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ladybrizna's review against another edition
4.0
Tengo muchas cosas que investigar, vuelvo en un rato.
viceveritas's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
brisingr's review against another edition
5.0
Verso Books has all my money and my whole entire heart. Favourite publishing house - and this is a wonderful introduction for anyone looking into reading radical publishing!
jericho27's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
barry_x's review against another edition
3.0
This book has been on my shelf for a few years now staring at me (I have a terrible habit of buying things to 'read later' rather than 'read now') so I was glad to actually start this.
The book is a collection of statements of a dissenting nature including writings, poems, communiqués going back centuries.
One thing the book tries to do well is cover dissenting voices from a truly global perspective, what I appreciated is that this isn't a European or American focused book. The dissenting voices typically cover national liberation struggles, class struggle, environmental issues, race, gender, sexuality perspectives.
I have seen one critique in that 'only left wing voices are presented'. It seems quite the silly thing to say considering right wing 'dissent' when articulated in this way is a thinly veiled demand for more exploitation and more privilege. That criticism aside, an attempt to cover the history of dissent invariably leads to a high degree of omission and selective biases. There are perhaps many omissions in areas I am less familiar with but I found rather too many 'Marxist/ Leninist revolutionaries' in the pages, only a single animal rights perspective, very few anarchist voices, very few prisoner voices. There were several writers / notable persons who I was expecting and didn't find.
(What is obvious is that there are a number of scumbags in the book, from slavers to tyrants, including the odd 'pro-democracy campaigner' who turned out to be pretty vile.)
(It's also obvious, as anarchists have pointed out forever that when a Marxist revolutionary gets control in any state they become enemies of the people - this book shows the history of revolution and with a critical eye shows the futility of 'Communist states').
I could have done without a few song lyrics, but overall there is a lot to like. There are a number of absolute inspiring statements and quotes, many of which are thought provoking and relevant today and what turns this 2 star into a 3 star is that I will dip into it again now and then.
Verso gave themselves an impossible job and I don't think they succeeded, their biases shine through a little but the attempt is welcome. Trying to cover all history and all struggles is a mammoth task. I know this has undergone at least one revision and I hope they continue, not just to keep adding as the years go by but also to include missing voices and critique further the actions of people who once spoke of liberation but caused immense harm when given power.
The book is a collection of statements of a dissenting nature including writings, poems, communiqués going back centuries.
One thing the book tries to do well is cover dissenting voices from a truly global perspective, what I appreciated is that this isn't a European or American focused book. The dissenting voices typically cover national liberation struggles, class struggle, environmental issues, race, gender, sexuality perspectives.
I have seen one critique in that 'only left wing voices are presented'. It seems quite the silly thing to say considering right wing 'dissent' when articulated in this way is a thinly veiled demand for more exploitation and more privilege. That criticism aside, an attempt to cover the history of dissent invariably leads to a high degree of omission and selective biases. There are perhaps many omissions in areas I am less familiar with but I found rather too many 'Marxist/ Leninist revolutionaries' in the pages, only a single animal rights perspective, very few anarchist voices, very few prisoner voices. There were several writers / notable persons who I was expecting and didn't find.
(What is obvious is that there are a number of scumbags in the book, from slavers to tyrants, including the odd 'pro-democracy campaigner' who turned out to be pretty vile.)
(It's also obvious, as anarchists have pointed out forever that when a Marxist revolutionary gets control in any state they become enemies of the people - this book shows the history of revolution and with a critical eye shows the futility of 'Communist states').
I could have done without a few song lyrics, but overall there is a lot to like. There are a number of absolute inspiring statements and quotes, many of which are thought provoking and relevant today and what turns this 2 star into a 3 star is that I will dip into it again now and then.
Verso gave themselves an impossible job and I don't think they succeeded, their biases shine through a little but the attempt is welcome. Trying to cover all history and all struggles is a mammoth task. I know this has undergone at least one revision and I hope they continue, not just to keep adding as the years go by but also to include missing voices and critique further the actions of people who once spoke of liberation but caused immense harm when given power.
lucasmiller's review against another edition
5.0
Ambitious in scope. The selection are global and really wide ranging. There are notable absences. The selections are very brief, to the point of being aphoristic in many cases, but the brief notes after each selection fills in historical context and provides a wonderful venue for the editors' voice.
Big fan of this.
Big fan of this.
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