Political Media Review

The Spanish anarchist movement and revolution of the late 1930s are undoubtedly the historical force and context most praised by Western anarchists. In absolute numbers, in proportion of the overall population they were part of, and in the radical transformation they accomplished in much of Spanish society, the reputation is well deserved.

Hundreds of films take on anarchist themes in some manner, but only a handful deal with anarchist governance. Three of the most interesting of these are, Alexander the Great (Megalexandros, 1980, Greek), Viva Zapata! (1952, United States), and Rebellion in Patagonia (La Patagonia Rebelde, 1974, Argentina).

There is a sub-genre of science fiction called alternative history, which consists of works such as Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle, in which Germany wins World War II, and Hitler becomes the ruler of the U.S. Works of this type offer a counterfactual version of past events

Gustav Landauer is perhaps the most important German speaking anarchist of the late 19th and early 20th century, but he is not well known in the English speaking world. Despite four book length studies of Landauer and a few translations, there has never been a major collection of his work in English.

Anyone looking to educate themselves on the history and principles of anarchism should look no further for a starting place than the books in AK Press’s Working Classics series. The series as a whole represents some of the finest writings on anarchist theory and practice ever published

Rhetoric for Radicals is about organizing, activism, and radicalism; in short, it’s a comprehensive text for changing the world. This book approaches activism as a rhetorical labor and argues in a concise, yet substantive, five chapters that effective radicalism must involve sound rhetorical practice.

With the publication of Mad Bomber Melville, Leslie James Pickering has done a great service for those who—as he puts it—“can take inspiration from someone who was far from perfect but never gave up the struggle” (133). Pickering’s biography of Sam Melville does not seek to idolize its subject but is an honest effort to preserve an important history which holds challenging lessons for present day readers.