Revolution or Death: The Story of Eldridge Cleaver
From the publisher
In the 1960s, no black political group stood for grassroots insurgency more than the Black Panther Party. The figure who embodied the militant and controversial spirit of the Black Panther Party more than anyone was Eldridge Cleaver. Charismatic, brilliant, and courageous, Cleaver built a base of power and influence that struck fear deep in the heart of white America. It was therefore shocking to many left-wing radicals when Cleaver turned his back on black revolution, the Nation of Islam, and communism in 1975. While Cleaver seemed sincerely disillusioned with radicalism, his erratic behavior over the next two decades revealed something that had been a latent part of his psyche all along—his narcissistic megalomania. His influence declined significantly through the 1980s until he found himself back on the streets committing petty crimes. By the time he died, in 1998, he was largely viewed as a turncoat who had betrayed the cause of black freedom.
How can we make sense of Cleaver's precipitous decline from a position as one of America's most vibrant black writers and activists? And how do his contradictory identities as criminal, party leader, international diplomat, Christian conservative, and Republican politician reveal that he was more than just a traitor to the advancement of civil rights? Revolution or Death answers these questions and many more by providing the first life story of one of the most notorious black revolutionaries in history. It explores the audacious dreams and spiritual transformations of the eccentric radical and places him squarely within the context of his changing times. Author Justin Gifford explores previously unseen materials from Cleaver's extensive archive to create the story of a man far more compelling and complex than anyone has given him credit for. In a country defined by its extreme political positions on the right and left, Cleaver embodied both ideologies in pursuit of his conflicting ideals, and it was his inability to resolve them that ultimately destroyed him.
Praise for Revolution or Death
“A searching biography of the Black Panther leader who ‘was a man of seemingly irreconcilable contradictions’ . . . An illuminating study of a complex, memorable historical figure.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Gifford has done deep research into Cleaver’s life his tumultuous era, benefiting from interviews with Cleaver’s children and his wife, Kathleen. He honors Cleaver’s strengths—his literary brilliance, his justified rage—and his failings . . . A sad story but a deeply American one, and Gifford tells it powerfully.”
—Peter Fish, San Francisco Chronicle
“A spectacularly well-researched and gripping account of a highly charismatic and deeply flawed figure, the historical moments when he was center stage, and his precipitous fall. No punches pulled. The telling jumps off the page.”
—Jeffrey Haas, author of The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther
“As the fire-breathing Minister of Information for the Black Panther Party at its zenith, Eldridge Cleaver was respected and feared by his enemies as well as his allies. He was a force of nature, a living myth of a man who relished in being the white man’s worst nightmare. Justin Gifford unpacks the mythology and the mayhem to reveal Leroy Eldridge Cleaver the man. Love him or loathe him, you won’t be able to put this book down.”
—Ricky Vincent, author of Party Music: The Inside Story of the Black Panthers’ Band and How Black Power Transformed Soul Music
“Justin Gifford expertly contextualizes the most explosive and transformative decades in American history as he illuminates how the various facets of Eldridge Cleaver’s life and leanings were shaped by the systematic injustice he sought to conquer.”