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Letters from Prison: A Revolutionary Party Prepares for Post-WWII Labor Battles
Prison correspondence of a revolutionary leader jailed during World War II. Discusses how to educate and organize a communist movement able to stand up to wartime repression and prepare for the big labor battles that were emerging during the closing years of the war. Introduction by Jack Barnes, photos, index. An upgraded edition with enlarged type.
447 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1973
17 people want to read
About the author
James P. Cannon
65 books19 followersJames P. Cannon was born in Rosedale, Kansas, in 1890. His father, who had originally come from Ireland, was a socialist and was a regular reader of Appeal to Reason.
At the age of 18 he joined the Socialist Party of America and became a devoted follower of Eugene Debs. His friend Tom Kerry claimed that Cannon considered Debs as "one of the greatest orators, agitators, and propagandists that the American working class radical movement had produced."
Cannon was also an organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) where he worked under Frank Little, who was lynched in 1917. Cannon also got to know Vincent Saint John. He later recalled: "Despite his modesty of disposition, his freedom from personal ambition, and his lack of the arts of self-aggrandizement, his work spoke loudly and brought him widespread fame."
According to his friend Joseph Leroy Hansen: "Fundamentally, Jim was an angry person. He was angry at injustice, at inequities, at special privileges, at exploitation. He was angry at poverty, lack of opportunity, oppression, racism, and sexism."
At the age of 18 he joined the Socialist Party of America and became a devoted follower of Eugene Debs. His friend Tom Kerry claimed that Cannon considered Debs as "one of the greatest orators, agitators, and propagandists that the American working class radical movement had produced."
Cannon was also an organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) where he worked under Frank Little, who was lynched in 1917. Cannon also got to know Vincent Saint John. He later recalled: "Despite his modesty of disposition, his freedom from personal ambition, and his lack of the arts of self-aggrandizement, his work spoke loudly and brought him widespread fame."
According to his friend Joseph Leroy Hansen: "Fundamentally, Jim was an angry person. He was angry at injustice, at inequities, at special privileges, at exploitation. He was angry at poverty, lack of opportunity, oppression, racism, and sexism."
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October 31, 2025
Prison correspondence of a revolutionary leader jailed during World War II. Discusses how to educate and organize a communist movement able to stand up to wartime repression and prepare for the big labor battles that were emerging during the closing years of the war. Introduction by Jack Barnes, photos, index. An upgraded edition with enlarged type.
First read the The Teamster Series (4 volumes): Lessons from the labor battles of the 1930s and Socialism on Trial: Testimony at Minneapolis Sedition Trial.
Also, The Revolutionary Party: Its Role in the Struggle for Socialism.
First read the The Teamster Series (4 volumes): Lessons from the labor battles of the 1930s and Socialism on Trial: Testimony at Minneapolis Sedition Trial.
Also, The Revolutionary Party: Its Role in the Struggle for Socialism.
Displaying 1 of 1 review