Description

John Maclean. A Scottish schoolteacher, socialist, and revolutionary. A man who helped to plant the seeds of Marxism among the working classes of Scotland.

Twice sentenced to hard labour in the notorious Peterhead Prison for speaking out against the First World War, he was hailed as a socialist hero throughout Europe for his anti-war stance, and appointed Soviet Consul in Glasgow following the Russian Revolution.

After the whole Labour movement pressed for his early release from prison at the end of the war, Glasgow turned out to welcome him home with a triumphal red flag procession. Proud and defiant, he declared the government had selected him as the standard bearer of his class.

What happened? In the rapids of revolution, when the world was falling apart and being remade, how did John Maclean slip out of the pages of history? This is the story not just of the man, but of everything that was happening around him in those turbulent days: from the First World War rent strikes and manpower battles on the Clyde; to the peace moves that bounced around Europe after Russia’s withdrawal from the war; to the Hands off Russia protests about Allied intervention against the Bolsheviks; to the broken promises about nationalisation of the coal mining industry; to the twists and turns in the formation of the Communist Party of Great Britain; and to the rekindling of the movement for Scottish independence.

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Scotland has a proud Radical History but much of it is shamefully and deliberately unknown and unrecorded. Yet it’s from the past and from the giants of our cause that we must learn. Donald Robertson’s book provides a valuable insight and knowledge of one of Scotland’s greatest sons. More than a century on the story of the Great John Maclean is never more required or the causes he fought for needed in our country. Maclean was first and foremost an educator; let us all read, learn and act.

– Kenny MacAskill, former cabinet secretary for justice, Scottish Government
and author of Glasgow 1919 and Radical Scotland.

Donald Robertson’s excellent tribute to the great Scot John Maclean demonstrates that education, organisation and solidarity are essential elements in confronting institutional power, privilege and excess. We need many more John Macleans as the working class faces increased militarism and warmongering. Donald’s literary skills, and painstaking research bring together the work, courage and struggles of the great Scot, John MacLean, a socialist and working class hero.

– Doug Cameron, former secretary of the Australian Manufacturing
Workers’ Union, vice-president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions,
and Australian Labour Party senator for New South Wales.

Excellently written, and unafraid to confront the issues of his contested political legacy, this is the most thorough account of Maclean’s life and work I have read.

– Ian R Mitchell, historian and author of Walking through Glasgow’s industrial past.

History is often incomplete or inadequate, with too many hidden stories and unsung heroes. No history of contemporary Scotland makes sense without a full reckoning of the role of John Maclean and the legacy of his unwavering commitment to socialism, equality, and justice. Maclean’s story offers a different perspective and a more complete reading of the events that shaped the Scotland of today, and shows the struggle he endured fighting for a better quality of life, fair treatment, and a voice for Scotland in government.

– Dr Collette Snowden, Senior Lecturer, Adelaide University,
and author of Muriel Matters: that daring Australian girl.

Donald Robertson’s book is comprehensive, very readable and well researched. It both complements and adds to the existing body of work on Maclean at a time when his ideas and what he stood for have never been more relevant.

– Dave Sherry, author of Empire and revolution, a socialist history of the First World War.