From Yale to Jail: The Life Story of a Moral Dissenter

In this loosely organized but surprisingly endearing memoir, peace activist and 1969 Chicago Seven defendant Dellinger recounts his diligent, remarkably consistent efforts to live according to his conscience. Born in 1915 to the family of a prominent Boston Republican lawyer, Dellinger ( Vietnam Revisited ) developed his revolutionary egalitarian politics at Yale and at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Earnest but not strident, he discusses his opposition to WW II and his principled refusal to pay bail, which led him to endure stints in many prisons. In straightforward prose, he recalls launching the magazine Liberation in 1956, tells of his early opposition to the Vietnam War and emphasizes how he aimed for a peaceful demonstration in Chicago during the Democratic Convention of 1968. While reflecting critically on such leaders as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Dellinger also ruminates on his marriage, his family life and his everyday attempts to build bridges with strangers. His dedication--``I'm still learning and growing,'' he declares at 77--is inspirational. (Apr.)