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_tourist's review against another edition
an only intermittently useful story founded on some potentially ludicrous statements.
beelzebubbie's review against another edition
5.0
What can I say? This is one of the books that I’ll remember as having changed my life. That I was waiting for. I know I’ll come back to it again and again, I’ve already referenced it so many times. The undead carcass is more visible to me now, more nameable, more tangible than it ever was before Fredy Perlman gave me the language I needed to feel its tendrils around me, described its body. Described us all as the animators within it. That resonates with something so deep inside of me.
emcv's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
5.0
One of the most difficult and most rewarding texts I've ever tackled. Perlman is a beautiful writer. A heavily influential read for my personal/political development
editor_b's review
5.0
A radical history of civilization. Basically, he's against it. No spoiler, that: it's right there in the title. For what is history, as we usually think of it, as we're usually taught it, if not a patriarchal story of conquest and domination in service of empire building? This author makes the case that most everything we laughingly call "civilization" is in fact systematized oppression of humanity and ecological rape of Mother Earth.
It's bracing worldview, to say the least. I think it's just relatable enough that most people — those who aren't blinded by allegiances to nation-state or religion or ideology — would agree with the basic premise. Most people would agree, that is, if we stopped to question the fundamental premises of the society in which we live. Reading the book makes me realize just how rare it is to hear this perspective so consistently and unwaveringly spelled out, page after page, century after century.
This book is highly idiosyncratic, to say the least. It's unlike any history I've ever read. (That's because it's not a history, check the title!) The author starts in ancient Sumeria and takes us all the way to Marxist revolutionaries in the course of just 300 pages, as a more or less continuous narrative. He uses quirky terminology, employs unique metaphors, and never cites a single year. It's not an academic text per se, which I'm sure is a point of pride, but neither is it an easy read. (Personally I would have appreciated some chapter headings. An index would have been nice. How about a bibliography? Nope, there's not a single citation.) Nevertheless it's a very scholarly work, in the sense that Perlman is clearly well-read and possessed of an encyclopedic knowledge of human history. More importantly, perhaps, he has heart. The text demonstrates great empathy for the human condition and respect for those who resist oppressive systems.
I found this book hugely compelling and affecting in a way that is difficult to overstate. It has truly transformed my understanding of the world. At the end, I find myself questioning so much of what I have held to be valuable about civilization. It's a lot to assimilate. I'm not even saying I buy it all, at least not just yet, but he makes a powerful case. I've got to ponder it a while longer.
It's bracing worldview, to say the least. I think it's just relatable enough that most people — those who aren't blinded by allegiances to nation-state or religion or ideology — would agree with the basic premise. Most people would agree, that is, if we stopped to question the fundamental premises of the society in which we live. Reading the book makes me realize just how rare it is to hear this perspective so consistently and unwaveringly spelled out, page after page, century after century.
This book is highly idiosyncratic, to say the least. It's unlike any history I've ever read. (That's because it's not a history, check the title!) The author starts in ancient Sumeria and takes us all the way to Marxist revolutionaries in the course of just 300 pages, as a more or less continuous narrative. He uses quirky terminology, employs unique metaphors, and never cites a single year. It's not an academic text per se, which I'm sure is a point of pride, but neither is it an easy read. (Personally I would have appreciated some chapter headings. An index would have been nice. How about a bibliography? Nope, there's not a single citation.) Nevertheless it's a very scholarly work, in the sense that Perlman is clearly well-read and possessed of an encyclopedic knowledge of human history. More importantly, perhaps, he has heart. The text demonstrates great empathy for the human condition and respect for those who resist oppressive systems.
I found this book hugely compelling and affecting in a way that is difficult to overstate. It has truly transformed my understanding of the world. At the end, I find myself questioning so much of what I have held to be valuable about civilization. It's a lot to assimilate. I'm not even saying I buy it all, at least not just yet, but he makes a powerful case. I've got to ponder it a while longer.
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