Reflections of a Clyde-Built Man

by Jimmy Reid

Book

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

James Reid was a Scottish trade union activist, orator, politician and journalist born in Govan, Glasgow. His role as spokesman and one of the leaders in the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders work-in between June 1971 and October 1972 attracted international recognition. He later served as Rector of the University of Glasgow and subsequently became a journalist and broadcaster. Formerly a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, Reid was later a Labour Party member. After supporting the Scottish Socialist Party in the late 1990s, he joined the Scottish National Party in 2005 and fully supported Scottish independence. He died in 2010 after a long illness.

Reviews

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a book i truly think everyone should read! it hit me very intensely, one of those books where you find something expressed very powerfully that you've always thought, while still being challenged somewhat!

i loved the essay on christianity and communism, as a religious person myself i find religion to be very misunderstood in leftist circles. reid is a true man of the people instead of an intellectualising, self-righteous communist, which isn't to say he's not well-educated in theory, there's a plethora of it here, but expressed in the very praxis-focused way that every socialist (and everyone else, for that matter) should aspire to implement their beliefs.

it's a shame that this book doesn't seem to be very widespread or appreciated because i truly feel like it belongs in the canon of leftist literature!!