Two recent additions to the literature on the 2019 revolt in Hong Kong: Au Loong-Yu’s Hong Kong in revolt is a compelling and informative narration of the revolt for a broad international audience, while The Art of Rebellion gives further insight through an effective mixture of reportage, artwork and photography.
The Fight for Indigenous Liberation
21 September 2020, byAs Long as Grass Grows:
The Indigenous Struggle for Environmental Justice,
from Colonization to Standing Rock
By Dina Gilio-Whitaker
Beacon Press, 2019, 222 pages.
Standing with Standing Rock: Voices from the #NODAPL Movement
Nick Estes and Jaskiran Dhillon, editors
University of Minnesota Press, 2019, 420 pages.
Speaking of Indigenous Politics: Conversations
with Activists, Scholars, and Tribal Leaders
J. Kéhaulani Kauanui, editor
University of Minnesota Press, 2018, 400 pages.
Questions without Answers: The Dutch and German Communist Left
18 September 2020, byLeft-communism was initially a response to setbacks faced by the communist movement after the failure of the German Revolution. The movement put its hopes in workers’ self-activity, yet remained apart from most of the working class. In this book, Philippe Bourrinet discusses the history of this movement, from its roots in the Dutch and German revolutionary Left before and during the First World War to its final evolution. The book provides a detailed overview of its theoretical debates, and traces how left-communist ideas evolved into council communism. However, the strong focus on theoretical debates means the reader learns little about the movement’s relative weight in the workers’ movement or about its social composition. Ultimately, the left-communists hit a dead-end as the movement was caught in its own contradictions.
Dead Trotskyists Society: Provocative Presence of a Difficult Past
5 September 2020, byEVEN THOUGH ALLEN Ginsberg’s “America” was not among the ardent verses recited in the 1989 teen drama Dead Poets Society, his 1956 anti-capitalist protest poem hurled a celebrated challenge of defiance against the stifling conformity of his native land: “When will you be worthy of your million Trotskyites?”
“Chinese model of (hyper) development, and its disastrous ecological consequences”
17 August 2020, byRichard Smith, China’s Engine of Environmental Collapse, London: Pluto Books, 2020, 320 pages.
“Martin Monath: A Jewish Resistance Fighter Among Nazi Soldiers”
8 August 2020, by“Martin Monath: A Jewish Resistance Fighter Among Nazi Soldiers” – by Nathaniel Flakin, Pluto Press 2019.
The Struggle Against Dalit Oppression in India
8 August 2020, byReview of Anand Teltumbde, Republic of Caste: Thinking Equality in the Time of Neoliberal Hindutva (Navayana, 2018)
The Romance of American Communism
29 June 2020, byAs protests work to remake the world, the reissue of Vivian Gornickʼs The Romance of American Communism invites a new generation to reflect on what it means to live a life of political commitment—where the passionate pursuit of justice meets organized political action. The Romance of American Communism by Vivian Gornick Verso.
More than a Left Foot
27 June 2020, byBob Findlay’s final sentence in his book hopes that “it has provided an insight into an array of historical events, socio-political issues and personal narratives worthy of your time”. It certainly does and is in fact several books for the price of one.
The Living Flame
7 June 2020, byThe Living Flame – the revolutionary passion of Rosa Luxemburg by Paul Le Blanc, Haymarket 2019.
