Carlo Tresca Portrait of a Rebel [Hardcover]

In his heyday, Carlo Tresca ranked among the most important radicals and labour activists in the United States, often sharing the spotlight with Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, 'Big Bill' Haywood, and Emma Goldman. A charismatic Italian anarchist who became a folk hero to immigrant and native-born workers alike, Tresca was described by comrades as a 'freelance revolutionary' because of his independent spirit and militant activism. During his wild and adventurous career spanning nearly forty years (1904-1943), Tresca pursued a range of activities unmatched by any of his radical contemporaries: independent newspaper editor, labour agitator and organizer, civil libertarian, foremost leader of the Italian American anti-fascist resistance, and an indomitable foe of Stalinism. Culminating over a decade of research, this fast-paced and vivid biography brings to life the volatile world of radical politics in early twentieth-century America through one of its foremost figures.Introduction Revolutionary Apprenticeship 'Il Proletario' Freelance of Revolution Tresca and the IWW Tresca and Flynn War and Repression Tresca and the Sacco-Vanzetti Case Postwar Activities Tresca the Anti-Fascist Frameup Fighting the Blackshirts The Town Anarchist Tresca the Anti-Communist The Twilight Years Murder in the Dim-Out Epilogue

One could hardly find a more thorough and finely balanced investigation into the daily fabricof Tresca's life. Pernicone has brought to light and clarified myriad twists and turns of a sleepless fight, with a no-nonsense attitude which points straight to the nitty-gritty. - Journal of Modern Italian Studies What comes out of this is a world that has barely been written about and never in-depth: the role of anarchists in the ILGWU and their role in the various factional fights, the role of anarchists in early anti-fascist organizations and again, their role in various factional fights. But what mainly comes out is both sides of the FBI's and the American Government'l£