author
John Spargo
1876–1966
A British-born writer and reformer, he became a prominent socialist voice in the United States before later turning toward anti-communism and Vermont history. His life moved across politics, journalism, and local scholarship, making him a striking figure of early 20th-century public debate.
7 Audiobooks
"The Greatest Failure in All History" A Critical Examination of the Actual Workings of Bolshevism in Russia
by John Spargo
The Jew and American Ideals
by John Spargo
The Bitter Cry of the Children
by John Spargo
The Common Sense of Socialism A Series of Letters Addressed to Jonathan Edwards, of Pittsburg
by John Spargo
Bolshevism: The Enemy of Political and Industrial Democracy
by John Spargo
The Marx He Knew
by John Spargo
About the author
Born in Cornwall, England, in 1876, John Spargo trained as a stonecutter before moving into politics and writing. After emigrating to the United States in 1901, he became active in socialist circles and gained attention as a lecturer, editor, and author.
He was especially known for books on socialism and labor, including The Bitter Cry of the Children, a widely noted study of child labor. During the First World War he broke with the Socialist Party over its antiwar position, and in later years he became a strong critic of Bolshevism and revolutionary communism.
Spargo's career did not stay confined to national politics. In the later part of his life, he settled in Vermont and developed a new reputation as a historian and expert on the state's crafts and ceramics. He died in 1966, leaving behind a body of work that reflects both his early reforming zeal and his later interest in regional history.