RESISTANCE: A History of the Democratic Socialist Party and Resistance, 1965-72
By John Percy
Resistance is the first of a projected three-volume history of the Democratic Socialist Party and the youth organisation Resistance, which today constitute the main current on the Australian far left. The volume covers the tumultuous period from 1965 to1972, when Resistance and then the DSP developed out of the youth radicalisation andthe fight against the Vietnam War.
John Percy has been an activist for some 40 years and a central leader of the DSP since its inception. His history is openly partisan – it’s on the side of thosewho struggled for a better world then and who still think it was the right thing to do.
Resistance recounts the main events, as they provided the framework for the development of the DSP and Resistance. But its central concern is the arduous and complicated process of constructing a viable revolutionary socialist organisation capable of playing a vanguard role in the struggle for a socialist society.
The history of political organisations is necessarily a history of the struggles through which they developed. The DSP and Resistance have a rich history and the author succeeds in bringing it vividly to life. Drawing on the direct knowledge of a centralparticipant, John Percy’s account is also based on original research and
features an extensive index.
While it will have a special interest for those involved in socialist politics, Resistance will also have a broader usefulness and appeal for those interested in left history. The youth radicalisation of the 1960s and the movement against the Vietnam War had an especially important social and political impact then and for generationsto follow and this is an important account of that period.
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Australian $29.95.
Within Australia, post is free when you order five or more Resistance Books titles (see www.resistancebooks.com for catalogue), otherwise add 10%.
Outside Australia, add 30% for post.
Friends of Green Left get 10% off.
Email info@resistancebooks.com, phone 02 9690 1230, fax 02 9690 1381, or post Resistance Books PO Box 515 Broadway NSW 2007 AUSTRALIA
THE PARTY: A Political Memoir of the Socialist Workers Party, 1960-1988, volume 1, The Sixties By Barry Sheppard
Barry Sheppard was a member of the US Socialist Workers Party for 28 years, and a central leader for most of that time. This is the first of two volumes recountinghis life in the party. It is a case study in the inspiration and difficulties involved inbuilding the nucleus of a revolutionary socialist party.
This book covers from 1960 to 1973, the period of radicalization known as“The Sixties”. Walking picket lines for Black civil rights, helping to organize the anti-Vietnam-war movement, interviewing Malcolm X, meeting with US soldiers in Vietnam, defending the Cuban revolution, collaborating with socialists worldwide including in Australia, India, France and Japan – Barry Sheppard has lived a life enriched by contact with and involvement in popular struggles around the world.
``I first met Barry Sheppard as a freshman at MIT in 1958. He was a senior and the best read, most knowledgeable person I had ever met. Before all else he believed in rational thought, in science. He rejected all the superstitions now so popular among a growing minority of rightists and all the myths and covers used by those who wantto believe some people are superior to others. His book is the story of a life committed to social justice, that is, democracy and human values. Many of “The Sixties” generationwill see themselves in his story. Youth today who are repulsed by all the hypocrisy around them will find Bary Sheppard’s journey the story of a person of principle who never waveredin his commitment to truth.”
-- Peter Miguel Camejo, Green Party candidate for governor of California in 2002 and 2003, and candidate for Vice-President on Ralph Nader’s independent ticket inthe 2004 Presidential elections in the United States.
“Barry Sheppard’s political memoir provides us with an important sideof the mass antiwar and Black liberation struggles of the 1960s and 1970s, Sheppard’s detailed account reminds us of the important role that the Marxist left played in organizing the hundreds of thousands who marched against the war, a story which has been absent frommore conventional accounts. Unlike many for SDS activists-turned-academic pundits who utilize flirtation with the left to attack contemporary anti-globalization/anti-imperialist movements, Sheppard provides important links between “The Sixties” and the burgeoning struggles today. Sheppard’s memoir reminds us of the importance of personal integrity inkeeping the faith in people’s struggle for social and political emancipation.”
-- James Petras, freelance writer and author of 53 books.
“The Socialist Workers Party was among the more important left currentsduring the tumultuous 1960s. In the memoir former party leader Barry Sheppard offersan insider’s account of the SWP’s outlook, functioning and practical work, aimed especially at activists who share his view that the 1960s/’70s SWP provides a positive model for eventually constructing a new revolutionary party.”
-- Max Elbaum, author, Revolution in the Air, Sixties Radicals Turn to Lenin, Mao and Che.
Order now!
Australian $29.95.
Within Australia, post is free when you order five or more Resistance Books titles (see www.resistancebooks.com for catalogue), otherwise add 10%.
Outside Australia, add 30% for post.
Friends of Green Left get 10% off. See www.greenleft.org.au/fogl
Email info@resistancebooks.com, phone 02 9690 1230, fax 02 9690 1381, or post Resistance Books PO Box 515 Broadway NSW 2007 AUSTRALIA
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