Revolution or Death

Revolution or Death
Revolution or Death

Revolution or Death

The Life of Eldridge Cleaver
By Justin Gifford

BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY

368 Pages, 6 x 9

Formats: Cloth, Mobipocket, PDF, EPUB

Cloth, $28.99 (US $28.99) (CA $38.99)

ISBN 9781613739112

Rights: US, CA & MX

Chicago Review Press (Oct 2020)
Lawrence Hill Books

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Overview

The first trade biography of one of the most notorious black revolutionaries in history, exploring the audacious dreams and spiritual transformations of the eccentric radical and placing him squarely within the context of his changing times
A gripping biography of Eldridge Cleaver, the charismatic leader of the Black Panther Party, exploring his radical journey and controversial legacy.

In a country defined by extreme political positions, Eldridge Cleaver embodied both ideologies in pursuit of his conflicting ideals. His inability to resolve these competing desires ultimately destroyed him. Charismatic, brilliant, and courageous, Cleaver built a base of power and influence that struck fear deep in the heart of white America.

Acclaimed biographer Justin Gifford answers these questions and many more by providing, for the first time, the life story of one of the most notorious black revolutionaries in history. He explores the audacious dreams and spiritual transformations of the eccentric radical and places him squarely within the context of his changing times. In Revolution or Death, Gifford was granted exclusive access to declassified files from the French police, the American embassy, and the FBI, as well as Kathleen Cleaver's private archive, and he explored previously unseen documents from archives around the world.

Reviews

“Eldridge Cleaver was respected and feared by his enemies as well as his allies. Justin Gifford unpacks the mythology and the mayhem to reveal Leroy Eldridge Cleaver the man. Love him or loathe him, you won’t be able to put this book down.” —Ricky Vincent, author of Party Music


“A spectacularly well-researched and gripping account of a highly charismatic and deeply flawed figure, the historical moments when he was center stage, and his precipitous fall.” —Jeffery Haas, author of The Assassination of Fred Hampton 


“Justin Gifford expertly contextualizes the most explosive and transformative decades in American history as he illuminates how the various facets of Eldridge Cleaver.” —Karin L. Stanford, coauthor with Wayne Pharr of Nine Lives of a Black Panther ​


"An illuminating study of a complex, memorable historical figure." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

 


“A sad story but a deeply American one, and Gifford tells it powerfully.” —The San Francisco Chronicle 

Author Biography

Justin Gifford is an associate professor of English literature at the University of Nevada, Reno, and the author of Pimping Fictions: African American Crime Literature and the Untold Story of Black Pulp Publishing and Street Poison: The Biography of Iceberg Slim.