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A review by mo_mentan
Means and Ends: The Revolutionary Practice of Anarchism in Europe and the United States by Zoe Baker
4.0
this book does what it says it does. it is a summary of the different tendencies and practices of anarchism between the nineteenth century and ca. 1933. it is not, however, a very interesting read. furthermore, for me at least, it was too long and too detailed to spark many ideas or new viewpoints to implement in my activism.
i think i would have liked something more focussed, or something with a broader view instead of mentionings of what feels like every single anarchist bombing, meeting and letter from that time period. i had hoped for an overview, but this is very detailed. it might be great for people who write papers or something, but the author explicitly states they wish for it to lead modern anarchists in their activism and i am not sure it does this. if anything it made me feel more hopless. maybe the realisations of anarchism after the second world war would be more interesting to me.
also, while i probably wouldn't have gotten through this if it wasn't for the audiobook, it also didn't help me to concentrate. it felt very monotone and repetitive. and again, this is not the book's fault, which is essentially an academic text, a summary of primary sources and not something to be entertained by.
i think i would have liked something more focussed, or something with a broader view instead of mentionings of what feels like every single anarchist bombing, meeting and letter from that time period. i had hoped for an overview, but this is very detailed. it might be great for people who write papers or something, but the author explicitly states they wish for it to lead modern anarchists in their activism and i am not sure it does this. if anything it made me feel more hopless. maybe the realisations of anarchism after the second world war would be more interesting to me.
also, while i probably wouldn't have gotten through this if it wasn't for the audiobook, it also didn't help me to concentrate. it felt very monotone and repetitive. and again, this is not the book's fault, which is essentially an academic text, a summary of primary sources and not something to be entertained by.