JazzRemington
21st June 2005, 17:15
TITLE: The Great Anarchists
GENRE: Non-Fiction, Political theory
AUTHOR: Paul Eltzbacher/Benjamin R. Tucker
PUBLISHER: Dover Publications, Inc.
ISBN: 0-486-43632-2
I ordered this book from AK Press a few weeks ago, got it a few days ago, and just finished it yesterday. I would whole heartedly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the teachings of the seven major anarchist thinkers.
The Great Anarchists is a reprint of a book called Anarchism by Benjamin R. Tucker, noted Individualist Anarchist. This edition has his original introduction ommited. The book is divided into several sections. The first is a basic introduction to the book and serves as a statement of the purpose of it. The next has each of the major anarchist thinkers in chronological order in one chapter apiece, with their teachings and several selected quotes from their works, with citations where appropriate. The last section is a summary and a comparision of their teachings. The comparisions serve to show how the different teachings relate and differ from each other. This is very good for the scholar who wishes to learn more about the history and ideas of anarchism.
But who are the Big Seven? Why, in chronological order of course, Godwin, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Max Stirner, Mikhail Bakunin, Peter Kropotkin, Benjamin R. Tucker, and Leo Tolstoy. Each person has a section dedicated to them beginning with a very short biography, the basis for their beliefs, and their ideas on Law, the State, and Property in clear and distinct language with extensive quotes from their respective works. There is no judgement laid upon them by Tucker (who I assume was the original author of the original publication of the book) and their ideas are simply presented with no critiques what so ever.
In conclusion, I think that this would serve a beginner well in understanding anarchist theory but for the individual who already knows a lot about this stuff will probably want to skip around a bit. But for both parties I feel that the summaries and comparisions at the end will be useful.
GENRE: Non-Fiction, Political theory
AUTHOR: Paul Eltzbacher/Benjamin R. Tucker
PUBLISHER: Dover Publications, Inc.
ISBN: 0-486-43632-2
I ordered this book from AK Press a few weeks ago, got it a few days ago, and just finished it yesterday. I would whole heartedly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the teachings of the seven major anarchist thinkers.
The Great Anarchists is a reprint of a book called Anarchism by Benjamin R. Tucker, noted Individualist Anarchist. This edition has his original introduction ommited. The book is divided into several sections. The first is a basic introduction to the book and serves as a statement of the purpose of it. The next has each of the major anarchist thinkers in chronological order in one chapter apiece, with their teachings and several selected quotes from their works, with citations where appropriate. The last section is a summary and a comparision of their teachings. The comparisions serve to show how the different teachings relate and differ from each other. This is very good for the scholar who wishes to learn more about the history and ideas of anarchism.
But who are the Big Seven? Why, in chronological order of course, Godwin, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Max Stirner, Mikhail Bakunin, Peter Kropotkin, Benjamin R. Tucker, and Leo Tolstoy. Each person has a section dedicated to them beginning with a very short biography, the basis for their beliefs, and their ideas on Law, the State, and Property in clear and distinct language with extensive quotes from their respective works. There is no judgement laid upon them by Tucker (who I assume was the original author of the original publication of the book) and their ideas are simply presented with no critiques what so ever.
In conclusion, I think that this would serve a beginner well in understanding anarchist theory but for the individual who already knows a lot about this stuff will probably want to skip around a bit. But for both parties I feel that the summaries and comparisions at the end will be useful.