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The Verso Book of Dissent: From Spartacus to the Shoe-Thrower of Baghdad
Throughout the ages and across every continent, people have struggled against those in power and raised their voices in protest—rallying others around them and inspiring uprisings in eras yet to come. Their echoes reverberate from Ancient Greece, China and Egypt, via the dissident poets and philosophers of Islam and Judaism, through to the Arab slave revolts and anti-Ottoman rebellions of the Middle Ages. These sources were tapped during the Dutch and English revolutions at the outset of the Modern world, and in turn flowed into the French, Haitian, American, Russian and Chinese revolutions. More recently, resistance to war and economic oppression has flared up on battlefields and in public spaces from Beijing and Baghdad to Caracas and Los Angeles.
This anthology, global in scope, presents voices of dissent from every era of human history: speeches and pamphlets, poems and songs, plays and manifestos. Every age has its iconoclasts, and yet the greatest among them build on the words and actions of their forerunners. The Verso Book of Dissent will become an invaluable resource, reminding today’s citizens that these traditions will never die.
Paperback, 384 pages
ISBN: 9781844674480
November 2010
$19.95 / £12.99
Reviews
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A delightful anthology to dip into if you are or have ever been disgruntled with the status quo ... for radicals everywhere.
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A very right-on compendium of opposition to authority.
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Reading the [The Verso Book of Dissent] is like encountering the best version of our angry selves.
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A near-definitive anthology.
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The anthology's editors excerpt the writings of a wide array of historical figures, including Socrates ... Martin Luther King ... [and] the Marquis de Sade.
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An anthology of quotes and excerpts to commemorate Verso's 40th anniversary.
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A unique anthology.
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Almost a Leftist coffee-table book ... a good gift for budding activists and writers.
Blog
Verso editors read from The Verso Book of Dissent, in English and Chinese
Verso editors Andrew Hsiao and Audrea Lim recently gave readings during the event “Into East River(s): Chinese / American Artists and Asian American Poets” at City University of New York. Both read from The Verso Book of Dissent.
Because The Verso Book of Dissent features writings and speeches from around the globe spanning centuries, some appearing in English for the first time, it wasn’t difficult for Hsiao and Lim to find choice selections to read for the event.
Hsiao went back to 1887 to channel “one of the greatest of great New York smart-asses,” Wong Chin Foo, affirming Wong’s designation by recounting the time Wong challenged anti-Chinese populist and Tea Party forebear Denis Kearney to a duel to the death, with chopsticks. Hsiao read from “Why Am I A Heathen,” Wong’s response to Christian attacks against Chinese immigrants:
Paul Mason and Richard Seymour on March/Occupy/Other for the Alternative
One of our favourite sights on the demo was this sensible man sporting the headgear of the revolution ...
Tariq Ali meets Sarfraz Manzoor: "There is no doubt we are at a turning point"
Tariq Ali interviewed by Sarfraz Manzoor for the Guardian about his life in dissent, student protests and the Arab uprisings.
Discussions
Begin a discussion about this book-
What's missing from The Verso Book of Dissent?
Verso’s cutting room floor is cluttered—with statements from strong movements that lacked eloquent leaders, and revolutionaries whose later abuses of power cast a shadow back across their earlier years. To ensure that the Book of Dissent spanned the ages and reached around the world, we limited it to one extract from each writer, leading to many agonizing choices. But there are undoubtedly mistakes, gaps and missed opportunities—please help us to plug these holes in time for the next edition!
Other books by Andrew Hsiao, and Audrea Lim
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The Case for Sanctions Against Israel
Leading international voices argue for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.Edited by Audrea Lim