I Could Have Been One
by Donald Wm. Jeffries
Genre: History / Autobiography
ISBN: 9781636611839
Print Length: 442 pages
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing
Reviewed by Toni Woodruff
I Could Have Been One intelligently captures the rich, yet complicated history of wealth and labor.
I Could Have Been One follows author Donald Wm. Jeffries and his vast life experiences ranging from the early 1940s to today, but it also discusses the relationship between Communism, Socialism, Capitalism, and the archival effect of each system.
Jeffries goes through immense hardship and witnesses extreme forms of oppression throughout his life. His personal story is a captivating one. In the intellectual portion of the book, he includes detailed, carefully-wrought research to provide the reader with enough information to make their own decisions.
I Could Have Been One raises some great questions throughout like, How do we use historical events to better understand the economic policies in place? and, perhaps more importantly, how can we work toward a better tomorrow for everyone?
Jeffries’ writing has a ton of great qualities. For a book with some weighty historical and political topics, it’s a treat that he does so in such a straightforward manner and is dedicated to laying groundwork so that readers can better understand the concepts and think about them on a deeper level. Rather than overwhelm the reader with too many of his own opinions, he balances it well with quotes and stories from others too.
For readers who may not be up to date on these topics, they can easily find a lot of helpful resources in I Could Have Been One. Regardless of date or author, Jeffries’ inclusions gives a good look into what inspires this book and relays some essential vulnerability along the way.
The book’s heart and soul comes from Jeffries’ personal stories. There’s an Army heritage in Jeffries’ family that is featured prominently, and there’s a fascinating account of how Jeffries’ father was involved in liberating a camp in Germany. While a crisis such as WWII can seem long ago for younger readers, it’s still an important memory etched into the history of all of humanity. This book acts as an extending bridge between generations.
However, I found that the organization of resources intermixed with Jeffries’ personal thoughts made following certain parts difficult. He would begin by introducing a particular event, only to switch to a reference to a separate article for a while, and then follow back to the original topic. While I definitely want this discussion to be thorough and include the necessary references, it’s true that I had to re-read somewhat often in order to make sure I didn’t miss anything integral.
I Could Have Been One is a good choice for readers interested in discovering a unique perspective on social movements.
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