Description
Book SynopsisThis book chronicles the political and personal lives of progressive activists Richard and Miriam Flacks. Their story, rooted in ‘old left’ childhoods, shaped by the sixties New Left, and culminating in intellectual and community leadership, is a valuable first-hand account of how progressive American activism has evolved over the last 100 years.
Trade Review"Mickey and Dick's joint autobiography gives a window onto the strands of culture and commitment that connect the social movements of the 1930s and 1960s. Movements do indeed teach each other!" -- Frances Fox Piven * The Graduate Center, City University of New York *
"A moving and intelligent memoir of radical political engagement from the 1960’s to the present by two extraordinary people. The deeply personal, intimate nature of the account makes it an especially compelling read." -- Joan Wallach Scott * Institute for Advanced Study *
"This is a book of two people who are living to build movement for a better world and build a life together. It is a delicious read. And we are all better for the lives they led." -- Heather Booth * political strategist, feminist, and civil rights activist *
"[A] significant, clearheaded memoir." * Santa Barbara Independent *
"SB Authors: Dick and Mickey's Epic Memoir" feature by Jerry Roberts * Newsmakers with Jerry Roberts *
"The message...in this book, that living one’s values is found in all the 'little' choices forging professional, family and movement connections into a coherent and livable whole. Bringing such supposedly small personal bits into the whole picture of activism, like chocolate chips into the cookie dough, changes the flavor of the whole. And, like the blintz recipe, it is one that I can recommend as being as tasty as it seems — and easily shareable." * Public Seminar *
"
Making History, Making Blintzes, written in the alternating voices of Mickey and Dick, is an engaging account of two intertwined and well-lived lives over more than a half century of left-wing engagement." * Public Seminar *
"New Books Network - New Books in Sociology" interview with Dick and Mickey Flacks * New Books Network *
"The delightful back and forth of Mickey and Dick, often talking about the same events in their own voices and with different memories or perspectives, carries throughout the entire book making for a fast read. It’s true that they made plenty of blintzes, and oh what history did this lovely couple make along the way!" * Washtenan Jewish News *
Table of ContentsTABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword vii
1 Sonia Hartman 1
2 A Red Diaper Baby: Mickey’s Story 12
3 Mildred Flacks 34
4 The House I Lived In: Dick’s Story 54
5 Coming of Age in the Fifties 72
6 Starting out in the Sixties 96
7 Our Sixties: Blowin’ in the Wind 155
8 Our Sixties: Making History Together 179
9 Our Sixties: Some Scenes from the Theater of “Revolution” 237
10 Our Sixties: 1968 and Beyond 253
11 Moving to California 309
12 A Long March? 348
13 Socialism in One City 364
14 Confessions of a Tenured Radical 395
15 Playing for Change 434
16 Some Things
We’ve Learned about What’s Left 451
17 Trump Time 463
18 Last Words 468
Acknowledgments 477
Notes 479
Index
