Book Reviews

BOOK REVIEWS Carlotta R. Anderson. All-American of Michigan, a collection constituted initially Anarchist: Joseph A. Labadie and the of her grandfather's papers but augmented Labor Movement. Detroit: Wayne State significantly over the years from a number of University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8143- different sources until today it is one of the 2707-9 finest repositories anywhere for primary source materials on the history of the Carlotta Anderson's monograph on her American labor movement and anarchism. grandfather Jo Labadie is a work of love. And she uses her sources effectively, Her devotion and affection for the man and admirably achieving the goal which she sets his work are apparent on almost every page. herself of bringing "Jo Labadie and his time Yet the book is much more. As its title and and place to life in a way that will be of subtitle indicate, Anderson's book is at once a interest to the general reader as well as the biography of Joseph A. Labadie, a story of scholar" (14). urban America in the late nineteenth century, a study of anarchism in the United States, Anderson deftly steers a path between and a chronicle of the American labor the detail on organizations, persons, and movement in its earliest phases. At times, philosophical points of view that would particularly in the beginning, the sheer interest scholars of the labor movement and complexity of the relationships between related historical and sociological phenomena Labadie's life, anarchism, and emerging labor and the personal anecdotes about Jo organizations like the Knights of Labor is in Labadie and his beloved Sophie, the outspoken fact nothing short of bewildering. Yet as social anarchist and his devout Catholic wife, Anderson painstakingly outlines the growth which might claim the attention of the general and development of each of her subjects, a reader. The undertaking is, of course, not fuller, clearer picture emerges. By the time without its dangers; one risks leaving both Jo Labadie reaches middle age and more types of readers unsatisfied. familiar characters like Samuel Gompers For the most part, however, Anderson appear in his life, the reader has gained a successfully negotiates the terrain. There greater understanding for and appreciation are moments in the early chapters when the of both the interrelationships involved and reader looks in vain for more detail on the their importance in the development of newly wed Labadies and their young family, contemporary urban life in post-industrial and the scholar will likely lament missed America. opportunities in the portrayal of Terence Anderson's work is well-researched Powderly, the autocratic and controversial and capably written. She brings to the task a leader of the Knights of Labor, and the noto- wealth of personal information, including a rious Emma Goldman, queen of the anar- fascinating array of pictures culled for the chists and the leading advocate of free love most part from family scrapbooks. In addi- at the time. Despite the tantalizing detail on tion, she draws on the impressive resources Powderly, it is difficult to form a complete of the Labadie Collection at the University picture of the man or even Labadie's opin- Book Reviews__________________ ion of him. With Goldman one notices the advanced our understanding of the philo- discrepancy between Labadie's recollection sophical modes of thought and social mech- of certain events involving "red Emma" and anisms which lay behind the industrializa- Goldman's own account in her autobiogra- tion of the United States. phy many years later. Yet Anderson, having Antonius Holtmann, ed. Ferner thue set the scene for a unique independent ich euch zu wissen...: Die Briefe des appraisal of one of America's most contro- Johann Heinrich zur Oevesfe aus Amerika versial social activists based on the docu- 1834-1876. Bremen: Edition Temmen, ments and information at her disposal, stops 1995. ISBN 3-86108-277-2 short of a judgment. Once again, it is even This is a fascinating if somewhat com- difficult to gauge Labadie's own attitude plex volume. Although on the surface the toward Goldman. In large part, however, work purports to be a thoroughly annotated Anderson succeeds in meeting the dual collection of the letters of nineteenth-century demands of her readership. Particularly in German immigrant Johann Heinrich zur the later chapters, as the story of Jo Labadie Oeveste to relatives back home in Olden- reaches into the twentieth century, Anderson burg, it is, in fact, three separate but inte- offers up an engrossing tale which will com- grated pieces. Antonius Holtmann's learned mand the attention of any reader. introduction not only details the genesis and The physical volume itself is well laid development of the project which led to the out. Scholars may encounter some difficulty publication of zur Oeveste's letters but pro- in trying to coordinate the endnotes with the vides an erudite and sweeping review of the appropriate sections of text as the running history of German emigration during the chapter heads carry the title of the respec- nineteenth century. The only possible draw- tive chapter while the notes refer to a chapter back to the introductory section might be by number, which in the text proper only the density of Holtmann's prose. His com- appears at the beginning of each chapter. To mand of the field is sovereign, and his prose be fair, however, the location and identifica- style in German masterly, but reading that tion of the notes will probably not disturb part of the text may prove a challenge for all the general reader, who will not have to con- but the most knowledgeable, both in their sult them to understand the text. It is a command of German and their knowledge shame, on the other hand, that it is not more of immigration history. readily apparent that the various verses, The second section, on the other hand, mottos, and aphorisms that grace the begin- will be accessible to a broad cross section of ning of each chapter all stem from the hand readers. Holtmann promises to let zur of Jo Labadie himself. Oeveste speak for himself through his let- All in all, Anderson's biography of ters and delivers on that promise. There are Joseph A. Labadie, the gentle anarchist, is a many footnotes, certainly, but the page thoroughly engaging and informative con- design is such that the notes complement the tribution to the literature. Although letters they annotate rather than complicate Anderson makes no claim to providing the reading process. Johann Oeveste's style more than a long-needed biography of her is simple and straightforward. The text is grandfather for both professional historian riddled with quaint and antiquated spell- and layman alike, she has significantly ings, failed attempts at rendering English —120— _________________Book Reviews names phonetically, and many downright tion on the immigration to the United States mistakes, yet all of that seems only to add to from German-speaking lands. the charm. The reader is fascinated by the In all, this volume has much to offer. tale of one family's history in its new home- With a modicum of training in German and a land. small portion of historical awareness any The third section is basically a glossary reader will find zur Oeveste's letters an of terms which elucidate the social, political, entrancing read. For those willing and able and economic circumstances both in the to venture further, the introduction, notes, adoptive American and the native European and glossary provide their own reward in homeland. Taken together with the notes, the sheer volume of useful information they this section provides a wealth of informa- supply. — Randall Donaldson Loyola College in Maryland —121— —122— .

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