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Recommended reading

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Svartvit, Aug 6, 2010.

  1. Svartvit

    Svartvit Member Forum Member


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    After feeling related to and being interested in anarchism for a long time I'm finally exploring a bit more of the background and different stanches of it. So far I can conclude I feel mostly related to anarcho-syndicalism. I've downloaded a torrent full of books on politics, anarchism etc. and was wondering of the list below what are a few good ones to learn more about general anarchism, it's history and the differences between the sub-divisions in anarchism. Ofcourse anything not on this list is also welcome for these subjects. Preferred language is Dutch or English.

    To not type the full list here is a link to the torrent where you can see which books are included without having to download it:
    http://onebigtorrent.org/torrents/5886/ ... -Socialism
     

  2. butcher

    butcher Experienced Member Uploader Experienced member Forum Member


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    Skip the 'Zeitgeist' shit!

    Also, Murray Rothbrand is an "Anarcho-Capitalist' ie not an Anarchist at all.
    John Zerzan writes about 'Primitivism', read one, have a laugh, move on...

    Also, Chomsky is better read as a Journalist rather than a theoretician in my humble opinion.
    Emma Goldman's writing is more polemic than theory, not her strongest suit, a fucking awesome organiser though!!

    Marshall's 'Demanding the Impossible...' is a good intro to diff ideas, but not very good at critiquing them.

    Poor Eric Fromm shares his name with Paul Fromm, do not confuse!!!

    Foucault's 'Madness and Civilsation' (and 'History of Sexuality' for that matter) is essential reading, as is Marx's 'Capital'/

    Illich's 'Deschooling Society' is fucking fantastic.

    Marx's 'Class Struggle in France' is a great read insofar as it applies his 'historical materialism' theory to current events (obviously no longer current).

    Also good:
    Bakunin, 'The immorality of the State'
    Marcuse
    Orwell, 'Homage to Catalonia'
    Kropotkin
    Proudhon
    Zinn's 'People's history...'


    Obviously not read everything on that list!
    Outside of that, if your into Syndicalism read Rudolf Rocker. 'Anarcho-Syndicalism: Theory & Practise' being the classic
    Franks' 'Rebel Alliances' is probs my fave anarchist text.
    Black Flame is also fucking brilliant.

    I think you can get a copy of 'Wobblies and Zapatistas' on onebigtorrent, do it! fantastic stuff!!!

    Malatesta wrote some sweet shit, a lot of it on teh interwebz

    This small book by Meltzer is good
    'How non-violence protects the State' also good.

    Bonus Rocker

    Abel Paz's book on Durruti is also a must read.
    Double Bonus Rocker

    And of course, the best read of them all is the zine I co-edit, lol ;) :thumbsup:

    Moar l8er...
     
  3. ryan1980

    ryan1980 Experienced Member Experienced member


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    You have to read Edward Berney's 'Propaganda'. Certainly isn't anti authoritarian, in fact it's about as authoritarian as you can get. But if you want to know how he coined the term 'public relations' because he thought the word 'propaganda' was too harsh and set 100 years of marketing frauds in motion, read it.
     
  4. Svartvit

    Svartvit Member Forum Member


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    Wow thanks for the great first response! That really helps alot and I'll delve into some of those later. Sorry if I didn't see it but I believe you still haven't mentioned any book that shows a mostly objective overview of the different forms of anarchism. That would really be great if someone could name it. Does anyone have a place for me to download Black Flame or the Anarcho-Syndicalism book cause both are pricey over here and I want to have a look at them first.
     
  5. butcher

    butcher Experienced Member Uploader Experienced member Forum Member


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    I've seen Rocker's Anarcho-Syndicalism up somewhere in the depths of the web, sorry, can't find it atm!
    Live near an @ infoshop or something? some libraries stock anarchist stuff sometimes suprisingly too. (well, i've found anarchist texts in Australian libraries, obviously yr in Holland but you know). Otherwise yr nearest university will stock it most probs.

    'Black Flame' gives an overview of diff anarchisms and stuff, but mostly from the perspective that non-class struggle anarchisms (ie anything not anarcho-syndicalist or anarcho-communist) suck hard. Kinda the same case with 'Rebel Alliances'. The way things should be in my opinion.

    Peter Marshall's 'Demand the Impossible' in that onebigtorrent bunch is kinda the best in overviewing the different tendencies of anarchism, and also gives a brief bio on all the 'big names' in anarchist theory, although only up to bout the start of the nineties from memory. Like I said, its kinda devoid of analysis but thats probs good for what you want by the sound of things.


    Personally, the best way to get an idea about the differing tendencies is to read them! (i won't name a text if its in the torrent selection)
    ie. Anarcho-Syndicalism: Rocker (as noted above), also probably worth reading the charter for say: the IWA, CNT, FAU, ASF, etc etc

    Anarcho-Communism: Kropotkin or Malatesta's 'Life & Ideas', plus Makhno or Durruti

    Mutualism: Proudhon

    Anarcho-Feminist: Mujeres Libre, Emma Goldman, De Cleyre, Lucy Parsons, sorry a particularly weak area of my knowledge, which I'm trying to rectify!

    Individualist Anarchism: Stirner's 'The Ego and its Own'

    Anarcho-Primitivism: Zerzan or Derrick Jensen's 'Endgame'

    Social Ecology: Bookchin's 'Post-Scarcity Anarchism' or 'The Ecology of Freedom'

    Lifestylist Anarchism: See Individualist Anarchism or crimethinc

    Anarcho-Capitalism (as previously mentioned not anarchism but you know) Rothbrand

    Situationist stuff: Debord's 'Society of the Spectacle' or the SI's 'On the Poverty of Student LIfe'

    Post-Left Anarchy: Bey's T.A.Z or Bob Black's 'The Abolition of Work'

    Insurrectionary Anarchism: The Invisible Comittee's 'The Coming Insurrection'

    Autonomist Marxism: Negri & Hardt's 'Empire' or 'Multitude'

    Queer Theory: Foucault's 'History of Sexuality'

    Gender: Butler's 'Gender Trouble'

    Zapatismo: '!Ya Basta!'

    Race: Davis' 'Race, Women & Class'

    Indig: 'Lighting the Eighth Fire' or '500 Years of Indigenous Resistance' or Gary Foley's writings, Mapuche film 'Besieged Land' overview here

    Latin America: Colombia's SINALTRAINAL!!! FUCK COKE! Brazil's MST, Oaxaca's APPO (some stuff here ) Anything by Eduardo Galeano

    Sorry, waay incomplete! Esp. gender, queer and Indig titles, moar l8er h8ers
     
  6. Svartvit

    Svartvit Member Forum Member


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    Again, thanks a bunch man! Very handy tips you have. No real @infoshop close but in Amsterdam there is a Anarchist Library I should visit sometime and in Utrecht De Rode Rat(Red Rat) bookstore, hope to visit both sometime soon but it's quite a distance so very impractical for loaning books. Still haven't found Rocker's Anarcho-Syndicalism book online so anyone that can share the file, please do so.
     
  7. ungovernable

    ungovernable Autonome Staff Member Uploader Admin Team Experienced member


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    there's another topic with a couple of suggestions:

    viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3798&p=20137

    here is a quick list i wrote on this topic... its incomplete and many others can be added, but its a good point to start
     
  8. butcher

    butcher Experienced Member Uploader Experienced member Forum Member


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    It's not the book but some of Rocker's writings on Anarcho-Syndicalism are here
     
  9. Svartvit

    Svartvit Member Forum Member


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  10. ungovernable

    ungovernable Autonome Staff Member Uploader Admin Team Experienced member


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    yes excellent text, a good place where to start
     
  11. Svartvit

    Svartvit Member Forum Member


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    Ok so after checking some ebooks/pdfs I realize this isn't really the ideal way of reading and found a Dutch supply for this stuff. Below is a list of in my opinion suitable titles with the price they cost. Can someone please point out which of them are good starting points and if the price is fair?

    These two I'm buying for sure:

    At the café by Errico Malatesta €9,99
    Anarchism and other essays by Emma Goldman €9,99


    And this one sometime in the future:

    Chomsky on Anarchism by Noam Chomsky €10,00

    But for now, to add to the above order of Malatesta and Goldman I have another 45/50€ to spend on books from this list, give me some pointers:

    Anarchism by Peter Kropotkin €12,99
    Social anarchism or lifestyle anarchism by Murray Bookchin €12,99
    Post-scarcity anarchism by Murray Bookchin €16,99
    Anarchism and anarcho-syndicalism by Rudolf Rocker €5,99 (this seems to be a excerpt of some sort cause it's only 40 something pages)
    What is Anarchism by Donald Rooum €8,99
    Anarchism, Marxism and the future of the left by Murray Bookchin €17,99
    Everything you ever wanted to know about anarchism but where afraid to ask by Simon Read €4,99
    Anarchism for beginners by Marcos Mayer €14,99
    A structured anarchism by John Griffin €3,99
    The abc of anarchism by Alexander Berkman €12,99
    Proposed road to freedom; socialism, anarchism and syndicalism by Bertrand Russell €11,99
    Anarchism after leftism by Bob Black €8,99
    Selected Writings from Mikhail Bakunin €11,99
    Beating Fascism by Rudolf Rocker, Errico Malatesta & more €5,99
    Granny made me and anarchist by Stuart Christie €10,99
    The Anarchist writings of William Godwin by William Godwin €7,99
    Under Three Flags by Hamid Dabashi €12,99
    An Anarchist FAQ volume 1 by Ian McKay €22,99
    Mutual Aid by Peter Kropotkin €8,99
    Anarchist past and other essays by Nicolas Walter €12,99
    Talkin Anarchy by Colin Ward €9,99


    I know it's quite a list but any help is welcome. I myself feel that out of this list the Selected Writings by Bakunin, Anarchism by Peter Kropotkin and maybe Anarchism for Beginners would be good books to start with? Thanks for any help you guys can give.
     
  12. butcher

    butcher Experienced Member Uploader Experienced member Forum Member


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    "Granny Made Me an Anarchist" is fucking awesome, get it.

    "Beating Fascism" is great! But seems really expensive for a zine, plus, its on the internet (at zinelibrary) for free.
    Same goes for the Rocker text, seems expensive for zines.

    'Mutual Aid' is good.
    Bob Black writes about 'post-left anarchy', the kinda stuff Bookchin criticises in 'Lifestyle vs social anarchism'. Both you may wish to skip if your looking for 'introductory' material, as they both kinda infighting texts.

    'Post-Scarcity Anarchism' is a really good read, but mostly interesting to me because it is so a product of its time. Ie Bookchin wrote it (well its a collection fo essays, but you know) in the late 60s, where student radicalism was going nuts (paris 68, etc) and it shows in his writing. 'The ecology of Freedom' is probs a better theoretical text by him.

    not read any of the others, so my advice would be pointless, hope that helps
     
  13. punkmar77

    punkmar77 Experienced Member Uploader Experienced member


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    I would just add to the already excellent recommendations to read every thing you can get your hands on about the French Revolution as well, the in-fighting, backstabbing, counter-Revolution, and blood-thirst are all lessons that should never be lost on any Revolutionary thought process...
     
  14. butcher

    butcher Experienced Member Uploader Experienced member Forum Member


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    Re: bookshops and libraries, does this help?
     
  15. nodz

    nodz Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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    Dno't know whether this is the same torrent.
    http://extratorrent.com/torrent/1854972 ... alism.html
    But heaps and heaps of literature. Trying to work my way through reading them.

    I am currently reading God and the State - Bakunin and Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist - Berkman

    I find it a lot easier to read hardcopy rather than text on the screen. If you want to get your hands on some of the books cheaply then try www.bookdepository.co.uk they have free postage worldwide.
     
  16. raindeer667

    raindeer667 Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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  17. SurgeryXdisaster

    SurgeryXdisaster Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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    I just tried it and i got:
    Paradise Lost
    The Divine Comedy
    and Homers' Odyssey

    Cool site!
     
  18. nodz

    nodz Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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    Go to www.manybooks.net as well, this has heaps of books for free download, it does have Kropotkin, Proudhon, Bakunin and Goldman as well as many classics etc
     
  19. nodz

    nodz Experienced Member Experienced member Forum Member


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    Got home today and there was a package waiting for me. It had Zapatista Stories by Sub Commandante Marcos in it. Walked up to the door and there were three more packages there Mutual Aid by Kropotkin, Social Anarchism by Bookchin and T.A.Z by Hakim Bey. Lots of reading now!
     
  20. butcher

    butcher Experienced Member Uploader Experienced member Forum Member


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    Hakim Bey is still doing it for the kids!
     
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