Jumping the Line

A vivid first-hand account of Left culture in America in the heady days of the 20s through the 40s. Herrick grew up in New York with pictures of Lenin over his crib and provides colorful stories of riding the rails during the Depression, organizing Black sharecroppers, working on the collective Sunrise Farm and as Orson Welles' secretary. Like many of his generation, he fought in Spain with the Lincoln Brigades, and his experiences there shattered his political world, as he recounts horror stories of the Stalinist purges of anarchist fighters. His depictions of the Spanish Civil War have made him "our American Orwell."--Paul Berman

William Herrick is the author of 10 novels, including Hermanos! and Shadows and Wolves. He lives in upstate New York.