Standing Fast

by Harvey Swados

A masterful novel of political progressives making their way--and not--in an ever-changing postwar AmericaFor Marty Dworkin and his band of young Trotskyist dreamers in Buffalo, New York, the vision of a just, socialist world crumbles with the rise of Stalin and the chaos of World War II. In the two decades that follow, Dworkin and his idealistic colleagues strive to establish a new political party and battle through unexpected trials with family, work, aging, and the changing world. They run up against an increasingly conservative America and a thriving materialism directly opposed to their own fervent beliefs. They emerge humbled, but still hopeful, into the 1960s, when civil rights struggles and anti-war radicalism move to center stage. Standing Fast is a classic, panoramic portrait of life amid the shattered dreams and visionary ambitions of the American left.

Genres: Fiction, Politics, Novels

Mass Market Paperback

First published September 12, 1971

About the author

Harvey Swados was an American social critic and author of novels, short stories, essays and journalism.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the time I read it 15 years ago, this was my favorite book. This is a roman a clef about the Buffalo branch of the Shachtmanite Workers' Party. You have to be a sectarian leftist to understand what most of that means but you don't have to be to love this book. Even though the people who struggled against the no strike pledge during World War II in Buffalo were certainly an anomaly, the rebellious spirit that they embodied has been common in American history. The real story here is the tragedy of the materialism and conservatism of America in the 1950s and 60s. What makes it relevant in today's society is not only that America continues to be conservative and materialistic, but we all continue to face the struggle these characters face of having personal lives and growing old.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

from the 1930s to the 1960s, Swados profiles the lives of
members of a small socialist group...incredible

[Rfilippelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harvey Swados' memorable account uses the stories of a group of friends-- and the intersections of their lives, loves, and work-- to tell the history of the American Left between 1939 - 1963. Reminiscent of John Dos Passos' U.S.A. Very enjoyable. RF