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COMPETITION: Win the entire Radical Thinkers backlist!

By Tamar Shlaim Chris Webb / 22 August 2011

And here are the answers you've all been so patiently waiting for. Congratulations to our incredibly well-read winners!

Get your radical thinking caps on...To celebrate the publication of Set 5 of the Radical Thinkers series, Verso is offering 2 lucky winners the chance to win all available titles in the five sets published to date.

The highly popular series publishes new editions of important works of continental philosophy in beautifully-designed and affordable editions. Covering the full spectrum of critical thought, the series includes work from radical thinkers such as Walter Benjamin, Judith Butler, Louis Althusser, Jean Baudrillard, Guy Debord, Georg Lukács, Jean-Paul Sartre, Theodor Adorno and many more.

First published in 2005, there are now 60 titles in the series. In 2009, set 4 was launched with a stunning and acclaimed new cover design from Rumors, which has become a hallmark of the series. They have been widely praised, including in the Guardian, Bookforum and the New Statesman.

Two winners (one from the US/Canada and one from the rest of the world), will win all available titles in the five series published so far. Two runners up will win a full set 5.

There will be 10 questions in total, each relating to a title from Set 5 of the Radical Thinkers series. Two questions will be posted each day this week. Be warned - they are not easy.

The final questions will be posted at 4pm GMT on Friday 26th August. The winners will be the first person in each territory to email the correct answers to all ten questions after this time. More details will be posted on Friday - please do not attempt to enter before then!

Please do not post the answers on Facebook, Twitter or anywhere else - entries accepted by email only. Any comments posting the answers will be deleted.

Good luck!

Questions

Day 1: Postmodern Geographies and Machiavelli and Us

1. The final chapter in Postmodern Geographies was inspired by which Jorge Luis Borges's short story?

ANSWER: The Aleph

2. Which literary work takes its title(s) from a famous Machiavellian quote on warfare, and is credited by Tony Blair with sparking his interest in politics ?

ANSWER: Isaac Deutscher's 3-volume Trotsky biography

Day 2: Design and Crime and Brecht and Method

3. From which polemic by a Viennese critic of Art Nouveau does Hal Foster take his title?

ANSWER: Ornament and Crime (Alfred Loos)

4. Jameson cites a book of cultural analysis as ‘the most usable form of the Brechtian method.' To which author and title was he referring?

ANSWER: Barthes, Mythologies

Day 3: Comments on the Society of the Spectacle and The Politics of Time

5. The Japanese nuclear crisis was one of the biggest media spectacles of this spring. In Comments on the Society of the Spectacle, Debord cites a British nuclear failure that was hushed up by the British government. By which two names is the English nuclear plant known, and in what year did the failure take place?

ANSWER: Sellafield, Windscale, 1957

6. Peter Osborne's The Politics of Time opens with a quote by Louis Aragon. Name another Verso title (HINT: by a French author) that begins with a quote by a famous surrealist.

ANSWER: Eric Hazan's The Invention of Paris

Day 4: Passwords and The Panopticon Writings

7. In Passwords, Baudrillard borrows the concept of the ‘continental divide’ that occurs in the United States to illustrate the idea of a ‘definitive separation.’ Which natural process does he liken to the continental divide, and with which of his passwords is it connected?

ANSWER: Birth, destiny

8. Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon Writings define the panopticon as "a machine which on assembly is already inhabited by a ghost." Bentham himself inhabits a London locale from beyond the grave. In what context has his name appeared in the media in the last year connected to that location?

ANSWER: Students occupied the Jeremy Bentham room at UCL as part of the November protests.

Day 5: Freudian Slip and ...

9. Sebastiano Timpanaro cites a ‘Freudian slip' made by Heine in regards to a list of feminine characters from Goethe. Listing ‘a Filina, a Kathchen, a Klarchen and such like charming creatures.' Which of that list is commonly thought to have been a slip of the pen, and what name should it be replaced with?

ANSWER: Kathchen, should be replaced by Gretchen.

10. Etienne Balibar's interpretation of which philosopher was informed by Immanuel Wallerstein's analysis of Dutch hegemony in the seventeenth century?

ANSWER: Spinoza

Those in North America, email verso@versobooks.com. For the rest of the world, including the UK, email enquiries@verso.co.uk. Please put RADICAL THINKERS COMPETITION in the subject line or your entry may not be counted. The winners will be announced on Friday 2nd September. Final questions will be available at 4pm GMT. Please do not e-mail before this time.

42 comments

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PLEASE do not post the answers here! It will not be counted and will be deleted.

Tamar Shlaim / 22 August 2011

Sorry, made a mistake!!!! Didn't read completely the rules of the competition. Again my apologies

Manaf Qweider / 22 August 2011

Does the contest last 2 weeks or does it end this Friday (26 Aug)?

Thomas Lynch / 23 August 2011

Apologies - there was an error in the post above, now corrected. There will be two new questions a day, finishing on this Friday 26th August. Last questions posted at 4pm on Friday, and the first to email all 10 answers after that will win.

Tamar Shlaim / 23 August 2011

What is the e-mail address?

Nick Beech / 24 August 2011

Just to make that last comment clearer (whoops): what is the email address to which we should send all 10 answers after 4pm on Friday 26 August?

Nick Beech / 24 August 2011

Hi there

We'll put up the email address on the final post on Friday.

Rowan Wilson / 24 August 2011

Hello -

In question 6, does "title" mean the name of the book or the book itself?

Allison Brown / 24 August 2011

Question sis is difficult. Good job guys. Its a nice challenge

Manaf Qweider / 24 August 2011

Hi Allison - Question 6 is asking for the name of a book published by Verso that opens with a quote from a surrealist.

Rowan Wilson / 24 August 2011

Question 6 is really difficult.

Nick Beech / 24 August 2011

does Question 6 have more than one correct answer?

are we talking about the whole verso back catalog as a range?

T B / 24 August 2011

Ok - taking pity on you all! Question 6 possibly has more than one correct answer - but we are thinking specifically of a book published in the last 18 months - hope that narrows it down!

Rowan Wilson / 24 August 2011

ahhh... I see! a contest where you have to already OWN what you are trying to WIN... thanks Verso!

T B / 24 August 2011 1 person thinks so

This one is difficult. I tried my best. Is it possible to know if the quote comes from what specific surrealist field. Writer,if so which type. Theatre, books, etc....

Manaf Qweider / 24 August 2011

i think the answers given to the questions asked so far has made it even more unclear...

Are we talking about the title of a Verso book being from a famous surrealist quote, or another exact
situation like in Osborne's 'Politics of Time' with the opening text
itself being preceded by a separate reflective quote from a famous
surrealist, and then the answer to Q#6 would be whatever that book title
is?

Also... was the book originally published or just republished in the last 18 months?

Lastly, am i correct that there is only a single book that fits your answer, and not any of the multiple Verso titles that could possibly fit your description in the original Q#6?

Ashleigh R / 25 August 2011

Quel est un surréaliste?

sorry, I think I have an answer—but I really don't know what is meant by 'surrealist': should it be someone that Breton included as a surrealist, someone Breton would have liked to have been a surrealist, someone who called themselves a surrealist, someone we might call a surrealist, or someone who the surrealists liked...

C'est ne pas un surréaliste.

Nick Beech / 25 August 2011 1 person thinks so

Hello, just to clarify further, we have a particular book in mind but will accept any correct answer - ie any book that opens with a quote by someone who could reasonably be considered a surrealist. Hope that helps!

Tamar Shlaim / 25 August 2011

7 and 8 are much, much better than 6!!!!

Nick Beech / 25 August 2011

Question 6 has inspired me to quit this contest and spend the time I have wasted looking for the answer reading books instead.

Brent Garland / 25 August 2011 2 people think so

Question 8 is confusing. I never lived in London or the UK or Eurpoe, i figured you are looking for a name of something that is related to Jeremy Bentham. That i know. But ' In what context has his name appeared in the media in the last year connected to that location?'...That is a bit difficult if you don't live in London. It's a bit too specific.

Manaf Qweider / 25 August 2011

Hi Manaf,

I'll be happy if this is removed by the competition team if it's giving too much away—but Question 8 builds in the clues for the answer, and if you don't know anything about London or the UK or Europe you'll need to use the internet to develop the solution. I would approach it as a step-by-step process: each stage of the question needs to be answered, for yourself, before you get to the end. It is all there though, in the question (and is much less ambiguous/open to alternative answers, than Q. 6). Hope that helps...or maybe not, I'd quite like to win this!!

Nick Beech / 26 August 2011 1 person thinks so

Oh, Verso! I wish I knew how to quit you.

Mainly because you have killed my productivity both yesterday and today!

Brent Garland / 26 August 2011

question 9 is tough. Maybe i don't understand it, any hints?

Manaf Qweider / 26 August 2011

Sorry guys - just submitted all the answers. Better luck next time!

A Voyager / 26 August 2011

Sorry all, just submitted the answers. BLNT!!

A Voyager / 26 August 2011

Ok, spent lots of time on this competition. It was fun. finally sent in my answers. I think Q.6 will be my demise. Question: when will the answers be posted? Is it also on sept. 2nd?

Manaf Qweider / 26 August 2011

Whether you won or not, Ariel, is it really necessary to gloat like a child?

Alan Smithee / 26 August 2011 1 person thinks so

I think Brent should get a set just for providing the funniest (because it's true) feedback on the blog. By the same logic, Ariel should be docked one answer and so epically fail,!!!!LOL, ROFL, etc. (just to keep with the tone set).

Nick Beech / 26 August 2011

I think Nick Beech brings up a good point. Everyone should at least be given a book at least. I think we all spent hours on this competition. NOt saying it wasn't fun, it was. But it was a bit labor intensive. How about if people got 70 or 80 or 90 percent of the answers right, and who have submitted within an hour or two, should have a small prize? jajajajaj...i know this sounds too convenient for my case, But seriously verso, don't make us beg!!!!

Anyways since the competition is way over-due, im really curious about questions 9 and 6, any help on this, someone?

Manaf Qweider / 27 August 2011 1 person thinks so

9 was "Kathchen, Gretchen" (which I only found by going to my university library for a copy of Freudian Slip)

For 6, I wrote "The Necessity of Art," which begins with a quote from Jean Cocteau. Ernst Fischer isn't French, and Cocteau didn't consider himself a surrealist, but I figured it counted and I couldn't find the one they were hinting at.

Alan Smithee / 27 August 2011

The book they were referring to (or so I hope!) was Eric Hazan's "The Invention of Paris". It begins with a quote by Breton.

David Rylance / 27 August 2011

Thanks for the answers guys. So Verso when is the next competition? Lets get another one rolling.

Manaf Qweider / 27 August 2011

that's really funny—I put Eric Hazan, The Invention of Paris too, David, but in the copy I looked at, it doesn't include a quote from Breton at the beginning...I included a very long justification as to why the quote, and the writer, that I thought indicated Hazan was the answer, should be considered a surrealist... As for Q. 9: if Verso allowed Google Books to fully scan and disseminate their books, these quizzes would be a whole lot easier...I wonder if the following could be asked back on the Verso staff:

1. Given the allusion to Jorge Luis Borges in the final chapter of Postmodern Geographies, what kind of critical remark might be made (has been made) about Soja's framing of Los Angeles?

2.What kind of contradictions have been made evident by the proximity of advocates of 'third way' Labour Party politics to the Gramscian Marxism of cultural studies, and how have proponents of cultural studies sought to critically assess (and distance themselves from) the Blairite/Brownian vision of 'New Labour'?

3. Does Foster manage to escape the problematics of architectural aesthetics, or does he, in fact, remain very much within the antinomies of 'pots and urns'?

4. Given the very particular understanding of the dialectic in operation in Brecht's work, that Jameson offers in Brecht and Method, should we accept the 'usefulness' of Brecht that Jameson advocates, and with what qualifications? To what extent, indeed, might a 'Brechtian' consider Jameson's reading abhorrent?

5. Henri Lefebvre once suggested that the significance of nuclear power lay not in its potential environmental consequences, but in its political consequences. How would such a claim relate to the framing of the question set—the relationship of the politics of production to the politics of the spectacle? Would, for example, the concept of commodity fetishism account for the concurrence in the question of production/spectacle?

6. Lukacs, following Marx, argues that capitalist production reduces time to space. Lefebvre argues that, around the turn of the century (nineteenth to twentieth) space was 'exploded'. Foucault argued that nineteenth century thought was concerned with the 'freezing' of time. In what sense does Osborne add to these propositions?

7. Why does Baudrillard require 'hyper' symbolic metaphors to explain concepts?

8. What is it about Bloomsbury, related to the Marxist concept of 'primitive accumulation', that puts to rest (cuts away) the 'ethical' principles of Bentham's utilitarianism? [Hint: an ongoing project in the history department of UCL suggests the 'darker' side of liberalism at work in Bloomsbury]

9. Did Timpanaro simply miss the point?

10. Wallerstein's contribution to Balibar's intellectual development being acknowledged, what of the reverse? How has Balibar's exploration of the philosopher helped Wallerstein's analysis of seventeenth century Dutch hegemony? And (why not?) what have both (the philosophical work, and the historical work) to do with the credit system?

I expect Ariel to answer these very soon.

Nick Beech / 27 August 2011 1 person thinks so

I think Nick Beech deserves a set of books, just for giving a non-sarcaistic attack to you VERSO!!

Manaf Qweider / 27 August 2011

So, who won?

Robert Schardein / 02 September 2011

Robert, Robert......C'mon! Patience is a virtue.

No, seriously, Versonians, who won?!?!? The dramatic tension is overwhelming! I must go lie on my fainting couch.

Brent Garland / 02 September 2011

@David Rylance, @Nick Beech,

The copy of the Invention of Paris that I looked at (google books) began with a quotation from Walter Benjamin....

Allison Brown / 02 September 2011

For the answer to #3, did you mean Adolf Loos instead of Alfred Loos?

Jordan Barber / 02 September 2011

I'm with Allison Brown (#38); that's what I found in Invention of Paris, too. WB was many, many things, but I've never thought of him as a surrealist.

Gloss Sannym / 02 September 2011

Hi all

Thanks for joining in with the competition - the winners have now been notified. Apologies for the trickiness of question 6 (we had plenty of correct answers to it, though - the quote is an epigraph before the contents page) but we were trying to come up with questions that were a) not found by simply tapping the q into google and that might require some offline research but b) were nonetheless pretty unequivocal. Not as easy to think of as we thought...! We'll be more careful in future. And there will be more competitions - not sure when, but we'll keep you posted.

And Nick - thanks for your questions. We have asked the Verso staff member who came up with question 6 to answer them all by Monday!

Rowan Wilson / 02 September 2011

Ok—looks like I didn't win. Must be someone faster, which is annoying. Not even second place (and all I really wanted was the Osborne book HINT).

The question setter (for question 6) hasn't responded, shame, because they have access to the books that we don't! But never mind.

But I do think, as Jordan Barber has pointed out, Verso should correct the 'Alfred Loos' answer to 'Adolf Loos'. Unless 'Alfred' was the younger/older less well known sibling who actually wrote 'Ornament and Crime' which Adolf cribbed off of. Now there's something new...

Nick Beech / 06 September 2011