Just a correction from my muddled brain: Left Bank Books in Seattle never published "How Nonviolence Protects the State"...
but they did publish my 2013 follow-up, "The Failure of Nonviolence," in which I try to orient more towards the dominant Gene Sharp/NGO variety of nonviolence, the State Department backed "Color Revolutions," and all the meaningful revolts taking over streets and entire cities in the years between 2005 and 2013.
This was really fun and an interesting/inspiring look into the behind the scenes stories to your first book. Thank you for sharing! I was in high school during a lot of the stuff described, but I still love hearing all the stories from the period right before I was able to be involved. Living in rural Canada it all seemed so far away, save for the message boards I was able to be a part of.
I read the book a few years ago and it absolutely changed my mind. That's the best praise I can give a book. I now have others of yours on my coffee table waiting to be read. Keep up the great work.
Peter Gelderloos book changed my mind, too. I was having a lively discussion with an activist friend years ago and I was firmly in the pacifist camp when he urged me to read the book. I couldn't deny the truth of it. Women, Black people, People of Color, indigenous people, LGBTQ+ people, etc., have all had to fight for their rights.
Such a shame that this book is not yet translated into Portuguese, because time and time again the ideology of nonviolence comes up to haunt and disrupt radical movements. In the massive protests back in 2013 it was a big issue, along with horizontality and assemblies, and it was discussed all the time, to the point of protests having their own non violence police
Just a correction from my muddled brain: Left Bank Books in Seattle never published "How Nonviolence Protects the State"...
but they did publish my 2013 follow-up, "The Failure of Nonviolence," in which I try to orient more towards the dominant Gene Sharp/NGO variety of nonviolence, the State Department backed "Color Revolutions," and all the meaningful revolts taking over streets and entire cities in the years between 2005 and 2013.
This was really fun and an interesting/inspiring look into the behind the scenes stories to your first book. Thank you for sharing! I was in high school during a lot of the stuff described, but I still love hearing all the stories from the period right before I was able to be involved. Living in rural Canada it all seemed so far away, save for the message boards I was able to be a part of.
I read the book a few years ago and it absolutely changed my mind. That's the best praise I can give a book. I now have others of yours on my coffee table waiting to be read. Keep up the great work.
Peter Gelderloos book changed my mind, too. I was having a lively discussion with an activist friend years ago and I was firmly in the pacifist camp when he urged me to read the book. I couldn't deny the truth of it. Women, Black people, People of Color, indigenous people, LGBTQ+ people, etc., have all had to fight for their rights.
Thanks for writing it, Peter.
I stumbled upon this book on Audible Anarchist and thought YES, this guy knows what he's talking about and I've been reading your work ever since.
Yeah I enjoyed these recollections, thank you for sharing them.
This book had a huge impact on me when I was first exploring anarchism. Thank you for all the great writing you’ve done over the years Peter.
I loved this back story! What a wild ride, eh?
You said it!
Thank you for writing this book.
Beautifully written, thank you for sharing this story <3
Such a shame that this book is not yet translated into Portuguese, because time and time again the ideology of nonviolence comes up to haunt and disrupt radical movements. In the massive protests back in 2013 it was a big issue, along with horizontality and assemblies, and it was discussed all the time, to the point of protests having their own non violence police