Hello comrades and friends! I've gotten back into reading and I've been buying books about fascism, because of the political climate. I've picked up a few books, like
It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis Cradles of the Reich by Jen Coburn The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
I know they aren't strictly anarchist, but they do talk about fascism/authoritarianism. Could you recommend me some books about anarchism as well as more books on fascism? I prefer fiction, but will read non-fiction as well.
17 Comments
sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml · 9 pts · 1y
Blackshirts and reds by michael parenti is a personal favorite. This lecture by parenti is what got me started
There is also Fascism: What is it and how to stop it by Leon Trotsky that is one of the best early analysis of fascism
I'd recommend the conquest of bread by kropotkin if you want anarchist theory.
You won't get far in learning about politics if you only read fiction
davel@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 1y
The Parenti chapter on fascism is available onlline: https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Library:Blackshirts_and_Reds#Rational_Fascism
zante@slrpnk.net · 8 pts · 1y
Cowbee@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 1y
With a caveat that Gramsci was a Marxist.
inlandempire@jlai.lu · 6 pts · 1y
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/special/index
And https://www.editionslibertalia.com/ which is an awesome anarchist publisher with mostly french books and/or translations
davel@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 1y
Not books, but three contemporary articles on fascism by Gabriel Rockhill:
zdhzm2pgp@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 1y
https://lemmy.ml/post/25298185
Cowbee@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 1y
This is non-fiction, and Marxist, rather than Anarchist, but Blackshirts and Reds, specifically the first chapter, is an excellent overview of fascism. I recommend sticking with it, though, to the end.
If you strictly want Anarchist and fiction, The Disposessed by Ursula K Le Guin is good.
unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 1y
theanarchistlibrary.org
frankPodmore@slrpnk.net · 3 pts · 1y
The Marxists Internet Archive has a huge amount of left/communist non-fiction. It's very broad in its scope, so there's Stalin and Mao on there alongside William Morris and HG Wells. You could also check out Timothy Snyder and Rebecca Solnit, who both had interesting books about resisting fascism from a more contemporary viewpoint.
In fiction, there's The Man in the High Castle, by Phillip K. Dick, which has a similar alt history concept as Roth's The Plot Against America. And of course there's George Orwell's writing, both fiction and non-fiction, much of which explores the nature of fascism. I'd also recommend Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits, if you like magical realism.
Franconian_Nomad@feddit.org · 2 pts · 1y
Hmm. Maybe
I really like this one. It reads pretty modern and might give some insight how the situation in the US might evolve:
That one is a classic:
Stefan Zweig talks about the rise of the nazis and the beginning of Second World War in his memoirs for a bit:
sinewyshadow@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 1y
Umberto Eco is amazing! I'm currently reading two of his books. He's very intelligent.
Franconian_Nomad@feddit.org · 1 pts · 1y
Yes, absolutely! What books of him are you reading?
sinewyshadow@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 1y
I'm reading Foucault's Pendulum and The Name of the Rose by him.
Franconian_Nomad@feddit.org · 1 pts · 1y
Both great books. Can’t remember too much about Foucaults Pendulum, but I really liked the explanation that you can bend mathematics too proof that every building, even a simple food stall on the street is aligned to the stars.
I’ve read it ages ago, have to pick it up and refresh my memory.
frenzi@elonsucks.org · 1 pts · 1y
@sinewyshadow you might find this long reading list has some things of interest for you!
https://raddle.me/wiki/reading
fatur0000new@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 1y
Okokimup@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1y
Fiction that depicts fascism:
Alan Moore's V for Vendetta
The second half of Watership Down
The Hunger Games series.
The Handmaid's Tale.
Red Clocks by Leni Zumas
Fiction that depicts some kind of utopian collectivism:
The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk
Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy
A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys
ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 1y
Means and Ends: The Revolutionary Practice of Anarchism in Europe and the United States by Zoe Baker is a great one.