California Book Club: “American Midnight,” by Adam Hochschild

From Adam Hochschild’s vivid nonfiction book “American Midnight,” we can infer that the period between 1917 and 1921 resonates with our present. The book opens in November 1917 with a detectives’ raid of the local headquarters of the Industrial Workers of the World—its members were known as Wobblies. When the Wobblies were brought to court, the police couldn’t name a law they’d violated, yet they were found guilty of vagrancy. This was just one instance of many during that time involving trumped-up charges, mass imprisonments, and vigilante violence. Unfolding this history, Hochschild introduces us to a host of memorable, colorful characters, each deftly sketched. We meet those behind the gears of power, like then-president Woodrow Wilson and FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, along with principled dissenters like Assistant Secretary of Labor Louis F. Post, socialist Kate Richards O’Hare, and anarchist Emma Goldman. In the difficult epoch in which we find ourselves, Hochschild reminds us that even in the darkest years, there live among us everyday heroes. Host John Freeman will lead a free hour-long conversation with Hochschild, which will include a reading by the author and questions from the audience. Joining them as a special guest is author Michael Meyers. Produced by Alta Journal for streaming on Zoom.