There is not much to add to the notes and epilogue that have been attached to the translation of this book, except to thank those who contributed to its publication: Annie for the translation, Janet for linguistic advice and proofreading, Claire, Vincent and François for their various contributions.

For French readers, even more so than for British readers, this book is more than just the biography of an activist in his early life. It is simultaneously a document of life in the Jewish ghetto of the time, in the suburbs of East London, and of proletarian life at the time. It also offers insights into the twists and turns of the Communist International, particularly in relation to antifascism.

It is regrettable that Joe's death prevented him from writing the sequel for which he had amassed an impressive amount of material that only he could organize according to the thread that only he possessed. This concerned the period of the Second World War when he was imprisoned for striking an officer during an altercation, as well as the long post-war period during which, as a proletarian among proletarians, he carried out, often as a "strike leader," trade union and political activity in the Communist Party, then in a Trotskyist group, and finally in the Solidarity group from which he was eventually expelled when this group abandoned the class struggle to promote the politics of Cornelius Castoriadis.

Whatever the temporal limitations of this book, it gives a precise idea of ​​what Joe's personality was like, which he had to assert from early childhood in the face of early adversity.

And that is the great merit of this book and what makes it, above all, interesting.

Henri Simon

French text from https://entreleslignesentrelesmots.wordpress.com/2022/10/20/preface-dhenri-simon-a-nouvelles-du-ghetto-de-joe-jacobs/ improvements to translation welcomed.