Synopses & Reviews
The first comprehensive collection of Gustav Landauers writings in English, this valuable addition to the history of anarchism in the early 20th century gathers more than 40 influential works by one of Germanys most prominent radical agitators. The readings presented here cover Landauers entire political biography, from his early anarchism of the 1890s and his philosophical reflections at the turn of the century to the subsequent establishment of the Socialist Bund and his tireless agitation against the coming Great War. Additional chapters on war and nationalism, the United States and Mexico, and opinion pieces and personal letters reveal the further scope of Landauers thinking with pieces on corporate capital, education, language, and Judaism.
Review
"If there were any justice in this worldat least as far as historical memory goesthen Gustav Landauer would be remembered, right along with Bakunin and Kropotkin, as one of anarchism's most brilliant and original theorists." Jesse Cohn, author, Anarchism and the Crisis of Representation
Review
"Should be required reading for anyone with an interest in radical social change." James Horrox, author, A Living Revolution
Review
"The most influential German anarchist intellectual of the 20th century." Paul Avrich, author, Anarchist Voices
Review
"Wikileaks founder Julian Assange prefaced entries on a now-defunct blog with a quotation from German Gustav Landauer, an anarchist thinker who was killed by troops in Munich in 1919." CBS News
Review
"Landauer's work is not a systematic account of non-state socialism, but it is an interesting step in the historical evolution of such accounts, married to a sound awareness of the importance of instilling what might elsewhere be called an 'ethos'." —www.MarxAndPhilosophy.org.uk
Synopsis
"Landauer is the most important agitator of the radical and revolutionary movement in the entire country." This is how Gustav Landauer is described in a German police file from 1893. Twenty-six years later, Landauer would die at the hands of reactionary soldiers who overthrew the Bavarian Council Republic, a three-week attempt to realize libertarian socialism amidst the turmoil of post-World War I Germany. It was the last chapter in the life of an activist, writer, and mystic who Paul Avrich calls "the most influential German anarchist intellectual of the twentieth century."
This is the first comprehensive collection of Landauer writings in English. It includes one of his major works, Revolution, thirty additional essays and articles, and a selection of correspondence. The texts cover Landauer's entire political biography, from his early anarchism of the 1890s to his philosophical reflections at the turn of the century, the subsequent establishment of the Socialist Bund, his tireless agitation against the war, and the final days among the revolutionaries in Munich. Additional chapters collect Landauer's articles on radical politics in the US and Mexico, and illustrate the scope of his writing with texts on corporate capital, language, education, and Judaism. The book includes an extensive introduction, commentary, and bibliographical information, compiled by the editor and translator Gabriel Kuhn as well as a preface by Richard Day.
About the Author
"If there were any justice in this worldat least as far as historical memory goesthen Gustav Landauer would be remembered, right along with Bakunin and Kropotkin, as one of anarchism's most brilliant and original theorists." Jesse Cohn, author,
Anarchism and the Crisis of Representation"Should be required reading for anyone with an interest in radical social change." James Horrox, author, A Living Revolution"The most influential German anarchist intellectual of the 20th century." Paul Avrich, author, Anarchist Voices"Wikileaks founder Julian Assange prefaced entries on a now-defunct blog with a quotation from German Gustav Landauer, an anarchist thinker who was killed by troops in Munich in 1919." CBS News