John Reed

John Reed was one of America’s most dynamic journalists during the World War I decade. An unabashed advocate for the working class and an outspoken critic of capitalism, Reed was a star reporter before his relentless crusade turned him into a target of the U.S. government. Reed set the standard for descriptive writing at labor strikes in New Jersey and Colorado, in Mexico while riding with Pancho Villa, in Germany’s trenches, and in Russia. America had no shortage of rebels, socialists, anarchists and revolutionaries at that time—but with his outsized personality and command of language and audiences, Reed may have been the most dangerous rebel of them all.
Neither adversaries nor allies expected Reed to go the distance (or to Russia) with his convictions. He seemed to enjoy life and merriment too much to sacrifice everything for a second American revolution. But they all underestimated the anger that fueled him, the memory of a father who sacrificed his reputation to fight white-collar crime. This career biography details Reed’s extraordinary decade before his death at age 32—a chaotic period of constant movement and remarkable accomplishment—while placing him in context among those who shaped him and touching upon the people with whom he worked.

Kenneth Z. Chutchian teaches history, government and economics at Poland Regional High School in Poland, Maine. He spent 20 years writing for newspapers throughout New England, covering state and local government, crime, and human interest stories.

Kenneth Z. Chutchian
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 192
Bibliographic Info: 13 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2019
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7697-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3794-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
One. You Can’t Go Home Again, Part I 5
Two. Three Men: Copeland, Steffens, Eastman 26
Three. Endless Storm: Harvard to Mexico 43
Four. Two Women: Mabel Dodge and Louise Bryant 63
Five. Crossing Borders and Boundaries 75
Six. The Retreat of American Journalism 98
Seven. The Classic and the End Game 105
Eight. Radicals, Revolutionaries and Reed: Berkman, Goldman, Haywood, Debs 123
Nine. You Can’t Go Home Again, Part II 135
Ten. Revolution: The Day After 152
Chapter Notes 165
Bibliography 177
Index 179