100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame

Posted by on June 04, 2012

[posted from Comm-Org]

From: Peter Dreier <dreier@oxy.edu>

I’m proud to announce that my book,  The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame, will be published the last week of June by Nation Books.  I hope you will buy a copy for yourself and even buy copies as gifts.  You can order it now from various on-line booksellers or buy it at your local bookstore when it comes out (see links below).  If you teach high school or college, consider using the book in courses about American history and/or social movements.

This book celebrates the achievements of the great movements that have made America a more humane country by profiling their key leaders — the 100 greatest people of the 20th century.  The book is intentionally provocative by defining the “greatest” Americans  as those individuals — organizers, activists, athletes, artists, writers, thinkers, musicians and politicians — who played key roles in the major progressive movements of the  century. So the “usual suspects” on lists of greatest Americans — people like Henry Ford,  Walt Disney, and Ronald Reagan — are not included in the book.

Some of the people profiled in the book (such as Eugene Debs, Jane Addams, Martin Luther King, Upton Sinclair, Paul Robeson, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Woody Guthrie, Cesar Chavez, Ted Kennedy, and
Muhammad Ali) are well-known, while many others are not as famous as they should be.  Some readers will also be surprised to learn that some legendary people — like Helen Keller, Albert Einstein, and Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) — were radicals.

In addition to the profiles of these 100 fascinating individuals, the book includes an Introduction and a Timeline that puts the major movements in historical perspective.  A final chapter looks at “The 21st Century So Far.” It explores the new generation of activists who are making history and shaping our future to promote a more humane, democratic, and just society.  It looks at groups like the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, SEIU’s Justice for Janitors campaign, the same-sex marriage victory in New York State, the Occupy movement, and others.

One of the book’s themes is that “The radical ideas of one generation often become the common sense for the next.”  A hundred years ago any soapbox orator who called for women’s suffrage, a federal minimum wage, or laws protecting the environment would have been considered a utopian dreamer or a dangerous socialist. Now we take these ideas for granted. We all stand on the shoulders of earlier generations of progressives who challenged the status quo of their day.

The book is hopeful and upbeat, but is also critical of some of the people I profile, whom I describe as “heroes but not saints.” Researching and writing this book was a great deal of fun, in large part because I was constantly in contact with interesting people who helped me at every stage, and because I learned a great deal about America’s history and the people and movements who challenged the powers-that-be and helped make it a better country.

I will be giving some talks about the book during the summer and fall.These will be posted on the book’s website and Facebook page.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Greatest-Americans-20th-Century/dp/1568586817

The book’s website will soon have a place for people to make comments about the book, including attacking it for leaving out certain people, or criticizing it for including others. I want The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20^th Century to generate interest in and debate about the people and movements included in the book.