A long awaited book will shortly be published (privately) by Edgar Ross. These Things Shall Be! is the biography of Edgar’s (and Lloyd’s) father, R.S. Ross, socialist pioneer. Edgar informs Hummer that ‘The story of Robert Samuel (Bob) Ross is a case study of the turbulent birth and growth of the labour movement in Australia. Writer, editor, agitator, organiser, propagandist, educator, and above all humanitarian, his life intertwined with the origins of organised labour from the late nineteenth century. Always in the vanguard, he was a principal figure in the antiwar and anti-conscription campaigns of the First World War. His manifold activities in socialist organisations, social democratic parties (mainly the Australian Labor Party) and the trade union movement not only tell much about the times in which he lived but have lessons of considerable relevance today, for many of the issues with which he grappled are still with us.
Details about availability and cost will be published in the next Hummer.