Peter Kropotkin    1887   387p   5 x 8 Nearly a century has passed since Kropotkin wrote In Russian and French Prisons, yet his criticisms of the penal system have lost none of their relevance. Prisons—far from reforming the offender, or deterring crime—are, in themselves, ‘schools of crime’. Every year, thousands of prisoners are … Continue reading In Russian and French Prisons →

Paul Avrich     1967     320p     5.5 x 8.5 From the nihilists of the 1870s to their anarchist, leninist and maximalist heirs, Avrich covers everything: bomb-throwers, philosophers, workers’ councils, the ukrainian makhnovtchina, the krondstadt uprising, the bolshevik betrayal, and the ordinary peasants, soldiers and workers committed to fighting for a truly free world. One of my favorite … Continue reading The Russian Anarchists →

A True Story of Dreamers, Schemers, Anarchists, and Secret Agents Alex Butterworth     2011     544p     6 x 9 In the late nineteenth century, nations the world over were mired in economic recession and beset by social unrest, their leaders increasingly threatened by acts of terrorism and assassination from anarchist extremists. … Continue reading The World That Never Was →

Peter Kropotkin     1899     504p     5 x 8 Born into a wealthy family of landowners, Prince Peter Alexeivich Kropotkin (1842-1921) held prestigious diplomatic posts. But the prince renounced his life of privilege to embrace anarchism, a revolutionary alternative to Marxism. A leading theoretician of his day, Kropotkin wrote the basic … Continue reading Memoirs of a Revolutionist →

Vera Figner     1920     336p     6 x 9 In this classic memoir, Figner recounts her journey from aristocrat to revolutionary, candidly relating the experiences that shaped her ideas and provoked her to political action and violence. As she reflects on her own lifelong commitment to improving the lives of ordinary … Continue reading Memoirs of a Revolutionist →

Ursula K. Le Guin     1979     369p     6 x 9 Inspired by 19th century Russian literature, Malafrena is the story of a fictious central european nation in turmoil. From 1825 to 1830 Orsinia is ruled by the Austrian Empire. The hero is Itale Sorde, the son of the owner of … Continue reading Malafrena →

Writings and Speeches Of Isadora Duncan Isadora Duncan & Franklin Rosemont ed.     1981     160p     5 x 8 This outstanding collection of the great dancer’s heretofore uncollected writings and speeches gives us a vivid new perception of her importance as an original and radical thinker. Starting with reminiscences of her … Continue reading Isadora Speaks →

Vol. I: The Leninist Counter-Revolution G.P. Maximoff    1940    360p    5 x 8 Originally published in 1940 in two volumes, this is the (partially eyewitness) account of the Leninist terror inflicted upon Russia. Maximoff, a life-long anarchist, fought in the Russian Revolution, organized with the metal-workers, and was imprisoned by Lenin’s secret police … Continue reading The Guillotine at Work →

James Joll 1964 303p 6 x 8 A good over-view of classical anarchism, focusing almost exclusively on europe. Beginning in the late 1700s with William Godwin and continuing on with Proudhon, Kropotkin and Bakunin. Details evolutions and differences in philosophy, the paris commune, russian revolution, spanish civil war, the era of dynamite, etc. $4-10 Other … Continue reading The Anarchists →

George Orwell 1948 292p MMPB Classic anti-authoritarian novel about a totalitarianism. Set in the future dystopian world of 1984, where wars are fought with the same people that the government previously armed, language is being deconstructed and erased so that people don’t even know how to think and speak against the powerful few who run … Continue reading 1984 →