Review: Joe Klein
Joe Klein writes the Sanity Clause newsletter on Substack and is the author of seven books, including Primary Colors. In this post he provides lengthy discussion of Michael’s book including this opening:
I met Michael Ansara in the 1970s, when I was working for The Real Paper in Boston. He was already something of a celebrity, having presided over Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at Harvard during the anti-war years. By the time we met, he had wittingly retreated from the headlines and decided to spend his life as a community organizer in white, working-class Dorchester. The Hard Work of Hope is his memoir of the 60s and 70s, and it is a candid one. Ansara admits to mistake after mistake as a radical leader—even though he managed to (mostly) steer clear of the violence and craziness of those times. He saw past the anger, including his own, which included—his one violent act—smashing the windshield of a Boston police car with a brick…which he agonizes over and apologizes for profusely. He understood that a broader coalition was necessary to stop the war, and that wasn’t going to happen as long as Vietcong flags (far) outnumbered Old Glory at demonstrations…or dilettante factions like Weatherman took up violence (including hundreds of bombings)…or Fuck The Pigs language prevailed.
