The Politics of Truth

The first collection of C. Wright Mills's rare and out-of-print papers and articles for the 21st century, selected and introduced by intellectual historian John Summers. Here are 23 essays, interviews, and public letters representing the best of C. Wright Mills's "politics of truth." The first collection of Mills's writings to be published since 1963, these essays show how America's best known sociologist grew into a representative for dissenters in Europe, Latin America, and Europe, and was posthumously declared one of the three most influential figures in the international Left by the CIA. First published in Evergreen Review, Harper's, The Nation, Dissent, and New Left Review, these out-of-print and hard to find writings show Mills's growth from academic sociologist to intellectual maestro in command of a mature style, in search of an independent radical public to oppose the drift toward permanent war. Seminal papers including "Letter to the New Left" appear alongside notably prescient but lesser known meditations like "Are We Losing Our Sense of Belonging?" Historians interested in United States foreign policy and in the Latin American Left will find Mills's cogent and probing thoughts on these subjects, sociologists and engaged members of the citizenry who analyze the relationship between culture and politics will find no less incisive essays on these topics. John Summers provides both a new introduction to this book, including an overview of Mills' life and career, as well as annotations that restore each piece's context.