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oneardentstudybuddy's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.5
informative but the style of writing was not as captivating as other biographies I have read. it took me way too long to get through it. it was extremely dense in information and not everything was explicitly explained when it wasn't related to maclean. not necessarily good for people starting out with scottish history
nearit's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent history of the development of Scottish Marxism through the lens of John Maclean's life.
The book conveys Maclean's focus on education and his conviction that socialism was the only way to avoid a repeat of the first world war with forceful clarity, and in weighing up the various claims made about Maclean's post-prison health Bell makes the costs of Maclean's convictions vivid without giving credence to every spurned comrade along the way.
Essential reading for anyone with an interest in the past and future of left wing, internationalist politics.
The book conveys Maclean's focus on education and his conviction that socialism was the only way to avoid a repeat of the first world war with forceful clarity, and in weighing up the various claims made about Maclean's post-prison health Bell makes the costs of Maclean's convictions vivid without giving credence to every spurned comrade along the way.
Essential reading for anyone with an interest in the past and future of left wing, internationalist politics.
june_englit_phd's review against another edition
4.0
This is a well-structured and well-written biography of Scottish socialist and ‘friend of the downtrodden’ (194), John MacLean. Through accessible language, Henry Bell traces the rise and fall of MacLean’s political career: his joining the Social Democratic Federation (later the British Socialist Party), his numerous imprisonments for sedition, as well as one for which he was found to be a conscientious objector (MacLean was fiercely anti-War, believing that conscription was ‘unnecessary’ and that after the war [World War One] ‘conscription would be used to secure cheap labour’ (69)), his links with Russia and Ireland, the failure of his marriage, and ultimately his political defeats, his disassociation with the BSP, and his attempts to regain a teaching career whilst maintaining a political presence through the ‘Tramp Trust’.
Although I normally have no interest in reading about the history of Scottish politics, I found this book relatively engaging, and finished it having learned a good deal about a man of whom I knew nothing before. It captures a snapshot of revolutionary Glasgow in the early twentieth century, a city which saw violent strikes as workers campaigned for a 40-hour working week. The narrative includes a few sparse photographs of John MacLean as a teacher, a father and husband, a prisoner, a politician, as well as a scene from his funeral. As Bell notes in closing, this is not only a biography of a tragic hero, it is also ‘a tragic warning of the damage that single-minded devotion to a cause can do, and for the need for loved ones, rest and self-care’ (201).
Although I normally have no interest in reading about the history of Scottish politics, I found this book relatively engaging, and finished it having learned a good deal about a man of whom I knew nothing before. It captures a snapshot of revolutionary Glasgow in the early twentieth century, a city which saw violent strikes as workers campaigned for a 40-hour working week. The narrative includes a few sparse photographs of John MacLean as a teacher, a father and husband, a prisoner, a politician, as well as a scene from his funeral. As Bell notes in closing, this is not only a biography of a tragic hero, it is also ‘a tragic warning of the damage that single-minded devotion to a cause can do, and for the need for loved ones, rest and self-care’ (201).
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