Maurice Isserman Oral History Interviews
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Extent
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
Maurice Isserman is a historian, professor of history at Hamilton College, and author. This group of interviews was donated to the Tamiment Library by historian Maurice Isserman following the publication of If I Had a Hammer. . .The Death of the Old Left and the Birth of the New Left (Basic Books, Inc.: New York, 1987). Isserman conducted the interviews between 1983 and 1986. Some time between 2002 and 2012, he also donated a transcript for an interview he conducted with Jeff Jones and Eleanor Stein for a separate project he intended to pursue --the history of the Weathermen-- but never followed up on.
Biographical Note
Maurice Isserman is a historian and author of The Other American: The Life of Michael Harrington (2000), and of Which Side Are You On?: The American Communist Party during the Second World War, and If I Had a Hammer: The Death of the Old Left and the Birth of the New Left (1993). Isserman is also a professor of history at Hamilton College.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into two series:
Series I: If I Had a Hammer. . .
Series II: History of the Weathermen.
Materials in Series I are arranged in alphabetical order by last name.
Scope and Contents
Maurice Isserman sought the roots of 1960s radicalism in the American Communist Party, the various groups led by Max Shachtman, the journal Dissent, and the Committee for Non-Violent Action. He conducted interviews with intellectuals and political partisans active in the 1950s and the 1960s, among them, Stanley Aronowitz, David Dellinger, Ralph DiGia, Hal Draper, Harry and Vera Fleischman, Manny Geltman, Todd Gitlin, Abraham (Al) Glotzer, Gordon Haskell, Richard Healy, Michael Walzer, Irving Howe, Julius and Phyllis Jacobson, David McReynolds, Debbie Meier, Juanita and Wally Nelson, Ronald Radosh, and Andre Schiffrin.
An index for this collection is available. For more information, please contact the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596 with the collection name, collection number.
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Because of the assembled nature of this collection, copyright status varies across the collection. Copyright is assumed to be held by the original creator of individual items in the collection; these items are expected to pass into the public domain 120 years after their creation. Repository is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from this collection.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Maurice Isserman Oral History Interviews; OH.036; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Maurice Isserman and later found in repository, dates unknown. The accession numbers associated with this collection are 2000.023 and 2015.033.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Access to audiovisual materials in this collection is available through digitized access copies. Researchers may view an item's original container, but the media themselves are not available for playback because of preservation concerns. Materials that have already been digitized are noted in the collection's finding aid and can be requested in our reading room. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Processing and arrangement decisions made prior to 2025 were not recorded.
In 2025, individual listings for original recording, transcript, and access copy were added to each interview subject in the inventory. Paper transcripts housed in boxes 1 and 6 were consolidated into Box 1.
Revisions to this Guide
Repository
Series I: If I Had a Hammer. . .
Stanley Aronowitz, July 11, 1984
Access Copy
Original Recording
Albert Bigelow, December 15, 1984
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Lewis Coser, May 3, 1985
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
David Dellinger, January 24, 1985
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Betty Denitch, August 6, 1984
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Bogdan Denitch, December 7, 1986
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Ralph DiGia, December 7, 1986
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Hal Draper, December 29, 1983
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Barbara Eastman, April 21
Access Copy
Original Recording
Harry and Vera Fleischman, undated
Access Copy
Original Recording
Manny Geltman, March 19, 1985
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Todd Gitlin, December 29, 1984
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Al Glotzer, October 4, 1984
Scope and Contents
An electronic transcript is available.
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Gordon Haskell, July 15, 1983, inclusive
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Richard Healy, 1982
Access Copy
Original Recording
Michael Walzer, March 20, 1986
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Irving Howe, January 24 and October 21, 1982
Scope and Contents
On side 2 of the January 24, 1982 Irving Howe interview (CD 17B, "Side 2"), the interview ends at the 2 1/2 minute mark. There is a previous political interview with an unidentified source that may be of interest.
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Julius and Phyllis Jacobson, April 21, 1984
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Arthur Lipow, September 11, 1984
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
David McReynolds, July 9, 1984
Access Copy
Original Recording
Steve Max, May 14, 1986
Access Copy
Original Recording
Debbie Meier, April 19, 1986
Access Copy
Original Recording
Juanita and Wally Nelson, July 10, 1985
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Joni Rabinowitz, July 15, 1983
Access Copy
Original Recording
Ronald Radosh, July 10, 1984
Access Copy
Original Recording
Bernard Rosenberg, October 16, 1983
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Andre Schiffrin, June 19, 1983
Access Copy
Original Recording
Mike Thelwel, July 10, 1986
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Freijof Thygessen, December 8, 1984
Scope and Contents
Recording was made in a public setting and includes background noise that sometimes makes the conversation difficult to hear.
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Dorothy Tristman and Larry Wittner, July 4, 1984
Access Copy
Original Recording
Peggy Dennis, undated
Access Copy
Original Recording
Ben Dvosin, undated
Scope and Contents
All recordings had a slight static electrical interference noise.
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Max Gordon, February 15, 1977
Scope and Contents
Static electrical interference noise present in original recording
Access Copy
Original Recording
Gil Green, December 31, 1977
Access Copy
Original Recording
Vincent Lossowski, June 19, 1978
Access Copy
Original Recording
Steve Nelson, undated
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
Morris Schappes, December 29, 1977
Transcript
Access Copy
Original Recording
George Watt, undated
Scope and Contents
Cross-talk and some static electrical interference noise in original recording
