Radical: A Portrait of Saul Alinsky

by Nicholas von Hoffman

From Left to Right, one man has influenced them Saul Alinsky. Radical is a personal portrait of this controversial mastermind of popular movements, a man who is often called the American Machiavelli.

The tactics and strategy of Alinsky, who died in 1972, have been studied by people as diverse as Barack Obama, Cesar Chavez, Hillary Clinton, Dick Armey, the Tea Partiers, and activists and organizers of every persuasion. Thousands of organizations around the country owe their inspiration and origins to Alinsky—who is to community organizing what Freud is to psychoanalysis.

As told by his friend and protégé Nicholas von Hoffman, whom Alinsky dubbed “in all the world my favorite, drinking, talking, and thinking companion,” Radical is an intimate look at the man who made a career of arming the powerless and enraging the powerful. From Alinsky’s smuggling guinea pigs into the Joliet state penitentiary to the famous Buffalo fart-in. von Hoffman’s book reveals the humor as well as the ideals and anger that drove Alinsky to become a major figure in a democratic tradition dating back to Tom Paine.

Many of the stories about politicians, bishops, gangsters, millionaires, and labor leaders, which Alinsky did not want made public in his lifetime, are told here for the first time in Radical . Von Hoffman captures Alinsky’s brilliant critique of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s organizational tactics and where and why they succeeded or failed. It was a career that began in the politics and violence of the Great Depression and worked its way through the Communist threat, the racial struggles, and the Vietnam War protests of the second half of the twentieth century.

The first book to explain why so many have co-opted Alinsky’s ideas, and the first to explain why so many contemporary politicians misunderstand his message, Radical will become essential reading for anyone interested in American politics, past and present.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Politics

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Nicholas von Hoffman was an American journalist and author. He first worked as a community organizer for Saul D. Alinsky in Chicago for ten years from 1953 to 1963. Later, Von Hoffman wrote for The Washington Post, and most notably, was a commentator on the CBS Point-Counterpoint segment for 60 Minutes, from which Don Hewitt fired him in 1974. von Hoffman was also a columnist for The Huffington Post.

Reviews

[Elliot Ratzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author, Nicholas von Hoffman, and Caesar Chavez were hired the same day as organizers by Saul Alinsky. Alinsky is my “rabbi,” my favorite radical, the man who invented community organizing, who avoided the mysticism of non-violence, the lifestyle politics of the 1960s and the ineffective idealism of Christian charity. This portrait of Alinsky is also a picture of Chicago politics in the 1940s and 50s complete with philandering priests, corrupt do-gooders, mob allies and white-ethnics organized against big business and, unfortunately, against black Chicago. Von Hoffman provides an insightful critique of MLK’s Chicago campaign that every activist should read. There is lots of dirt about the dirty business and trade-offs of organizing, the personal weaknesses of organizers and the fragility (and racism) of mass-based organizations. Along with Michael Gecan’s excellent Going Public, this is a book aspiring radicals should read to learn the practice and pitfalls of community organizing.

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and more human portrait of Alinsky than I've run across before. I probably would have given it four stars if there was more organization and focus to the book.

[Dana Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed so many of the stories in this book. The stories told dominated the author's commentary, which I also appreciated. Some of the stories recounted here were very surprising. I do not want to say too much that could be a spoiler for some. For example if someone wanted to know more about César Chávez, von Hoffman references Miriam Pawel's book on him. I do not know (not having read Pawel) is whether the summary is accurate, but to me it was quite surprising and brand new information.

I knew some of Alinsky's history, having been trained by one of the legacy organizations he spawned, but I found the back-story anecdotes of many of these stories were fascinating and very informative. It was intriguing to read Alinsky's own musings about the fluidity of tactics, how adaptation and flexibility are always required in the context of an analysis of the present power dynamics. "Power analysis" is indispensable to organizing. Alinsky died in 1972, yet he knew that the tactics utilized in Chicago in the 1930s and elsewhere in the 1960s would have to change. Nicholas von Hoffman describes the context after Alinsky as when "America began settling into its prolonged, contented coma from which it is just now emerging." I hope he is right, though I have my doubts. Yet we need a creative, adaptive thinker like Alinsky, if his assessment is right.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Radical: A Portrait of Saul Alinsky, does not portray itself as a biography, and gives the personal perspective of a man that worked for and with Alinsky. The book itself is refreshing as it depicts him as a real human being, flaws and all. Reading this is a precursor to reading 'Rules for Radicals' and 'Reveille for Radicals'. Getting to know the author, their personal history, and possible motivations are intrinsic when trying to understand their work (I did this with Abby Hoffman and Ayn Rand as well). Nicholas Von Hoffman is a good source for information on Alinsky beyond his personal experience. Portrait is semi-chronological (we fortunately dont have to deal with any history that is not relevant to Alinsky, IFA, his writings etc.), and more topical. A good start to both the man and his work.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well worth reading not only for an affectionate personal view of Alinsky by someone who worked with him & knew him well but also as a view into the arcane world of organizing for political results. Alinsky wrote the book on organizing & still has much to teach us.

[Chuck]

it was a good basic personal accounting of saul alinksy's life and personality.

[Paul Heidebrecht · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine memoir with stories that make it hard not to like Alinsky even if he was a big pain in the ..