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History from below: A Verso Reading List

Rebels, pirates, and fearless revolutionaries!

Verso Books25 May 2023

History from below: A Verso Reading List

The works of Marcus Rediker highlight the lesser known and most radical figures in history. From the African rebels who risked death for freedom on La Amistad, to the pirates that built dissident communities at sea, to the Quaker dwarf who created a revolutionary way of life! Rediker focuses on history from below, the reclamation of rebellion for its instigators, and always, always, solidarity!

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A history from below, or a people’s history, eschews the standard narrative of ‘Great Men’, of dates and kings, instead highlighting how ordinary people were at the core of creating and changing society. It becomes apparent that throughout history we have been fighting for a better world!

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How do we interact with the past in our daily lives? From monuments and museums to period dramas and reenactment societies, history is a living practice, something constantly being reassessed in the world around us.

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From the Jim Crow South to Italy’s ‘Hot Autumn’ to anti-colonial campaigners, these books highlight collective struggle across all areas of life!

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  • The Amistad Rebellion
    On 28 June 1839, the Spanish slave schooner La Amistad set sail from Havana to make a routine delivery of human cargo. After four days at sea, on a moonless night, the captive Africans that compr...
    Hardback
  • Outlaws of the Atlantic
    Outlaws of the Atlantic turns maritime history upside down, exploring the dramatic world of seafaring adventure, not from the perspective of admirals, merchants and other builders of empire, but ra...
    Hardback

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  • Winston Churchill
    The subject of numerous biographies and history books, Winston Churchill has been repeatedly voted as one of the greatest of Englishmen. Even today, Boris Johnson in his failing attempts to be magi...
    Paperback

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