Berger and the groundwork laid for later radical variants of American socialism found in the writings of Louis Fraina and Louis Boudin. Hyfler explores the links connecting the radical working class socialism of Eugene Debs and the Wobblies with the accommodationism of Samuel Gompers and mainstream labor. Later chapters analyze Norman Thomas' move away from Marxist thinking and Michael Harrington's innovative attempts to create an American socialist perspective that can operate on the center stage of the American polity without compromising the radical traditions of the American left.

Socialist Cities is a comparative treatment of grass-roots Socialist successes. It marks the first comprehensive look at the urban working-class base of the American Socialist movement in the early part of the century, and reveals the importance of municipal politics as an organizing strategy. The author assesses the reactions of both workers and non-workers to the party, and provides a fresh perspective on the perennial question of why socialism 'failed' in America. He demonstrates that the subtle and ongoing dialogue between the party's own internal theoretical and tactical weaknesses and the broader class and structural obstacles against which it struggled, contributed to its failure.

Eugene V. Debs: Socialist for President, first published in 1962, is a fascinating account of the heady days of American socialism in the early 1900s, the five campaigns of its dogged leader Eugene Debs, and the struggles of the labor movement. Included are 8 pages of illustrations.