History Against Misery

by David R. Roediger

David Roediger teaches History and African-American Studies at University of Illinois and is a pioneering figure in whiteness studies, a vital branch of thought that explores and elucidates the dynamics of white identity (or non-identity). This book collects shorter essays on a range of radical topics, from meditations on key figures like C.L.R. James and Andre Breton to more topical discussions of football, hip hop, and Bill Clinton's impeachment.
"David Roediger is renowned for his brilliant writings on whiteness, but few readers acknowledge what lies at the root of his work: his abiding hatred of all forms of oppression and exploitation. If you didn't know this before, HISTORY AGAINST MISERY ought to make it clear, for Roediger has put together a powerful collection of rants and chants against miserabilism, and a surrealist road map to liberated futures. This is one of those books we must keep close to us as we struggle to overthrow misery once and for all"-Robin D. G. Kelley.

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

David Roediger teaches history and African American Studies at the University of Kansas. He was born in southern Illinois and educated in public schools in that state, with a B.S. in Ed from Northern Illinois University. He completed a doctorate in History at Northwestern in 1979. Roediger has taught labor and Southern history at Northwestern, University of Missouri, University of Minnesota, and University of Illinois. He has also worked as an editor of the Frederick Douglass Papers at Yale University. He has written on U.S. movements for a shorter working day, on labor and poetry, on the history of radicalism, and on the racial identities of white workers and of immigrants. The former chair of the editorial committee of the Charles H. Kerr Company, the world's oldest radical publisher, he has been active in the surrealist movement, labor support and anti-racist organizing.

Reviews

[T. Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of essays on a wide range of topics.