Between the 1940s and the 1980s, Sidney Hook achieved notoreity as a devoted cold warrior and anti-communist. In his youth, however, he was a Marxist who argued for replacing capitalism with a more democratic society. Young Sidney Hook brings into focus the early years of this talented New York intellectual, pragmatist philosopher, and polemicist.
By reopening the controversy over Marxism and pragmatism and examining the formidable problem that Stalinism posed for American radicals, Young Sidney Hook challenges both those on the left who see Hook's early beliefs as ill-conceived and those on the right who see them as immmature.
Commentary
"This
book is the best treatment of the best American Marxist philosopher—and
the best philosopher to emerge from American slums. Young Sidney Hook is
essential reading for anyone interested in democratic theory and practice
in
"The very best kind of intellectual biography sheds light not only on the life and ideas of its subject but on a whole tradition of thought and a historical epoch. This deeply intelligent and elegantly written book does all those things admirably, and has the added—and rare—virtue of making its own original contribution to the clarification of some thorny issues in social theory, and Marxist theory in particular." — Ellen Meiksins Wood
"A very detailed
and fascinating account of Hook's formative years." — Richard Rorty,
"Phelps's effort to uncover, explore, and analyze Hook's forgotten leftism must be judged an unqualified success." — Kent Worcester, Left History
"Like
other famous rebels who eventually came home to patriotism and conservatism,
Hook's life is one of breathtaking intellectual twists and turns.
He occupied, at one time or another, almost every intellectual position
available on the left: Leninist, Trotskyist, right-wing Socialist
plus several nuances between them. ...Christopher Phelps, in his persuasive
new biography of young Sidney Hook, ...strives...to uncover the young
philosopher and activist at the height of his powers. What he discovers
is not just a brilliant interpreter of Marx and the Russian Revolution,
but a remarkable advocate and practitioner of the Americanization
of Marxism." — James Gilbert, In These Times
"In this well-documented
and well-written book, Phelps argues that Hook’s pragmatism in no
way limited his commitment to revolutionary socialism, which lasted
in some form until 1938, dying only during the general crisis on the
anti-Stalinist left brought on by the Moscow Trials. Phelps has done
an enormous service for scholars of the 1930s, tracking down many
shreds of evidence to chronicle the ups and downs of Hook’s relationship
with the Communist Party before his final break in the spring of 1933;
Hook’s work for the American Workers Party of 1934, a fleeting attempt
at a revolutionary movement outside the Communist Party; and Hook’s
lingering good relations with Trotskyists.”— Richard D. Horn, Culturefront
"Fascinating...well researched and packed with information." —William James Earle, Times Literary Supplement
"Phelps argues that even as a Marxian activist, Hook was not dogmatic but regarded Marxism as a judgment of practice, to be appraised experimentally. In tying Marxism to American conditions, he mingled it with pragmatic naturalism, abandoning socialism when he saw it as suppressing the freedom of democratic liberalism. Phelps believes that the young Hook saw more clearly than the old Hook, and that many of his ideas of the 1920s and 1930s are still worth testing in practice. An interesting examination of an independent Marxist.” — Library Journal
Complete Reviews
Most reviews of Young Sidney Hook are not available
on line, but the following are:
Theodore Draper,
Edward Johanningsmeier, Labor History