Voices of Revolution:  The Dissident Press in America
Streitmatter (Mightier Than the Sword: How the News Media Have  Shaped American History) presents 14 case studies that examine  the effect that dissent or alternative periodicals had on  American society from 1830 to the present, covering such  important movements as labor, abolition, antilynching, birth  control, socialism, the Vietnam War, and civil rights for  African Americans, women, and gays and lesbians. Most of these  publications resulted from the efforts of a dedicated person or  small groups of people. Streitmatter ties their life stories to  the history of the periodical, presenting brief, well-written  biographies of people like William Lloyd Garrison (The  Liberator), Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony (The  Revolution), Ida Bell Wells (Free Speech), and Huey P. Newton  and Bobby Seale (Black Panther), among others. Each section  closes with an essay highlighting common themes found in the  publications, and the entire book closes with a brief discussion  of 'zines and the Internet as distributors of dissenting points  of view. Though overlapping somewhat with Lauren Kessler's older  The Dissident Press: Alternative Journalism in American History  (1984), Streitmatter's work also offers coverage of areas like  the gay press and birth control publications. Recommended for  all public and academic libraries. Stephen L. Hupp, West  Virginia Univ. Lib., ParkersburgCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.