Verso Monthly Round-Up: January 2023 Titles

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In January we published 11 new titles including an investigation of the politics of love, an analysis of Marx's writing style, and a Marxist theory on the economic power of capital. Take a moment to get to know these exciting new titles in this month's round-up!

The work of love is a feminist problem, and it demands feminist solutions.

"Reading and editing this book changed the way I think about work, emotion, friendship, and gender, perhaps that will give you an idea of why you should." – Rosie Warren, Editor (read Rosie's Letter From The Editor)

A true understanding of Marx’s work requires a careful study of his literary choices.

“We've waited a long time for an English-language edition of this brilliant, agenda-setting work. The book is indispensable.” – China Miéville

A new Marxist theory of the abstract and impersonal forms of power in capitalism.

"Through close readings of Marx and critical dialogues with contemporary theory, [Mute Compulsion] throws up fresh insights for a new generation of Marxists, as well as for long-time connoisseurs. A big red book to cherish.” – Andreas Malm, author of How to Blow Up a Pipeline

A revelatory new history of the colonization of the American West, by way of camels, date palms, and Biosphere 2.

“Koch successfully capitalizes on a series of carefully documented case studies to unpack the United States' often elusive and indirect pseudocolonial ambitions. In doing so, she reveals how, in the name of scientific progress and technological advancement, US policymakers and private companies - with close ties to institutions of higher education - gained access to desert resources and profited from them, all while claiming to reject old-world colonial attitudes. The outcomes were nonetheless similar.” – Pamela Karimi, Science

Dhirendra Jha's deeply researched history places Nathuram Godse's life as the juncture of the dangerous fault lines in contemporary India: the quest for independence and the rise of Hindu nationalism.

"A secret and sinister history of modern India – the one we need to understand our ruinous present." – Pankaj Mishra

We're re-launching the Collected Works of the legendary revolutionary in paperback.

Updated new edition: A radical history of squatting and the struggle for the right to remake the city.

New and Updated: What is participatory art: the essential critique of Social Practice 

In this fully updated edition, Claire Bishop follows the trajectory of twentieth-century art and examines key moments in the development of a participatory aesthetic.

With a new Introduction by Perry Anderson.

In this definitive account of the Peninsular War (1808–14), Napoleon's six-year war against Spain, Ronald Fraser examines what led to the emperor’s devastating defeat against the popular opposition - the guerrillas - and their British and Portuguese allies.

New edition of a contemporary classic

The age of party democracy has passed, argues Peter Mair in Ruling the Void. The major parties have become so disconnected from society that they no longer seem capable of sustaining democracy in its present form. With a new Introduction by Chris Bickerton, author of The European Union: A Citizen’s Guide.

An autobiographical essay on Jewish identity from the acclaimed author of The Invention of the Jewish People, How I Stopped Being a Jew discusses the negative effects of the Israeli exploitation of the “chosen people” myth and its “holocaust industry.”