“The Spiritual Gift of Madness,” outside the lively interviews, is a stiff, terribly dogmatic and one-sided polemic in which Farber concedes nothing of value to any who disagree with his central thesis that the hallucinations and delusions of mental illness are anything but the Voice of God communicating with humanity. by George Fish While the [...]
I had mixed feelings about “Fear Itself.” The main narrative of the text–that Southern Democrats were absolutely central to both institutionalizing the New Deal and limiting it–is fresh and well-documented. But I was also uneasy with substantial parts of “Fear Itself” because Katznelson uncritically embraces concepts of liberal democracy and totalitarianism to characterize the world [...]
“Towards Collective Liberation: Anti-Racist Organizing, Feminist Praxis and Movement Building Strategy,” may be the “Rules for Radicals” for a growing trend of anarcho-practicos who up until this point have had little literature to make their case with. By James Tracy Chris Crass is an anarchist organizer. For those whose perception of anarchism begins and ends [...]
While I think that people can learn about Howard Zinn in Martin Duberman’s book, “Howard Zinn: A Life on the Left,” “A Peoples’ History of the United States” and Howard’s memoir-like book, “You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times,” would be higher on my list. by Alan Weider [...]
In just a few pages I felt the brotherly embrace of a comrade-in-arms, a soul-mate, and a companion; further along his fierce intelligence and original insights challenged me to make new connections; by the end I was inspired to re-imagine next steps in my own efforts at movement-making. by Bill Ayers Dada Maheshvarananda is a [...]
Left Eye on Books needs your help. Please lend a hand with whatever you can contribute. It will make a big difference, and you will be thanked profusely on our supporters page. “The Accumulation of Freedom: Writings on Anarchist Economics” develops both the anarchist critique of capitalism and the project of an anarchist society.” by [...]
Posited as an intervention of sorts, “Catastrophism” is seemingly aimed to create debate on the Left. … Its premise, that old radical ideas that destitution leads to revolution need reappraisal, deserves closer review. By Ernesto Aguilar With the presidential election upon us, the idea of withholding votes against Democrats has surfaced among slivers of the [...]
Robbins writes in the first person, displays a flare for personal anecdotes, and is not at all bashful about expressing his perplexities and uncertainties, all of which should make “Perpetual War” accessible to those who are challenged by the wealth of detail and insider talk Robbins brings to the case studies. by David White Anyone [...]
Jones manages to paint clear and vivid portraits untainted by judgment. The portraits of the times and events are just as clear and stunning.The book also has its weaknesses. While Jones paints a vivid portrait of the historical figures and their setting, he sadly does little work to sketch anything like an analysis. by Pamela [...]
In what is likely to become a classic, Greek political economist Yanis Varoufakis traces the origins of the global crisis and looks beyond the U.S.-dominated world. By Boris Stremlin In 1944, just as the institutions of the postwar monetary order were being fashioned at Bretton Woods, Karl Polanyi published his now-classic historical reconstruction 19th century [...]
If you can’t tell the Missouri Compromise from the Kansas-Nebraska Act, I would first recommend that you read Evan Carton’s “Patriotic Treason.”… If you have a basic understanding of the years leading up to the Civil War, however, Horwitz’s new book can at times make you feel as if you are right on the ground [...]
Hardt and Negri should be lauded for the audacity of their utopian vision. At the same time, their theorization of class is thin, as is their grasp of geopolitics and related cultural questions. By Steven Sherman Almost as predictable as U.S. presidential elections or the Olympics, roughly every four years political theorists Michael Hardt and [...]
In the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama won a sound victory over Republican contender John McCain, bolstered by a new generation of activists that helped deliver small donations and voters. Obama’s message was simple but effective: hope. Many did hope that Obama would help bring the U.S. out of the endless wars, economic decline, and [...]
Anyone interested in understanding racism and the history of multiculturalism in the United States and Europe will find this book insightful, enlightening and will come away with a new approach to analyze the world we live in. by Rani Salas Mclean The authors of “The Crises of Multiculturalism: Racism in a Neoliberal Age,” Alana Lentin [...]
McCartin’s abundant supply of rank-and-file anecdotes lends the book credibility and emotional punch, but he does not dwell on them. His ambition is something more sweeping. The history of PATCO is, after all, more than an interesting case; it is the story of U.S. labor’s biggest strategic loss in half a century. By Alexandra Bradbury [...]
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