Biography/History

James Weinstein was born on July 17, 1926 in New York and grew up in Manhattan. Weinstein became interested in politics early in his life as a young boy of ten while listening to radio dispatches from the Spanish Civil War with his parents. A couple of years later, as a freshman in high school, he attended the last American Youth Congress in Washington. He attended Cornell University and, after serving in the U.S. Navy as an electronic technician, second class (1945-1946), in 1949 he graduated with a degree in government. Weinstein also attended Columbia University Law School for one year before dropping out and pursuing work at different electrical companies. He later returned to Columbia in 1956 and proceeded to earn a master's degree in American history. He pursued further studies but dropped out before earning a doctorate.

In 1960, he moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where he wrote two books on the Progressive Era, attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and worked as co-editor of Studies on the Left, a scholarly journal which focused on social and natural sciences, literature, and the arts. Weinstein later moved back to New York and in 1966 he ran unsuccessfully as an Independent for the 19th Congressional District on Manhattan's West Side.

In 1967 Weinstein moved again, this time to San Francisco, California. During his time in California he was the founding editor of Socialist Revolution (later renamed Socialist Review) and Common Sense, opened the Modern Times Bookstore (1972-1974), and taught at Sacramento State College.

While living in San Francisco, he also served as the Chairman of the board of directors of Presidio Hill School (1970), the school his son Joshua attended. Weinstein worked as the editor for Socialist Revolution until 1974 and afterwards spent one year in England teaching the American component of a British-American labor history graduate course at the University of Warwick.

When he returned from England, Weinstein began to pursue in earnest his plans to found yet another publication, In These Times. In These Times was modeled after Appeal to Reason, a socialist weekly that reached its peak in 1912 with more than 750,000 subscribers. In 1976 Weinstein moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he continued with the preparations to begin publishing In These Times. The first issue was published on November 15, 1976. In 1990, he married Mary Beth Maschinot. He retired as the editor and publisher for In These Times in 1999.

Weinstein was an avid poker player and a self-described “Groucho Marxist” (he claimed to be influenced by a combination of Duck Soup and Das Kapital). He died of cancer in 2005 at the age of 78. He was survived by his wife, Beth Maschinot; his children from a previous marriage: his daughter Lisa Weinstein of Chicago and his son Joshua Weinstein of San Francisco; two grandchildren, Rachel Weinstein and Joseph Weinstein; his sister, Lois Sontag of Stamford, Connecticut; and his stepdaughter, Melissa Byrns of Chicago.

Chronology

1926	James Weinstein was born in New York
1944	Attended Walden School
1945-1946	Served in the U.S. Naval Reserves (Electronic Technician Mate, 2nd class)
1948-1949	Upstate New York coordinator for Young Progressives of America
1949	Cornell University, A.B.
1949-1950	Attended Columbia University Law School
1951-1952	Electronic technician working for David Bogen and Company
1952-1956	Electronic technician for Emerson Radio and Phonograph
1955-1956	Organizational Secretary for Manhattan Labor Youth League
1957	Daughter Lisa Weinstein was born
1957	Columbia University, M.A. (American History)
1957-1964	Further studies
1959	Son Joshua Weinstein was born
1959-1960	President of Viking Yacht Rental, New York based business
1960	Campaign Manager for Manfred Ohrenstein, New York Democratic State Senator (1961-1995)
1960-1967	Co-editor, Studies on the Left, Madison, Wisconsin, and New York City
1960-1963(?)	Lived in Madison, Wisconsin
1965	Organized Committee for Independent Political Action, New York
1966	Independent Candidate for Congress, 19th Congressional District, New York
1967	The Decline of Socialism in America, 1912-1925 published, Monthly Review Press
1968	The Corporate Ideal in the Liberal State, 1900-1918 published, Beacon Press
1969-1976	Founding Editor for Socialist Revolution (later renamed Socialist Review)
1970	For a New America: Essays in History and Politics from Studies on the Left, 1959-1967 (Editor with David W. Eakins) published, Random House
1970	Chairman, Presidio Hill School, San Francisco, California
1970	Lecturer, American History, Sacramento State College. Taught undergraduate and Master's seminars in 20th century American history
1972-1973	Member of National Interim Committee, New American Movement
1972-1974	Founding owner of Modern Times Bookstore, San Francisco, California
1973-1974	Founding Editor, Common Sense, San Francisco, California
1974-1975	Visiting Reader, Centre for the Study of Social History, University of Warwick, Coventry, U.K. Taught the American half of a British-American labor history graduate course
1975	Ambiguous Legacy, The Left in American Politics published, New Viewpoints
1975-1999	Founding Editor and Publisher, In These Times
2003	The Long Detour: The History and Future of the American Left published, Westview Press
2005	James Weinstein died in Chicago, Illinois