by Thai Jones
A Note on the Author
Thai Jones is familiar with protest and its consequences. Born while his parents were fugitives from justice, he went by a series of aliases until the age of four. His first book, A Radical Line: From the Labor Movement to the Weather Underground, One Family’s Century of Conscience, was a personal exploration of the history behind that experience. More Powerful Than Dynamite stems from Jones’s PhD work at Columbia University. Formerly a reporter for Newsday, he has written for a variety of national publications, ranging from the New York Times to Monthly Review. A graduate of Vassar College and the Columbia School of Journalism, he lives in New York City.
By the Same Author
A Radical Line:
From the Labor Movement to the Weather Underground,
One Family’s Century of Conscience
Copyright © 2012 by Thai Jones
This electronic edition published in April 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information address Bloomsbury USA, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Image credits: All images are from the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, except for: pp. 3, 29, 133, 300: Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University; pp. 66, 95: Library of Congress, Historical American Newspapers; p. 73: “King’s View of New York”; pp. 88, 127, 136, 302: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division; p. 104: No credit; p. 319: New York State Archives; p. 333: Courtesy of Robert Plunkett; p. 334: Columbia University Archives.
Published by Walker Publishing Company, Inc., New York
A Division of Bloomsbury Publishing
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Jones, Thai, 1977–
More powerful than dynamite : radicals, plutocrats, progressives,
and New York’s year of anarchy / Thai Jones.—1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN (e-book) 978 0 8027 4354 1
1. New York (N.Y.)—History—1898–1951. 2. New York (N.Y.)—Politics and government—1898–1951. 3. Anarchism—New York (State)—New York—History—20th century. 4. Progressivism (United States politics) 5. Labor movement—New York (State)—New York—History—20th century. 6. Plutocracy—New York
(State)—New York—History—20th century.
I. Title.
F128.5.J728 2012
974.7’1041—dc23
2011033517
Visit Walker & Company’s website at www.walkerbooks.com
First U.S. edition 2012