Earl Browder

James Gilbert Ryan

Earl Browder was the preeminent Communist party leader in the United States in the 20th century. A Kansas native and veteran of numerous radical movements, Browder was peculiarly fitted by circumstance and temperament to head "the cause" during its heyday, the critical years of the Great Depression and World War II. In this new biography James Ryan shows Browder as a man of many contradictions. He was shy but sought publicity. He prided himself on being a Stalinist, yet viewed himself as a loyal American. He moved up within the structure of the organization (the CPUSA or CP) by anticipating changes in the party line, but believed he could assert his individuality without recrimination. In writing this book, James Ryan investigated recently opened annals in the Soviet Archives. These records included a collection of American Communist party files covering the period of 1919 to 1944,...