“A fascinating portrait of activism deepened and sustained by Herculean labors of research and investigation.”—The Nation
Historian Kevin Starr described Carey McWilliams as "the finest nonfiction writer on California—ever" and "the state's most astute political observer." But as Peter Richardson argues, McWilliams was also one of the nation's most versatile and productive public intellectuals of his time.
Richardson's absorbing and elegant biography traces McWilliams's extraordinary life and career. Drawing from a wide range of sources, it explores his childhood on a Colorado cattle ranch, his early literary journalism in Los Angeles, his remarkable legal and political activism, his stint in state government, the explosion of first-rate books between 1939 and 1950, and his editorial leadership at The Nation. Along the way, it also documents McWilliams's influence on a wide range of key figures, including Cesar Chavez, Hunter S. Thompson, Mike Davis, screenwriter Robert Towne, playwright Luis Valdez, and historian Patricia Limerick.
Peter Richardson teaches humanities and American studies at San Francisco State University. His books include A Bomb in Every Issue: How the Short, Unruly Life of Ramparts Magazine Changed America and No Simple Highway: A Cultural History of the Grateful Dead.
"The late Carey McWilliams helped educate a generation of journalists and readers on subjects ranging from the Mexican-American border, the political culture of California, the underlying meaning and mechanism of the so-called McCarthy era, the mass media, the small circulation magazine of opinion and much, much more. His contribution to and influence on journalism in these United States is vastly underrated, and Peter Richardson's study does much to fill in the gaps on McWilliams's remarkable life and record."—Victor Navasky, publisher, The Nation
"For history and social commentary, Carey McWilliams is an acknowledged master. Now the master has a biography worthy of his achievement."—Kevin Starr, University Professor & Professor of History, University of Southern California
"American Prophet should be required reading at journalism schools, in newsrooms and numerous college courses. It will inspire and instruct in the real mission of the press."—Ambassador Derek Shearer, Chevalier Professor, Occidental College
354 pp.6 x 9Illus: 29 b/w photographs
9780520304291$34.95|£30.00Paper
Mar 2019