9781844676798-the-s-word

The "S" Word: A Short History of an American Tradition...Socialism

A short, sharp, irreverent rejoinder to right-wing red-baiting.
A few months before the 2010 midterms, Newt Gingrich described the socialist infiltration of American government and media as “even more disturbing than the threats from foreign terrorists.” John Nichols offers an unapologetic retort to the return of red-baiting in American political life—arguing that socialism has a long, proud, American history. Tom Paine was enamored of early socialists, Horace Greeley employed Karl Marx as a correspondent, and Helen Keller was an avowed socialist. The “S” Word gives Americans back a crucial aspect of their past and makes a forthright case for socialist ideas today.

Paperback, 336 pages

ISBN: 9781844676798

March 2011

$19.95 / £12.99 / $25.00CAN

Reviews

  • [A] search for the legacy of our homegrown radicals.
  • A chilling reminder of how much rich American history has been erased by shallow messaging. A crucial book.
  • Of all the giant slayers now afoot in the great American desert, John Nichols’s sword is the sharpest.

Blog

The Progressive magazine's best of 2011 list features two Verso titles

The Progressive's editor Matthew Rothschild included The S Word on his list of best books of 2011. 

John Nichols chose News for All the People for his list of best books of 2011. 

John Nichols for The Nation: "The 99 Percent Rise Up"

John Nichols, Washington correspondent for The Nation and author of The "S" Word: A Short History of an American Tradition... Socialism writes on the three things Occupy Wall Street have gotten right from the start, and where to go from here.

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The Return of Socialism

On June 23, John Nichols, author of The "S" Word: : A Short History of an American Tradition ... Socialism, joined Phil Gasper in Madison, WI for an event to discuss the history of socialism in America and its increasing popularity during today's crisis of capitalism. The event was sponsored by the International Socialist Organization, Haymarket Books, Verso Books, and WORT 89.9 FM Madison.

"One does not need to be a socialist to understand that socialism has been a part of this country's journey from the start."—John Nichols

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