Londons Falling

A Must Have for Students looking to Grasp Anarchist History

Rating: 4/5
Comments:
The interviews are well put together. He asked important questions, and allowed those being interviewed to share their thoughts. Some of the answers are entertaining, and others really give you the insight that only a person that was there can give.

Read only the interviews you want, or catch your fancy.

Another forgotten chapter of people's history

Rating: 5/5
Comments:
I, too, am glad that AK Press re-printed this (unabridged) oral history project by the late great Paul Avrich. In this classic tome, Avrich brilliantly brings to life the fascinating stories of the heroic women and men, most of them immigrants, involved in the anarchist movement of the early 20th century. I especially found interesting the stories about Emma Goldman, Sacco and Vanzetti and the free schools inspired by the work of Francisco Ferrer. That said , I was a little dismayed that a few of the individuals interviewed espoused ideas that many activists today wound consider reactionary, such as support for Zionism and the Cuban exile movement. It bewilders me, for example, how any anticapitalist could denounce Salvador Allende and the social experiment he attempted in Chile. Likewise, I was troubled by the fact that the bulk of the book dealt almost exclusively with issues of economic exploitation and the state, ignoring equally important topics like race, gender, sexual orientation and the environment. Nevertheless, this is an important book, and despite its enormity, a surprisingly quick and enjoyable read.

Probably the best introduction to real Anarchy out there

Rating: 5/5
Comments:
I'm very, very happy that AK has reissued this book. Previously, it was only available in expensive hardcover.

What it is is nothing less than a living, breathing, oral history of the real anarchist communities which existed in the United States mostly before the second world war.

Instead of dry theory you have the voices of the people who have read the theory and have applied it in their lives in an actual movement.

You have people from the Italian Anarchist community in America, you have references to the Spanish one and how they organized in America while the CNT, the major Anarcho-Syndialist Union in Spain, was in existence.

You have recollections of the major Anarchists in America from people who actually knew them; you even have gossip over things like Sacco and Vanzetti by Anarchists theorizing about the case.

Plus, accounts of Anarcho-Communes, which did exist well into the 20th century.

If you ever wanted to experience what it would be like to sit at a table back in the first half of the century and hear the Anarchists of the time talk about their lives, their strategies to organize for social change in their communities, and their take on politics and anarchism, well, here it is.

The book is invaluable.

Better than trying to struggle over pointless legal theory in "What is Property?" by Proudhon...although other of Proudhon's works are good.

Hear the living, breathing, heart of the early 20th century anarchist movement: read this book.