Sasha and Emma: The Anarchist Odyssey of Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman

by Paul Avrich, Karen Avrich

In 1889 two Russian immigrants, Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, met in a coffee shop on the Lower East Side. Over the next fifty years Emma and Sasha would be fast friends, fleeting lovers, and loyal comrades. This dual biography offers an unprecedented glimpse into their intertwined lives, the lasting influence of the anarchist movement they shaped, and their unyielding commitment to equality and justice.

Berkman shocked the country in 1892 with "the first terrorist act in America," the failed assassination of the industrialist Henry Clay Frick for his crimes against workers. Passionate and pitiless, gloomy yet gentle, Berkman remained Goldman's closest confidant though the two were often separated--by his fourteen-year imprisonment and by Emma's growing fame as the champion of a multitude of causes, from sexual liberation to freedom of speech. The blazing sun to Sasha's morose moon, Emma became known as "the most dangerous woman in America." Through an attempted prison breakout, multiple bombing plots, and a dramatic deportation from America, these two unrelenting activists insisted on the improbable ideal of a socially just, self-governing utopia, a vision that has shaped movements across the past century, most recently Occupy Wall Street.

"Sasha and Emma" is the culminating work of acclaimed historian of anarchism Paul Avrich. Before his death, Avrich asked his daughter to complete his magnum opus. The resulting collaboration, epic in scope, intimate in detail, examines the possibilities and perils of political faith and protest, through a pair who both terrified and dazzled the world.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Politics, Biography Memoir, Anarchism, American History

528 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

"He was a noted historian and professor who authored many books on anarchist history, including books on the Haymarket Riot, the Modern School Movement, the Russian Revolution and a collection of oral interviews with American anarchists titled Anarchist Voices. Avrich was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize several times and in 1984 he won the Philip Taft Labor History Award."
From Infoshop News obituary http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?...

Reviews

[El · Rating 4 out of 5]

My interest in Alexander "Sasha" Berkman and Emma Goldman started several years ago after reading Berkman's Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist, a book I found on my boyfriend's shelf. Through reading that I learned about Berkman's connections to Pittsburgh - his part in the Homestead Steel Strike in 1892, the subsequent assassination attempt against Henry Clay Frick, and Berkman's incarceration in Western Penitentiary. References to his partner-in-crime, Emma Goldman, inspired me to locate and read her autobiography, Living My Life where I learned more about her, about Berkman, their movement, and about Pittsburgh.

Since then I've tried to read as much as possible by or about either anarchist, or anyone they worked with or were involved with. The beauty of this book is that it's filled with the names of many of their associates, almost to the point of distraction as it was difficult at times to keep everyone straight. In addition, since much of my interest involves their time spent in Pittsburgh, the authors have very detailed information about where some of the individuals lived and worked. Yes, I will be taking a trip to the North Side soon enough to hunt down some of those stomping grounds. My biggest regret is that I wasn't as educated in any of this when I lived over there. All of that wasted time when I could have been stalking dead anarchist homes!

People who have read Berkman's and Goldman's memoirs will recognize a lot of the same information in this book, but it's a little less biased here and a little more informed in other ways. There's more detailed information about some of Sasha and Emma's other intimate relationships than I've seen in some other biographies. Certainly the relationship between Sasha and Emma is the most interesting because it lasts the entirety of their lives in one form or another - if not as direct lovers (or involved in a menage a trois with Sasha's cousin), as political (and occasionally) financial partners, co-editors, best friends, etc. These relationships are also covered in the collection of their letters, Nowhere at Home: Letters from Exile of Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, another highly recommended book for anyone interested in these two wild and crazy kids.

In addition to all the people involved in their lives and their work, this book covers a lot of ground, from Berkman and Goldman meeting as youngsters in New York, to their individual imprisonments for one thing or another (attentat in Berkman's case, birth control advocacy in Goldman's, for example), to their deportations, to their deaths.

This book was envisioned and started by Paul Avrich who, sadly, passed before he could finish. His daughter, Karen Avrich, was able to finish the book using her father's research, and I think they both did a wonderful job. It's great to read a more contemporary take on Goldman and Berkman which hopefully will bring their names back into the public sphere as I think they're still relatively unknown by most people.

Yep. I am still in love with these two.

[Emma] also shared her passion for reading. "I kept myself in poverty buying books," she said. "I have a library of nearly three hundred volumes, and so long as I had something to read I did not mind hunger or shabby clothes."
p115

[Steven Z. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each day Americans are bombarded with news sound bites dealing with the actions of the National Security Administration and their machinations to keep citizens safe from terrorist attacks. The concept of terrorism has been in existence for centuries and is nothing new, but the new book by Paul and Karen Avrich, SASAH AND EMMA presents a fresh approach by exploring the rise of anarchism in America in the late 19th century. Anarchism is defined as the abolition of all government and the organization of society on a voluntary basis without resorting to force. According to Emma Goldman it is defined “as a philosophy of a new social order based on liberty, unrestricted by man-made law; the theory that all forms of government rest on violence, and therefore wrong and harmful, as well as unnecessary.” As anarchism developed in the United States part of the debate rested on whether to employ violence as a means to achieve goals, thereby using terrorism as a tactic for the overall good of humanity. In SASHA AND EMMA the reader is presented a dual biography of Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman integrated into the context of the rise of anarchist thought and actions in turn-of-the-century America.

“Before his death in 2006, Paul Avrich, a distinguished historian of anarchism, asked his daughter Karen, a writer and editor, to complete this book. The result is an account, at once densely detailed and lively, that traces the pair from their births in what is now Lithuania to their deaths in exile in the shadow of World War II. With generous contemporary accounts and Paul Averich’s interviews with anarchists and their children, as well as Berkman’s and Goldman’s extensive writings, the book draws readers into the lives of its characters.” (New York Times, December 7, 2012, “Anarchy in the U.S.A. by Elsa Dixler) The turning point for Berkman and Goldman was the Homestead Strike in Pennsylvania in 1892 which destroyed unionization of the steel industry until 1936. Berkman, who went by the name Sasha, acted out of emotion and conviction in trying to assassinate Henry Ford Frick who operated the steel complex for Andrew Carnegie in order “to galvanize workers to revolt…..as Frick was seen as the embodiment of the capitalist class.” (57-58) For Sasha it was not an act of violence or terror, but an act to try and liberate the working class. What is apparent throughout Averich’s discussion of the Homestead Strike is how naïve Berkman was at this point in his intellectual development and some might say he was living in what Kurt Vonnegut might describe as “cloud cuckoo land!” Averich does an excellent job in describing in detail the prosecution and imprisonment of Berkman. The description of Berkman’s odyssey in prison reflects the horrendous treatment of prisoners and the utter contempt most prison officials had for their charges. In fact, there seems to have been much in common between American prisons and those of Tsarist Russia. When Berkman is released from prison fourteen years later he emerges as a “thirty-five year thoughtful adult” who has become an exceptional linguist and a master of literature and writing that he would put into good use. (183)

During the time of Berkman’s imprisonment Goldman traveled and became involved in a number of love affairs as she fine tuned her own ideology. In November, 1899 she left for Europe with the intent of attending medical school, but in the end she continued her various flirtations and grounded herself further in her anarchist beliefs. After returning to the United States Goldman was confronted with the assassination of President William McKinley. Avrich presents a thorough description of the assassination and goes on to discuss the prosecution of the “anarchist paranoia” that swept the United States. Of great importance is the author’s analysis was the developing schism that emerged within the anarchist movement as to whether the assassin, Leon Czolgosz’s actions benefited the movement or not. It is interesting to note that Goldman supported the attempt on McKinley’s life and Berkman, still in prison, opposed it. Following the assassination Goldman went by an alias as the government tried to tie her to Czolgosz actions through her writing and speeches. During this period Goldman became involved in a number of vocations apart from her propaganda work running a facial massage parlor, a restaurant, engaging in nursing as well as becoming the publisher of Mother Earth, an anarchist magazine. Goldman’s writing during the time of Berkman’s imprisonment also encompassed the literary world and you could characterize her as a true “renaissance woman!”

Avrich is on sound ground as she describes the affect prison had on Berkman. While incarcerated he had immersed himself in literature and foreign languages and “developed a feel for the written word and discovered his full potential as a writer.” (183) Berkman became the editor of Mother Earth upon his release and at the same timer wrote PRISON MEMOIRS OF AN ANARCHIST which Avrich correctly points out was remarkably successful as it “provided the stimulus for investigations into prisons and the penal system.” (212) The government would do its best to block dissemination of Berkman and Goldman’s work by using the postal system to impede sales of the book as well as Mother Earth. As World War I approached numerous stories of police brutality against labor, anarchists or anyone who spoke out against working conditions became the norm. This culminated in a plot to kill John D. Rockefeller, Jr. who owned a controlling interest in the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. Workers went on strike against the company in 1913, a labor action that led to the famous Ludlow Massacre as the Colorado governor called out the National Guard which after weeks of harassing the workers, opened fire on April 20, 1914 killing five miners and a boy. Rockefeller spoke out vehemently in support of the National Guard thus inciting anarchist even further. The ensuing assassination plot failed due to an accidental explosion, but for Berkman who was not directly involved it became the last straw in moving away from peaceful protest to employing violence. The period witnessed numerous explosions and plots across the United States and Berkman whether warranted or not was always implicated.

The author does an exceptional job in detailing Berkman and Goldman’s movements and work throughout World War I. Both spoke out against the war and hoped to convince Washington not to enter the fighting. As the United States entered the war in April 1917 the pair continued to speak out against the fighting and were arrested and charged with violating the 1917 Espionage Act for actions taken to block conscription. Both were tried and convicted and immediately imprisoned. Soon Washington began the process that would result in their deportation. Avrich is correct in arguing that the deportation proceedings against Berkman and Goldman, as well as many others, reflected the violation of civil rights that was endemic to the Wilson presidency both during and after the war. The author provides details to support this conclusion presenting strong evidence in discussing the Palmer Raids and other aspects of the Justice Department’s persecution of those who opposed them.
Avrich's narrative continues as she does a superb job describing their voyage to the Soviet Union and their travels throughout the country. The author goes on to explore Berkman and Goldman’s views of Bolshevik ideology and the reality of Communist repression. At the outset of their stay in the Soviet Union the pair was willing to make excuses for Bolshevik excesses in the hope of future revolution. This reflected Berkman and Goldman’s idealism, or just plain naiveté when it came to the reality of revolution in their home country for which over the years they maintained a romantic view. After four months in the Soviet Union both became disillusioned as Goldman wrote “there is no health in it….. [The State] has taken away even the little freedom the man has under capitalism and has made him entirely subjected to the whims of the bureaucracy which excuses its tyranny on the ground that all is done for the welfare of the workers.” (305) Goldman was shocked by the treatment of people as they were imprisoned for their ideas. As the pair grew more aware of the torture and murder of political prisoners they turned against the revolution. The Bolshevik massacre and arrests following the Kronstadt Rebellion saw the pair witnessing the purge of anarchists, many of whom were their closest friends. Berkman wrote in his diary, “The Bolshevik myth must be destroyed. I have decided to leave Russia,” (313) they would leave Russia shortly after the rebellion and would begin a period of wandering around Europe and Canada to find a home for the remainder of their lives.

The area that Avrich excels at is her discussion of the relationship between Berkman and Goldman. Throughout the book she describes their feelings for each other on an emotional and intellectual level that shows that no one could replace either no matter where their other relationships took them. Even when apart the poignancy of their bond and the fidelity to their cause is always apparent. Throughout the 1920s into the 1930s they lived apart both their feelings for each remained as strong as ever.

Throughout the book Avrich takes the reader on an intellectual journey as she follows Berkman and Goldman as they try to justify their own beliefs and fit them into contemporary social and political events they were exposed to. This is very apparent during the next phase of their lives as they continued to speak out and write about conditions in Russia. Goldman wrote for the public press, i.e.; The New York World and anarchist publications, while Berkman worked on a book that resulted in what can be considered the first expose of the Gulag Archipelago (the title of Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn’s three volume work published in 1973-1975 made the world aware of the camps) entitled LETTERS FROM RUSSIAN PRISONS. The next blow for that struck the core of Berkman and Goldman’s beliefs set was the trial, conviction, and execution of Sacco and Vanzetti in the United States. “Nicola Sacco, a shoe worker, and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, a fish peddler, both Italian immigrants and anarchists” were charged with the murder of two men during a robbery at a shoe factory in Massachusetts. (341) To this day the guilt or innocence of the two is open to question, but for Goldman and Berkman it fostered the realization that after years of work they were helpless in preventing the death of their compatriots. It brought back memories of Chicago and Haymarket and left them increasingly depressed.

The last part of the book follows Goldman as she tried to gain entrance into the United States. She still saw America as her home and missed it terribly. She was allowed a speaking tour in February 1934, but the US government refused to extend her visa. Later, she became involved in supporting the communist/anarchist cause during the Spanish Civil War until the Franco emerged victorious. Before her death in 1940 she was able to write her autobiography. Berkman would remain in Europe during the same period but grew increasingly ill after numerous surgeries and he would commit suicide in 1936. Karen Averich has done an amazing job in telling the story Sasha and Emma. She has integrated her father’s work and research into a cogent and personal story which at times reads as a novel. For any reader interested in the odyssey of Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman, their relationship, their comrades, and the time period in which they lived this book offers a fresh interpretation that should foster a large readership.

[Susan Pober · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the lines quoted at the end of the book says of Emma Goldman - "she made you think". This is so true of this book. The lives of Alexander Berkman & Emma Goldman were remarkable, not because of their staunch belief in anarchism, but in their fight for what they believed was justice and freedom. You can disagree with their anarchic philosophy - which I do - but their strength, determination and the impact they had on so many lives, cannot be disputed.
The research for this book was massive and the storytelling is well presented and fascinating.

Side note: I discovered mention of my great-grandfather and his daughters in the book - as great friends of Emma Goldman. I emailed the author & told her & she graciously responded, telling me she will check her father's notes & research to see what else she can tell me about my relatives.

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still looking for the Emma to my Alexander Berkman

[Ron Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goldman and Berkman in 1917: https://tinyurl.com/5h69w3jy “it is not an exaggeration when I say that no ne ever was so rooted in my being, so ingrained in every fiber as you have been”

Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, one-time lovers and life-long friends, were active during a time of growing industrialization and untrammelled capitalism, which caused significant economic inequality. Under Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt, the U.S. engaged in trade wars and imperial expansion. President McKinley was assassinated by an anarchist, while President Roosevelt survived an assassination attempt in 1912.

Under-regulated capitalism led to major economic downturns, including the Long Depression of 1873 and the Great Depression from 1929 to 1939. These events caused significant labor unrest. Labor faced violent repression during the Gilded Age under industrialists such as Henry Frick and John D. Rockefeller, who were associated with incidents like the Homestead Massacre and the Ludlow Massacre, respectively. Berkman was imprisoned for attempting the assassination of Frick and was questioned but released regarding an assassination attempt on Rockefeller.

Various organized labour movements arose, such as the International Workers of the World ('the Wobblies'), socialist and communist parties, and anarchist groups. These developments were facilitated by advanced communication technologies, increased globalization, and the growing spread of immigrants and ideas worldwide.

In 1917, Goldman and Berkman were imprisoned for two years for encouraging draft evasion then deported by J. Edgar Hoover to Russia. They left in 1921, disillusioned with Soviet communism. After suffering from prostate issues, Berkman attempted suicide with a pistol and died from complications in 1936. He never lived to see the Spanish Revolution, history’s clearest example of an anarcho-syndicalist revolution.

Emma visited Spain during the revolution and later described the hospitality and solidarity she encountered. She suffered two strokes in 1940 and passed away at age 70 in Toronto. Both she and Berkman believed that capitalism is inconsistent with human liberty and suggested that direct action, including violence, may at times be needed to advance workers' rights.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dry for a biography about anarchists. This book gives a thorough chronology of events but Berkman and Goldman didn't come to life for me. Some exceptions are Berkman's attempted assassination of a businessman which really painted the scene, and his subsequent years in prison and attempted escape. But then it was a lot of lecture tours, and blowback from violent anarchist acts that they didn't participate in (anytime any anarchists did anything, Goldman got scrutiny.)

The part I was most interested in was their return to Russia right after the revolution, and mad props to them for immediately discarding their optimism and protesting about how regressive and terrible the whole thing was. This book never really goes into the philosophy of anarchism but gosh you have to give them props, the contrast between these two and their communist pals who were willfully blind is eye-opening. Goldman's clear-eyed assessment of Trotsky was dynamite.

[Carl Pavlock · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely interesting biography of two exceptional people. Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman led fascinating lives and this book does a great job at not only telling their story and explaining the philosophies of anarchism they prescribed to, but providing much needed historical context for their beliefs and actions. While the reader may disagree with some of the actions of the subjects, especially Berkman who was involved in a few assassination attempts, they will understand why Berkman and Goldman did what they did and what people outside of their movement and in it thought of it. A must read for people who enjoy learning about history or leftist thought.

[Trenchologist · Rating 4 out of 5]

3+

Read while traveling.

Thorough, interesting, a bit lacking in character -- the *feeling* of these two people -- for all its a comprehensive biography of their lives and actions.

Worth the read if you're interested in American history / political science / politicking, above and beyond their time period and being anarchists.

[J. Dutilloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great biography of these two most famous American anarchists. The collaboration between Paul Avrich and his daughter brings a humanizing aspect of these two major figures. In addition to their ideas and political activities, you can really understand their characters and emotions.

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

best biography!

[Jonna Higgins-Freese · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful introduction to Emma's life and the way in which it intertwined with Sasha's.

[Jonathan Rosenthal · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was 19 and a self-fashioned political activist, I found a way forward in my life inspired by anarchist idealists, especially Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, Errico Malatesta and others. Their beliefs seemed like common sense to me and their willingness to walk their talk was a powerful tonic in a bleak world.

Reading this book, 30+ years later was a confusing affair. The details of this book are so well researched the biography reads like a novel. The confusing part though is the horror I felt in the early chapters at the ridiculousness of Berkman and Goldman—their idealism was only loosely connected it seemed to anything I could recognize as reality. Their defense of working people's struggle, outrage over the violent crushing of union efforts and defiant declaration of women's rights were amazing,

Their naive assassination attempt and believe that they could rally workers to overthrow the government seem absurd. And their life long reliance on wealthy benefactors is chilling, reminding me of the enormous contradictions of so much social change work that still relies on blood money for basic survival.

Yet, their steadfast commitment to their values, despite repeated failures, tragedies, jailings, beatings and deportation is admirable. How do we hold these complexities today? Any better? Worse? Differently?

I am still inspired and I still chuckle to remember that my oldest daughter is partially named after Sasha Berkman.

[Breeze · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is anarchism? A definition escapes me; these two radical intellectuals globe trotted around the world bankrolled by various wealthy supporters and lectured vehemently for social justice but I just never quite understood what the basic tenants of their movement were about. They were committed to their ideals (social justice, workers rights, prison reform, sexual freedom), lectured throughout the world but they seemed pampered and spoiled. Emma Goldman was feisty; Sasha Berkman a bit more serious (due in part to his years of imprisonment). I never quite understood how anarchism differed from socialism and other radical ideas of those times. So mostly, this chronicled their lives and globetrotting without really defining their movement. Even Wikipedia was quite vague; it seems anarchism is living with free will and the rest is up to the individual definition. Still and all, it was an OK book so I gave it 3 stars.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Sasha and Emma" is a fascinating and in-depth account of the lives of Emma Goldman and her long-time friend and comrade Alexander Berkman. From their youth in Russia during the reign of Alexander II (the last tsar) in the 1890s to their deaths in the 1960s, the book traces their remarkable lives. Anarchists from an early age, Sasha and Emma are pivotal forces in the radical movement at the turn of the 20th century in the US. Although their politics sometimes veered toward violence (Sasha was imprisoned for the attempted assassination of a wealthy industrialist), they also were part of movements and causes that shaped American history - from labor to the trial of Sacco and Venzetti. It's very readable and highly recommended.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

For Berkman's story, this was a good follow-up on reading Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist and most of all was illuminating to understand what kept Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman in a solid emotional and intellectual alliance. Great work especially in showing their time living in a menage a trois.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great thus far... wonderful job describing the Homestead strike and Berkman's attack on Henry Clay Frick (both his motivations and their roots in the political landscape of Russia), and the response from the Homestead workers and American public more broadly to the act.
(Also, I'm reading an advanced copy, and the pub date says November 1, but I've already started seeing it in bookstores.)

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a while to get through this book. It is inundated with dates and names. However I like history and the apparent research the authors put into the reveal of the two anarchists mission in life was impressive.

[Frank Ogden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent story about anarchists in the USA. A rich documents the life stories of Sasha and Emma, two friends whose lives were
Interwoven through their lives.

I heard a lot about the anarchy movement in the 19th and 20th centuries.

[River · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not as good as some of Avrich's other books, this is an essential book for anyone interested in the life of Alexander Berkman and the anarchist movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

[Mills College Library]

335.83092 A963 2012

[R.J. Gilmour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished the book. Not only is it a biography of Sasha Berkman and Emma Goldman but it also covers the anarchist movement and the labour movement in the late 19th early 20th-century.

[aa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It would have been much better if Karen Avrich didn't feel the need to constantly display how hostile she is to anarchist ideas and methods.