Political pilgrims: travels of western intellectuals to the soviet Union, Chania, and Cuba 1928-1978

Why are Western intellectuals from George Bernard Shaw to Jean Paul Sartre to Pablo Neruda and Susan Sontag irre sistibly drawn to revolutionary societies, often at their most repressive historical moments? Why have sensitive, insightful and critical intellectuals found societies like the Soviet Union under Stalin, China under Mao, and Cuba under Castro so ap pealing? Under what circumstances do critical intellectuals become uncritical ones? And to what extent are the favorable perceptions and judgments shaped by the hosts' manipulations of the visitors' ex periences?

Political Pilgrims explores the political attitudes of Western intellectuals who were attracted to various socialist countries and repelled by the flaws of their own societies. The author examines hundreds of travel reports written between 1928 and 1978 which reveal the political delusions and daydreams of these intellectuals. In addi tion to Russia, China, and Cuba, the book deals with other socialist societies, notably North Vietnam in the years of deep Ameri can involvement there.

Hollander concludes that "intellectuals, like most other people use double standards and that the direction of their moral indignation and compassion is set and guided by their ideologies and partisan commitments." He notes that the political pilgrimages of our times are part of a historical tradition of seeking alternatives