Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist

"A book of rare power and beauty, majestic in its structure, filled with the truth of imagination and the truth of actuality, emphatic in its declarations and noble in its reach."—Bayard Boyesen, __Mother Earth__. "No other book discusses so frankly the criminal ways of the closed prison society."— Kenneth Rexroth In 1892, Alexander Berkman tried to assassinate Henry Clay Frick for the latter's role in violently suppressing the Homestead Steel Strike. Berkman's attempt was unsuccessful. Berkman spent the next fourteen years in Pennsylvania's Western Penitentiary. Upon release, he wrote what was to become a classic of prison literature, and a profound testament to human courage in the face of oppression. This new edition of his account of those years is introduced and fully annotated by Barry Pateman and Jessica Moran, both former associate editors of the Emma Goldman Papers at the University of California Berkeley. Their efforts make this the definitive version of Berkman's tale of his transformation within prison, his growing sympathy for those he'd considered social parasites, and the intimate relationships he developed with them. Also includes never-before-published facsimile reprints and transcriptions of the diary Berkman kept while he wrote this book, conveying the difficulties he had reliving his experiences. **Alexander Berkman** (1870–1936) was a leading writer and militant in the anarchist movement and author of the classic primer __What is Anarchism?__ **Barry Pateman** was associate editor of __Emma Goldman: A Documentary History__, and editor of __Chomsky on Anarchism__. He is a historian and member of the Kate Sharpley Library collective. **Jessica Moran**, was an assistant editor of __Emma Goldman: A Documentary History__. She is a member of the Kate Sharpley Library collective and is an archivist currently living and working in New Zealand.

"A book of rare power and beauty, majestic in its structure, filled with the truth of imagination and the truth of actuality, emphatic in its declarations and noble in its reach."—Bayard Boyesen, Mother Earth.

"No other book discusses so frankly the criminal ways of the closed prison society."— Kenneth Rexroth

In 1892, Alexander Berkman tried to assassinate Henry Clay Frick for the latter's role in violently suppressing the Homestead Steel Strike. Berkman's attempt was unsuccessful. Berkman spent the next fourteen years in Pennsylvania's Western Penitentiary. Upon release, he wrote what was to become a classic of prison literature, and a profound testament to human courage in the face of oppression.

This new edition of his account of those years is introduced and fully annotated by Barry Pateman and Jessica Moran, both former associate editors of the Emma Goldman Papers at the University of California Berkeley. Their efforts make this the definitive version of Berkman's tale of his transformation within prison, his growing sympathy for those he'd considered social parasites, and the intimate relationships he developed with them. Also includes never-before-published facsimile reprints and transcriptions of the diary Berkman kept while he wrote this book, conveying the difficulties he had reliving his experiences.

Alexander Berkman (1870–1936) was a leading writer and militant in the anarchist movement and author of the classic primer What is Anarchism?

Barry Pateman was associate editor of Emma Goldman: A Documentary History, and editor of Chomsky on Anarchism. He is a historian and member of the Kate Sharpley Library collective.

Jessica Moran, was an assistant editor of Emma Goldman: A Documentary History. She is a member of the Kate Sharpley Library collective and is an archivist currently living and working in New Zealand.

In 1892, Alexander Berkman tried to assassinate Henry Clay Frick for his role in violently suppressing the Homestead Steel Strike. Berkman was unsuccessful. He spent the next fourteen years in prison, thirteen of them in Pennsylvania's notorious Western Penitentiary. Upon his release, he wrote what was to become a classic of prison literature, and a profound testament to human courage in the face of oppression. This new edition of his account of his years behind bars is introduced and fully annotated by Jessica Moran and Barry Pateman, both former associate editors of the Emma Goldman Papers at the University of California, Berkeley. Their efforts make this the definitive version of Berkman's tale of his transformation within prison, his growing sympathy for those he'd considered social parasites, and the intimate relationships he developed with them. This edition includes a full, never-before-published transcription of the diary Berkman kept while he wrote his memoir, conveying the difficulties he had reliving his experiences, as well as the anarchist milieu he returned to after his incarceration **Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist** is Alexander Berkman's account of his experience in prison in Western Penitentiary of Pennsylvania, in Pittsburgh, from 1892 to 1906. First published in 1912 by Emma Goldman's Mother Earth press, it has become a classic in autobiographical literature. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_Memoirs_of_an_Anarchist)) An Early Classic Of American Prison Literature, Now Annotated In This Definitive Edition. Alexander Berkman ; Annotaed And Introduced By Jessica Moran & Barry Pateman. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 507-508) And Index.