Reading Lists

Reading lists

GENERAL

Understanding Power The Indispensable Chomsky

Edited by Peter R. Mitchell and John Schoeffel.
I've been reading Chomsky for over 15 years and this has to be the best overview of the corpus of his political thought. This collection is arranged on a range subjects and is based on informal discussions that Chomsky has had with groups over the 1990s. Arranged in a question-and-answer format, this is a very readable introduction to Chomsky's work. It's also a wonderful explanation of how the world works from an anarchist point of view. 		Understanding Power
Diy Culture : Party & Protest in Nineties Britain

by George McKay
Paperback - 310 pages (July 1998)
Verso Books
If you were ever wondering where Reclaim the Streets came from and why the contemporary anti-capitalist movements' actions are much more fun than their boring leftist parents, than this book will help you dance to the sounds of the new revolution. 		Diy Culture
A People's History of the United States : 1492-Present
by Howard Zinn
The famous alternative history of the United States, which has become a popular book among young people who are unsatisfied with the bullshit that they are "taught" in schools and colleges. 		People's History of the United States
Seeing Like a State : How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed
by James C. Scott
Paperback - 464 pages (April 1999)
Yale Univ Press
A scathing and insightful look at how statist schemes to improve the human condition have met with failure, death, and misery for millions. Also includes some of the best anti-statist analysis to be found outside of an explicitly anarchist book (in some ways, better than anarchist tomes). Scott focuses on how modernist aesthetic ideals when transformed into grand social experiments, usually turn into huge failures. 		Seeing Like a State
Elements Of Refusal
John Zerzan
CAL Press
Paperback. $14.95
Always challenging and controversial, this is an excellent anthology of John Zerzan's writings.
Where We Stand: Class Matters
hooks, bell
Routledge. $16.95

There are plenty of anarchists and other activists who scream about class, but very few of them talk about it in an effective way. hooks examines how class and race intersect in contemporary America in this anthology of essays. She uses personal anecdotes to illustrate how important class is to any radical agenda for social change. She even has a few surprises for those self-righteous radicals who whine constantly about "lifestylism." 		Class Matters by bell hooks

INTRODUCTION TO ANARCHISM

Days of War, Nights of Love : Crimethink For Beginners
by CrimethInc. Workers' Collective
Paperback - 292 pages (January 1, 2001)
CrimethInc. Workers' Collective
This is probably the best introduction to anarchism and radical politics since the first edition of Reinventing Anarchy. Copiously illustrated, a fun, witty, and smart introduction to anarchism and anti-authoritarian activism. 		Days of War
Year 501 : The Conquest Continues
by Noam Chomsky

Paperback - 331 pages (February 1993)
South End Press
One of the best books by Chomsky for the person who is reading him for the first time.		 Year 501
Anarchism, and Other Essays
by Emma Goldman
Paperback (June 1970)
Dover Pubns
Anthology that provides an excellent overview of Goldman's thought. 		Anarchism and other essays
Living My Life

by Emma Goldman
Paperback - 993 pages Vol 001 (June 1930)
Dover Pubns		 Living my Life

A final note: Please order these books from AK Press or get them from an independent bookstore. Whenever you
buy books from chain bookstores, you hurt the independent bookstores that are so vital to nurturing the intellectual part of resistance culture.