Reviews for Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles Over Schools, Unions, Race, and Democracy

The average rating for Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles Over Schools, Unions, Race, and Democracy based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-07-21 00:00:00 Dan Sinclair What does a book's rating on Goodreads really mean? Does it mean you found the book worth reading? That you enjoyed reading it? That you found its overall argument compelling and challenging? If I had a clear idea of this, I might not have struggled so long with rating this book. I blazed through this book, fascinated by Al Shanker as a character and as a union leader who lived through a time of major shifts within labor and on the left as a whole. He was a much more complex figure than I had previously been led to believe, particularly on questions of race. But Shanker's overall political philosophy--the "tough liberalism," which Kahlenberg clearly subscribes to--is not my cup of tea; contrary to Kahlenberg's claims, I think it's that kind of liberalism (unbelievably hawkish on interventionist foreign policy, [Kahlenberg even justifies the Iraq war in the book's final pages, discussing the fight against radical Islam as partially analogous to the fight against Communism!!], strongly opposed to affirmative action, etc.) that has actually helped lead the American left to disaster. I'd recommend reading this book for the history it provides about teachers unionism, the struggles (and eventual rightward drift) of the mainstream left from the 1950s to the 1990s, and the portrait it provides of one of the most important American labor leaders of the 20th century, but I would impel the reader to stay wary of Shanker's (and Kahlenberg's) centrist politics.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-01-07 00:00:00 James Adams I met Al Shanker several times when I was active in the UFT during the late 70s, early 80s mostly as an opponent but briefly as an ally. Based on my own observations, the author's depiction of Shanker's leadership in that period is quite accurate. After I had led a couple of job actions, I was invited to join Shanker's caucus which I soon learned was run on the principle of "democratic centralism," i.e., a Stalinist dictatorship. After I broke with him at the AFT convention over an issue of dues allocation, I was cast out of the inner circle. So back then, I found his methods for running the union to be undemocratic and also opposed his unwavering support for Reagan policy on nuclear weapons and on Central America. Now, however, that I am enjoying the great pension and benefits that Shanker's leadership won for so many millions of teachers and their families, I am grateful to his ghost - which I am sure is just as argumentative and ruthless as he was.