Shoeleather History Bookshop

We Reach Back to Move Forward

“We  need to recover the disappeared story of the struggle of common people to create a democratic culture.  We need to inject into the current debate a vision of a just society where competition is replaced with cooperation, where greed is replaced with love allowing power to be shared by all.”

                                 -Peter Kellman

Who really makes history?

These books, including Radical Connecticut: People's History in the Constitution State tell the stories of everyday people and well-known figures whose work has often been obscured, denigrated, or dismissed. There are narratives of movements, strikes, popular organizations and people in Connecticut who have changed this state and our country for the better.

Traditional history focuses on the actions of politicians, generals, business moguls and other elites.These volumes,however, are about workers, the poor, people of color, women, artists and others who have engaged in the never-ending struggle for justice and freedom. They offer a fresh look at history that can engage regular folks in social justice work in an increasingly dangerous world.

 “Never  doubt that you can change history,” Marge Piercy reminds us, “You already have.”