From Yale to Jail

by David Dellinger

Overview

""This is a deeply moving tale of the American we often read about but seldom run into: the independent spirit who speaks truth to power, no matter the consequences. Dave Dellinger, the oldest of the Conspiracy Eight, turns out to be the most obstinate. This book tells us why."" -- Studs Terkel ""Before reading this book, I knew and greatly admired Dave Dellinger. Or so I thought. After reading his remarkable story, my admiration changed to something more like awe. There can be few people in the world who have crafted their lives into something truly inspiring. -- Noam Chomsky ""Dave Dellinger's life is as American as apple pie wildly seasoned--the life of an active, endlessly inventive peacemaker--resisting, determined, positive. It's an exciting personal story lived in the heart of historical events. An American tradition infrequently mined, deep and continuous."" -- Grace Paley ""A powerful, sensitive, and deeply compassionate reflection from one of the most important and bravest nonviolent revolutionaries of the twentieth century."" --Martin Sheen

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608990610
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	05/01/2010
Series:	Catholic Worker Reprint
Pages:	528
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.20(d)

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This is a deeply moving tale of the American we often read about but seldom run into: the independent spirit who speaks truth to power, no matter the consequences. Dave Dellinger, the oldest of the Conspiracy Eight, turns out to be the most obstinate. This book tells us why."
— Studs Terkel

"Before reading this book, I knew and greatly admired Dave Dellinger. Or so I thought. After reading his remarkable story, my admiration changed to something more like awe. There can be few people in the world who have crafted their lives into something truly inspiring.
— Noam Chomsky

"Dave Dellinger's life is as American as apple pie wildly seasoned—the life of an active, endlessly inventive peacemaker—resisting, determined, positive. It's an exciting personal story lived in the heart of historical events. An American tradition infrequently mined, deep and continuous."
— Grace Paley

"A powerful, sensitive, and deeply compassionate reflection from one of the most important and bravest nonviolent revolutionaries of the twentieth century."
—Martin Sheen

Editorial Reviews

"This is a deeply moving tale of the American we often read about but seldom run into: the independent spirit who speaks truth to power, no matter the consequences. Dave Dellinger, the oldest of the Conspiracy Eight, turns out to be the most obstinate. This book tells us why."

— Studs Terkel



"Before reading this book, I knew and greatly admired Dave Dellinger. Or so I thought. After reading his remarkable story, my admiration changed to something more like awe. There can be few people in the world who have crafted their lives into something truly inspiring.

— Noam Chomsky



"Dave Dellinger's life is as American as apple pie wildly seasoned—the life of an active, endlessly inventive peacemaker—resisting, determined, positive. It's an exciting personal story lived in the heart of historical events. An American tradition infrequently mined, deep and continuous."

— Grace Paley



"A powerful, sensitive, and deeply compassionate reflection from one of the most important and bravest nonviolent revolutionaries of the twentieth century."

—Martin Sheen

From the Publisher

In this loosely organized but surprisingly endearing memoir, peace activist and 1969 Chicago Seven defendant Dellinger recounts his diligent, remarkably consistent efforts to live according to his conscience. Born in 1915 to the family of a prominent Boston Republican lawyer, Dellinger ( Vietnam Revisited ) developed his revolutionary egalitarian politics at Yale and at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Earnest but not strident, he discusses his opposition to WW II and his principled refusal to pay bail, which led him to endure stints in many prisons. In straightforward prose, he recalls launching the magazine Liberation in 1956, tells of his early opposition to the Vietnam War and emphasizes how he aimed for a peaceful demonstration in Chicago during the Democratic Convention of 1968. While reflecting critically on such leaders as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Dellinger also ruminates on his marriage, his family life and his everyday attempts to build bridges with strangers. His dedication--``I'm still learning and growing,'' he declares at 77--is inspirational. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

At the age of 75, Dellinger, a social activist best known as one of the Chicago Seven, can look back over a life crowded with more than enough peril and action for 100 men. A warm personality emerges from these pages, as reflected in Dellinger's vivid portrayal of the important--and unimportant--people he met and/or knew, the issues for which he lived and argued, and the events in which he was either an interested observer or active participant. While his disjointed narrative is something of a pastiche without literary merit, it reflects Dellinger's style. It has vigor. It has conviction. Some will disagree with Dellinger's views, but few will contend that he does not try to be fair and balanced and always concerned with human values. Well worth reading by anyone interested in the past half-century of American life.-- A.J. Anderson, GSLIS, Simmons Coll., Boston

Library Journal