Let Them Tremble Paperback – December 18, 2019

I'm just learning an extensive history of the Communist Party, even though I've known some personally

Now, I got this book from International Publishers so I hope that Amazon won't take this review down like they did all those reviews of Hillary Clinton's book "What Happened" (I think that was the book, but that old hag wrote many books and opinion pieces, from what I understand, during and after 2016). When I got the book in the mail, I was incredibly excited to receive it as I'm a member of a certain political party that you all may know of if you've read this this book (and yes, I'm being vague for a reason, especially with the clampdown during the George Floyd protest movement sweeping the nation). And I have to say: I was disappointed... very mildly.To elaborate, I was hoping that the book wouldn't delve too much into the author's views on Stalin or the "Khruschev revelations" (his own words) and even maybe give a nuanced or mostly positive view on Stalin, the latter of which I have. But if you're a full-blown tankie like I am? Well, this book is for you, but don't expect to go into it thinking that the author himself is a Stalin-supporting tankie. He's not. He's a Marxist-Leninist that unfortunately thinks that Stalin, let's say, made more mistakes and crimes than any of his good qualities. He, from what I can tell, likes the Soviet Union and let's the praise of the Soviet Union speak for itself whenever he quotes any of the figures that are being elaborated on in this book. HOWEVER, while he doesn't do this often, he does refer to Stalin, from what I remember reading, as some sort of authoritarian despot of some sort.Again, he doesn't do this often, which is why I say: if you're a tankie like I am (and to confuse the FBI, apart of a certain political party that may or may not be the CPUSA for all you know), then please, do yourself a favor and get past that caveat of the book because 1) the author doesn't besmirch Stalin that often, barely at all even, 2) it gives much needed light to the people within the party that didn't get much attention and 3) it gives much needed light to the party during the Cold War era (and not just the McCarthyist era in the early 1950s) after 1956.To go over the final third point from the last paragraph, while he focuses mostly on the "second sons" (that is, the underrated of the CPUSA) in the Cold War era (and a bit beyond in some senses), he gives a sense of the pivotal role, and I do mean "pivotal", that the CPUSA gave to the Cold War left during that time, particularly the civil rights movement in the 1960s and 70s. One should not underestimate the CPUSA as, in many ways, they kept communism alive in this country, in my point of view, whatever one thinks of them after 1991. I would even say that the played as much as role as MLK and Malcolm X during the Cold War in terms of civil rights and even augmented their roles and politics throughout their years of active existence.So I'm a tankie... but I honestly think that this book is pretty significant in terms of the historiography of the communist movement in the United States. If you only got your start on /r/communism or Lemmy or bunkerchan or any other communist community on the Internet out there... Do yourself a favor and read this book. You won't regret it. It may even teach you a lot of things about tactics that can be applied today...

Over the decades, there have been many histories produced on the the Communist Party USA and its activities, personalities, and campaigns. There have been right-wing hit jobs focused on KGB connections as well as, more rarely, honest attempts to positively appraise the party's contributions to U.S. society. But something almost all treatments of CP history have shared is the claim that the party was irrelevant, if not totally dead, after the Stalin revelations in 1956. This collection of biographies by Pecinovsky rescues the party from such a myopic view, dislodging the CP from the narrative that it is was forever bound by the prerogatives of Moscow or of no importance following the Red Scare and McCarthyism. The activists and leaders whose lives he chronicles were (and are) very much a part of the latter-20th century and early 21st century political scene in the United States. Whether their area of activity was on the local level or national, Pecinovsky shows that the CP was still a hub of not just political action, but of political impact, well past what has traditionally been considered the party's glory days of the Great Depression and WWII years. The people written about here are not likely to be studied in such detail anywhere else, making the book an essential addition to not just CPUSA history, but American radical political history generally. Worth picking up.

In this collection of biographical sketches, Tony Pecinovsky shows that the Communist Party USA has been and still is very much alive as a political force, albeit often below the radar, even after the onslaught of McCarthyism. Each of the activists he presents played significant roles in key movements in our country, including civil rights, anti-war, women's equality, the revitalization of the labor movement, and others. Particularly important is Pecinovsky's demonstration that the center of the Party's life and activity has always been the issues and problems that concern the people of the United States and not, as the anti-Communist caricature would have it, questions concerning the Soviet Union and its allies. This explains why the Party not only survived but actually grew in membership and influence following the collapse of the socialist bloc in the early 1990s. These are political biographies, touching only very lightly on personal issues—which fits Pecinovsky's purpose exactly. The one critical comment I must make is that the book is still in need of some editing and proofreading; but, in view of the importance and overall readability of its content, this is a mere quibble. Anyone who wants a "behind-the-scenes" look at US politics over the past several decades should read this book.

Tony Pecinovsky of the STL Workers' Education Society, does a spectacular job presenting a concise and readable introduction to the history of the Communist Party in the United States by providing readers with the biographies of the party's most prominent personalities of the movement, and their continued participation on modern day activism. I strongly recommend this work for anyone who is interested in the nature of the CPUSA that isn't polluted with McCarthyist anti-communism.In particular, I enjoyed the chapter on Gus Hall, who served as chairman of the party for most of the late 20th century. Details on Hall's life are typically very difficult to attain due to the limited amount of scholarship on his life, but Pecinovsky presents Hall's life and work in a way that is extremely relevant to contemporary activist movements.5/5 or 10/10, or whatever. Highly recommend.Other works relevant for those interested:-Howard, Walter T. "We Shall Be Free!: Black Communist Protests in Seven Voices" (Temple University Press)- Elbaum, Max. "Revolution in the Air" (Verso Books)