The Romance of American CommunismRecommendations

Vivian Gornick's investigation into how socialists, communists, and progressives in the 1940s and 1950s produced a rich, diverse environment where common men and women believed their lives were related to a greater human mission begins with this statement.

The Romance of American Communism, which was first published in 1977 and is now back in print with a new introduction by the author, is a groundbreaking work of new journalism that profiles American Communist Party members and associates as they joined the Party, lived within its sphere, and left in disillusionment and disappointment as Stalin's atrocities came to light.