Description
Book SynopsisAble to Lead tells the forgotten story of the life of double amputee E.T. Kingsley, a pioneering politician, and labour and justice activist.
Trade ReviewThe authors’ focus on this historical figure enriches and widens the lens on BC’s history. -- Janet Nicol * BC Studies *
Able to Lead... portrays the fractured politics of the B.C. labour left, providing an admiring account of the role of one man in that process… [the book] should achieve its stated goal of encouraging a new perception of the capabilities of disabled people while also prompting a rethink of the early North American left.
-- Ron Verzuh, documentary filmmaker * The Ormsby Review *
Able to Lead paints a vivid picture of a fascinating political figure whose oratory one would have liked to have experienced first-hand.
-- Giselle Gerolami * Against the Current *
...the book provides a rich and lively account of a dynamic period in the history of the Canadian left— and tantalizing glimpses of an extraordinary man who lived in the thick of it. -- John Baglow * Literary Review of Canada *
...Malhotra and Isitt are to be commended for a book that, besides providing extraordinarily useful information on subjects ranging from the ubiquity of railway accidents in the late nineteenth century to the influence of eugenics on Canadian immigration policies at the same time, recognizes that Kingsley, even though he never spoke or wrote of his disability, likely constantly had to make decisions, whether about the class struggle or where to live, that reflected its existence in an ablist world. -- Neil Dhingra, University of Maryland * H-Net *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
1 Incident at Spring Gulch: Disablement, Litigation, and the Birth of a Revolutionary
2 California Radical: Fighting for Free Speech and Running for Congress in the Socialist Labor Party
3 Crossing the Line: Eugene Kingsley Arrives in British Columbia
4 No Compromise: Kingsley and the Socialist Party of Canada
5 Kingsley and the State
6 The Twilight Years: Kingsley and the 1920s Canadian Left
Conclusion
Appendix 1: Timeline of the Life and Political Times of E.T. Kingsley
Appendix 2: E.T. Kingsley Election Results
Appendix 3: Partial Record of E.T. Kingsley’s Public Speeches and Lectures
Appendix 4: Obituary for E.T. Kingsley
Notes; Index
