Political Uses of Memory (Paperback)

The political uses of historical writing--namely the genres of biography and autobiography within communist and socialist traditions--are closely examined in this issue of "Socialist History Journal." Leading the way, Reiner Torsorff presents the first-ever biographical study written in English of Alexander Losowski--his life before the revolution, his rise in the Profintern, and beyond. Steve Hopkins examines Irish republican autobiography--its political forms and functions. Emmet O'Connor critically examines the autobiography of Irish Communists in the Spanish Civil War with an eye toward the mythic purposes which such writing serves. Additionally, Neil Redfern conveys the story of Michael Shapiro, the "Daily Worker China" correspondent who sided with the Chinese in the Sino-Soviet splits in the 1960s.