Christian Anarchist: Ammon Hennacy, A Life on the Catholic Left

Ammon Hennacy was a political activist and anarchist who was arrested over thirty times for opposing US entry into World War I, lost his wife and daughters, and was hounded by the IRS for protesting the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He had a romance with Dorothy Day, founded the Joe Hill House of Hospitality, and protested the US development of nuclear missiles. His biography highlights the late nineteenth-century utopian movements, grassroots socialist movements, and antinuclear protests of the 1960s and how his life galvanized the public then and offers us new insight for today.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 11 January 2022
Publisher: New York University Press

Ammon Hennacy was a remarkable figure whose politics foreshadowed today's social justice, ecology, and gender equality movements. He was arrested over thirty times for opposing US entry into World War 1 and refused to pay taxes that supported the war, leading to the loss of his wife and daughters and his job. He protested the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and was hounded by the IRS, leading him to migrant labor in the fields of the West. He had a romance with Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker, who called him a "prophet and a peasant." He helped the homeless on the Bowery, founded the Joe Hill House of Hospitality in Salt Lake City, and protested the US development of nuclear missiles, becoming one of the most celebrated anarchists of the twentieth century.

To our era, when so much "protest" happens on social media, Hennacy's actual sacrifices seem unworldly. However, his legacy remains a testament to the power of activism and the importance of standing up for what is right. In this exceptional biography, William Marling tells the story of this fascinating figure, who remains particularly important for the Catholic Left. Marling illuminates a broader history of political ideas now largely lost, including the late nineteenth-century utopian movements, the grassroots socialist movements before World War I, and the antinuclear protests of the 1960s.

Christian Anarchist: A Niche Study of When Religion and Anarchist Theory Overlap offers new insight for today by examining how Hennacy's life at the heart of radical libertarian and anarchist interventions in American politics galvanized the public then and offers us new insight for today. Hennacy's commitment to social justice, ecology, and gender equality remains a source of inspiration for those who seek to create a more just and sustainable world.

Weight: 668g
Dimension: 161 x 237 x 31 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781479810079