A Saving Remnant - by Martin Duberman (Paperback)

About the Book

Hailed as "remarkable" and "a must read" by "Choice," "A Saving Remnant" is prizewinning historian and biographer Martin Duberman's deeply revealing dual portrait that explores the fascinating political and social lives of two integral and captivating figures of the twentieth-century American left. Barbara Deming, a feminist, writer, and abidingly nonviolent activist, was an out lesbian from the age of sixteen. The first openly gay man to run for president on the Socialist Party ticket, David McReynolds was a staunch opponent of the Vietnam War and was among the first activists to publicly burn a draft card.
Duberman brings the stories of a pivotal era vividly and movingly to life with an extraordinary cast of intellectuals, artists, and activists, including Adrienne Rich, Bayard Rustin, Allen Ginsberg, and a young Alvin Ailey. Telling a complex narrative, "Duberman has made it simply and brilliantly clear" (Edmund White, author of "City Boy") as he deftly weaves together the connected stories of these two compelling figures in this beautiful, memorable book.

Book Synopsis

From the award-winning biographer and historian, a brilliant dual biography of two of the most fascinating twentieth-century political activists

Hailed as "remarkable" and "a must read" by Choice, A Saving Remnant is prizewinning historian and biographer Martin Duberman's deeply revealing dual portrait that explores the fascinating political and social lives of two integral and captivating figures of the twentieth-century American left. Barbara Deming, a feminist, writer, and abidingly nonviolent activist, was an out lesbian from the age of sixteen. The first openly gay man to run for president on the Socialist Party ticket, David McReynolds was a staunch opponent of the Vietnam War and was among the first activists to publicly burn a draft card.

Duberman brings the stories of a pivotal era vividly and movingly to life with an extraordinary cast of intellectuals, artists, and activists, including Adrienne Rich, Bayard Rustin, Allen Ginsberg, and a young Alvin Ailey. Telling a complex narrative, "Duberman has made it simply and brilliantly clear" (Edmund White, author of City Boy) as he deftly weaves together the connected stories of these two compelling figures in this beautiful, memorable book.

Review Quotes

"A fine addition to gay and radical historiography."
--The Progressive

"An absorbing book, radiant with an emboldening and unquenchable humanity."
--Doug Ireland

"This splendid portrait of parallel lives is deeply moving, and galvanizing."
--Blanche Wiesen Cook, author of Eleanor Roosevelt

"Martin Duberman sheds fascinating new light on the history of modern American radicalism."
--Eric Foner, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Fiery Trial

About the Author

Martin Duberman is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at the CUNY Graduate Center, where he founded and for a decade directed the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies. The author of more than twenty books--including Andrea Dworkin, Radical Acts, Waiting to Land, Howard Zinn, The Martin Duberman Reader, Hold Tight Gently, and Paul Robeson: No One Can Silence Me (for young adults)--Duberman has won a Bancroft Prize and been a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in New York City.