San Francisco Reds: Communists in the Bay Area, 1919-1958

The Communist Party (CP) in San Francisco was founded in 1919 and became a force in the 1930s trade union heyday. Robert Cherny's history, "San Francisco Reds," follows over fifty members through their lives and careers, using FBI files, records, interviews, and memoirs to reveal the reasons people joined, policy changes, member turnover, and factionalism. The book also explores the CPs influence on their lives in subsequent years.

Format: Hardback
Length: 312 pages
Publication date: 22 April 2024
Publisher: University of Illinois Press

The Communist Party (CP) in San Francisco, founded in 1919, endured an initial period of ineffectiveness before emerging as a significant force during the trade union heyday of the 1930s. Robert Cherny's book, San Francisco Reds, chronicles the story of the city's CP from its inception to 1958, using the lives and careers of over fifty members. Cherny employs a range of sources, including FBI files, records from the Russian State Archive for Social and Political History, interviews, and memoirs, to follow party and union leaders, rank-and-file members, and other individuals. His history delves into the reasons why people joined the CP, while also documenting the frequent policy changes, high member turnover, and disruptive factionalism that hindered the party's aims and achievements. Cherny further explores the aftermath of his subjects' resignations, expulsions, or other departures, examining the CP's influence on their lives in subsequent years.

Vivid and meticulously researched, San Francisco Reds offers a comprehensive perspective on the personal motivations and activism of an Old Left generation in a West Coast city. The book sheds light on the complex dynamics and challenges faced by the CP during its formative years and its enduring impact on the lives of its members and the broader community.

Weight: 454g
Dimension: 235 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780252045837