Cornell Üniversitesi`nden mezun olan Avrich, doktorasını Columbia Üniversitesi`nden almıştır. New York`ta bulunan Quenn Koleji`nde dersler vermiştir.
Eserleri
- The Russian Anarchists (1967)
- Kronstadt 1921 (1970)
- Russian Rebels 1600-1800 (1972)
- An American Anarchist: The Life of Voltairine de Cleyre (1978)
- The Modern School Movement: Anarchism and Education in the United States (1980)
- The Haymarket Tragedy (1984)
- Bakunin & Nechaev (1987)
- Anarchist Portraits/Anarşist Portreler (1988)
- Sacco and Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background (1991)
- Anarchist Voices: An Oral History Of Anarchism in America (1996)