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spygrl1's review
3.0
Eye-opening but I questioned some of Burroughs framing -- the book seemed to be missing sufficient context about what pushed the radicals to act.
rebecca_dt's review
2.0
An ok overview of the radical leftist underground that believed in undertaking an armed struggle against America in the mid-20th century. Some quibbles prevented me from enjoying this book fully, although it was very informative. While I find the violence these groups committed abhorrent, Burrough devotes little space to the conditions they were protesting, namely police brutality, colonization of Puerto Rico, FBI suppression of leftist movements, etc. He acts as if they were some crazy people operating in a vacuum when there was very real anger at the time, even if most people weren't picking up weapons over it. The author makes some uncomfortable writing choices regarding race: members of the BLA (Black Liberation Army) are called "thugs" and "gangbangers" but he uses none of this language to describe the white radicals he profiles. He also insists on calling Assata Shakur by her birth name which I found baffling. Finally, the authors sexism is nauseating. There isn't a single woman, not ONE woman profiled that he doesn't spend an inordinate amount of time describing her appearance and, most importantly, her sex appeal. He does it in the VERY FIRST SENTENCE of the book, for Pete's sake. I wish male writers would stop doing that, it makes it impossible to focus on their words when I'm too busy wondering if they're even capable of having a conversation with a woman without ogling her breasts.
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