American Socialist

Before Bernie Sanders, before Zohran Mamdani, America’s favorite socialist was Eugene Debs.

There was a time, a little more than 100 years ago, when some 1,200 Socialists held elected office across the United States. Wisconsin had a Socialist congressman in Washington. Ministers in Oklahoma preached the gospel of “Christian socialism” at revival-style gatherings come summertime. And Eugene V. Debs—part working-class agitator, part radical prophet—received nearly a million votes when he ran for president from behind bars.

Cofounding the Socialist Party of America, Debs would spend the rest of his life striving to convince his countrymen that being an American and a socialist was the most natural thing in the world.

It wouldn’t be easy. He would suffer from chronic illness, lose friends, enrage allies, and risk his marriage. But he would also spark a profound shift in the American consciousness. Today, the ideals he spent his life fighting for are more popular than at any point since his death.

A rousing, poignant, intimately human tale of struggle against the odds, American Socialist is a stunning portrait of one man’s radicalization—and of the country he radicalized in turn.

Praise

“An essential story about one of America’s greatest champions for workers.”
—Bernie Sanders

“Propulsive. This is more than a biography: it is an inspiration, a reminder that if such a humane mass movement was possible once, it can be again.”
—Greg Grandin, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of America, América

“Eugene Debs spent a lifetime building solidarity, a force stronger than gravity—organizing across race, background, origin, language, and every ‘difference’ the boss uses to divide us, including borders. This book couldn’t be more timely.”
—Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO

“An important work of history, impeccably researched and beautifully written. Shawn Gude brings to life one of our great revolutionary figures with the power and complexity he deserves.”
—Jonathan Eig, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of King

“Masterful.”
—Grace Blakeley, author of Vulture Capitalism

“Magnificent.”
—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)