The essays in this book, many of which are either out-of-print or difficult to obtain, were written between 1955 and 1963, one of the most fertile periods of Thompson's intellectual and political life. They reveal Thompson's insistence on the vitality of a humanistic and democratic socialism along with his view of the value of utopian thinking in radical politics. Throughout, Thompson struggles to open a space independent of official parties, opposing them with a vision of socialism built from the bottom up. Editor Cal Winslow provides context for the essays in a detailed introduction reminding us why this eloquent and inspiring voice remains so relevant to us today.