One Dozen Candles was a series of history and opinion books criticizing communism, labor unions, and welfare policies that was assembled by Robert W. Welch, Jr. and published during the 1960s by Western Islands, the publishing arm of American right-wing advocacy group the John Birch Society. On the series packaging, the name One Dozen Candles was accompanied by the proverb, "It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness." Earlier editions also carried the branding for the "American Opinion Reprint Series" while later editions were part of "The Americanist Library."
The books included in the One Dozen Candles were paperback reprints of books written between 1938 and 1965 by a variety of authors, some of whom were never members of nor ideologically aligned with the John Birch Society.[1] The twelve selections changed slightly over the course of the years and a thirteenth volume was added in later collections.[2] [3] [4] [5]
Earlier collections
| Vol | Title | Author | Original Publication |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | While You Slept: Our Tragedy in Asia and Who Made It | John T. Flynn | 1951 |
| 2 | The Web of Subversion: Underground Networks in the U.S. Government | James Burnham | 1954 |
| 3 | America's Retreat from Victory | Senator Joseph R. McCarthy | 1951 |
| 4 | Odyssey of a Fellow Traveler | J.B. Matthews | 1938 |
| 5 | Shanghai Conspiracy: The Sorge Spy Ring, Moscow, Shanghai, Tokyo, San Francisco, New York | Major-General Charles A. Willoughby | 1952 |
| 6 | From Major Jordan's Diaries | George Racey Jordan | 1952 |
| 7 | I Saw Poland Betrayed | Ambassador Arthur Bliss Lane | 1948 |
| 8 | The People's Pottage | Garet Garrett | 1953 |
| 9 | The Kohler Strike: Union Violence and Administrative Law | Sylvester Petro | 1961 |
| 10 | The Pentagon Case | Colonel Victor J. Fox, with Robert A. Winston | 1958 |
| 11 | The Tragedy of Bolivia: A People Crucified | Alberto Ostria Gutierrez | 1958 |
| 12 | Nine Men Against America | Rosalie M. Gordon | 1958 |
Later collections
| Vol | Title | Author | Original Publication |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | While You Slept: Our Tragedy in Asia and Who Made It | John T. Flynn | 1951 |
| 2 | Seeds of Treason | Ralph de Toledano | 1950 |
| 3 | America's Retreat from Victory | Senator Joseph R. McCarthy | 1951 |
| 4 | The Whole of Their Lives | Benjamin Gitlow | 1948 |
| 5 | Shanghai Conspiracy: The Sorge Spy Ring, Moscow, Shanghai, Tokyo, San Francisco, New York | Major-General Charles A. Willoughby | 1952 |
| 6 | From Major Jordan's Diaries | George Racey Jordan | 1952 |
| 7 | I Saw Poland Betrayed | Ambassador Arthur Bliss Lane | 1948 |
| 8 | The People's Pottage | Garet Garrett | 1953 |
| 9 | The Kohler Strike: Union Violence and Administrative Law | Sylvester Petro | 1961 |
| 10 | The Invisible Government | Dan Smoot | 1962 |
| 11 | France, The Tragic Years | Sisley Huddleston | 1955 |
| 12 | Nine Men Against America | Rosalie M. Gordon | 1958 |
| Background to Betrayal: The Tragedy of Vietnam | Hilaire du Berrier | 1965 | |