In writing this book I have benefited from the support and criticism of many friends and colleagues. I am most indebted to all of them for providing sustenance, especially during those moments when it seemed that I would not finish.
I would like to thank the Bryn Mryn Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research for supporting generously a research project that could easily have been hampered or blocked by conventional definitions of appropriate subject matter. Dr. Dennis Brunn, my initial dissertation director, merits gratitude for his continuing encouragement and unflagging interest. I wish to thank Dr. Milton Speizman for his perceptive insights, supportive criticism, and admirably thorough supervision; I am most grateful for his willingness to direct a dissertation already in progress.
I am also indebted to Dr. Robert Zaslavsky of the Library staff at Bryn Mawr College for his helpfulness and to Dianne Wills for her very professional typing services.
Appreciation must also be expressed to Dr. Lewis Leitner, Dean of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Division, Stockton State College, for facilitating typing services for me. Of course I must also thank Linda Arroyo, Gwen McClarren, Marcy Sciscoe, and Kathleen Wood for supplying those services.
I received valuable criticism from Joan Mandle, Ann Beuf, Mark Naison, Maurice Isserman, and Roger Keeran. Although I did not always follow their suggestions, my book has gained a sharper focus through their comments.
The conversion of a dissertation into a book requires considerable and often tedious effort. I am most grateful for the support that Temple University Press has provided. In particular, I would like to thank Ken Arnold, the editor-in-chief, for his ongoing support and his always thoughtful criticisms. Also I want to commend Jane Barry for a copyediting effort that tightened up my often clumsy prose.
I wish to thank members of my family for bearing with me; I hope that Jennifer and Nate have caught some sense of the extraordinary within the ordinary from my pursuits. My wife, Mary, has had to bear the brunt of my single-mindedness, and I want to express my love and gratitude to her. She best understands what has driven me.
Finally, it is imperative for me to express infinite appreciation to all of the veterans of the Communist Party in Philadelphia who have graciously allowed me to tell at least a part of their stories. They have literally opened their doors to me, provided me with inestimable advice and critical leads, and, with curiosity and intelligence, become partners in a search for meaning. In particular I wish to thank Isadore Reivich, Vincent Pieri, and Albert Silverman for their support, knowledge, and criticism. Without their efforts, their encouragement, this study would never have been either commenced or completed.
Paul Lyons
Philadelphia, Pa.
January 1982