American Anarchy is a great introduction to anarchism and anarchist figures during the late 1800s to early 1900s. I knew a fair amount of this history going in and was a bit bored in certain places.

During the late 1800s and the early 1900s, there was a movement by groups of new immigrants to create groups of anarchists who called for the END of government. The problem was that the reactionaries in Congress and the Republican Party looked at Anarchism from the wrong side. Most anarchist believed in changing government by persuasion and discussion and NOT by violence.

Yes, there were violent anarchists, most of those that were persecuted by the government were Socialists and not Anarchists (or Communists), but the government didn't recognize the difference. Not only that but they didn't want to understand the difference because this gave them a bigger group of people to persecute.

Willrich's book is not only well documented but written in a clear concise method and wording.

An excellent 0verview of one of the most maligned movements of the previous 200 years. Willrich is deft at detailing the lives of anarchists like Emma Goldman, who are often overlooked or written out of American history entirely in favor of a more 'clean-cut' approach to history.

I came to this book not knowing much, and learned a lot. What Willrich does brilliantly is put faces on the d evelopments in the early 1900s. I knew of Emma Goldman but this book gives me so much more detail about her life and her fight, including the nuances of her views. I found it interesting how her story was tied to the fallout of the Haymarket Riot. Willrich makes the case that anarchism was not just a moment in time, but had a long shadow of influence that crept over aspects of American society.

Czolgosz's assassination of McKinley is a story that I already knew, but wasn't aware of the subsequent roundup of anarchists in response. Ch. 4 looks at the issue of free speech, which I found to be fascinating, considering our current debates over the limits of speech and "cancel culture." What is old is new again, I suppose. It must goes to show that history can provide us examples of how people dealt with issues in the past, whether successfully or not. I also felt like Ch. 6, on WWI and Wilson, fleshed out a lot of the lingering questions I had about his war efforts and the impact that immigrants had on it. Radicalism was an important part of the propaganda war, and Willrich includes some personal stories of court cases.

I highly recommend this book. I fills a gap on some history that gets overlooked

The United States at the beginning of the twentieth century was a country of change. Michael Willrich presents us with a fascinating look at this point in U. S. history in his book, "American Anarchy." During this period, the country was experiencing a large influx of immigrants, mainly from Russia and other eastern European countries. Many of these people were poor, politicized and Jewish. They were Socialists and Anarchists. Emma Goldman, a young woman from Russia was in the front line of these immigrants and their politics. A gifted speaker, she roused the workers who were treated with distain could only find work in areas that were dangerous and underpaid. Ms. Goldman and her sometimes partner, Alexander Berkman traveled around the U.S.bringing their politics with them, much to the dismay of the U.S. and local governments.
Mr. Willrich paints this story with his thorough research. There are many parts of the history that resonate with the current state governments attitude toward new immigrants with the push to "send them back from where they came." I highly recommend this book for those who wish to see an unvarnished part of our country's history.

An excellent survey of the American anarchist movement and its ties to international anarcho-syndicalism. Willrich offers a sympathetic portrayal of activists who faced racism, xenophobia, and discrimination at every turn while never losing hope for creating a better world. Acts of terrorism are not excused, but are deftly put in historical and political context. and make for fascinating intellectual debate. The text also offers keen insight about political inclusion/exclusion and the long held practice of tarring political opponents as 'others' and 'foreigners'.

American Anarchy, by Michael Willrich, is an important contribution to a robust and growing field of research focused on how the Left (in all it's various forms) was picked apart and destroyed by those in power, specifically in the 20th century. His characterization of the American Anarchist movement was, I thought, very fair and objective, and he paints a compelling portrait of the push and pull of political opposites that eventually leads us to the modern surveillance state.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the digital review copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.