Home from the Dark Side of Utopia

A riveting personal memoir that shares hard-earned political insights. Ross's journey mirrors that of the post-war American left. From an Anabaptist hippie commune in the 1970s to the present-day failures of the Venezuelan revolution, he charts a trajectory of good intentions and poor choices, of blind faith in charismatic leaders followed by inevitable disillusionment and, ultimately, a solid belief in the ability of ordinary people to make history.

Clifton Ross directed the film Venezuela: Revolution from the Inside Out. He is the co-editor of Until the Rulers Obey: Voices from Latin American Social Movements.