Two years ago, Peter Dreier triggered a lively debate when The NationÌýfeatured his list of the "50 Most Influential Progressives of theÌýTwentieth Century" on its cover. Now he’s turned that debate into a book.
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Dreier’s provocative slant in the newly published (NationÌýBooks) is that the "greatest" Americans are those who helped promoteÌýwhat he calls "a more humane, democratic, and just society."
In the book, the politics professor and chair of the Urban &ÌýEnvironmental Policy Department at Â鶹ƵµÀprofiles 100Ìýindividuals—some well-known, others less famous—who played key rolesÌýin the women's suffrage, labor, civil rights, environment, feminist,Ìýand other movements of the century. He emphasizes the importance ofÌýtelling their stories, arguing that they are underrepresented inÌýtextbooks and often misrepresented in political debate.
The result of Dreier’s work, author Jonathan Kozol says, is "aÌýcompellingÌýnarrative of the major social justice movements of theÌýUnited States and the ways that high ideals are transformed intoÌýaction…Terrific reading." You can hear an interview with Dreier about his bookÌý.
Dreier will be at Vroman’s bookstore in Pasadena onÌýFriday, July 6 at 7 p.m. He also will be signing at Modern TimesÌýbookstore in San Francisco on Saturday, July 21 at 7 p.m.; at the SanÌýFrancisco Laborfest Book Festival on July 22 at 2 p.m.; and at DieselÌýBooks in Brentwood on Sunday, August 5 at 3 p.m.
