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A review by 11corvus11
The Nation on No Map by William C. Anderson
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed William C. Anderson's work in As Black as Resistance, with his coauthor Zoé Samudzi, so I was very excited to see a new title coming out with his name on it. ABAR is one of my favorite anarchist texts that I have read and thus, I had high hopes for his new book: The Nation on No Map. He did not disappoint, making this book an excellent edition to the anarchist milieu and required reading for anyone interested in anarchism and/or Black radical politics.
What struck me first off in reading this is how humble the author is. He clearly wishes for this book to be presented as a prompt for organization and discussion, rather than a Bible of how to think. This does not mean that Anderson is devoid of passion. On the contrary. He balances the intensity surrounding the topics at hand with the humility of knowing one does not have all of the answers and that times and minds change. Anderson wants to share what he has learned over time rather than indoctrinate the reader into a strict set of views.
The book tackles more wide ranging anarchist thought as well as niche specifics that many on the left struggle to parse out such as the celebration of elite and celebrity Black folks, Black nationalism movements, authoritarianism among leftists (even in anti-authoritarian movements,) and the spectre of history revisionism that many people feel drawn to in order to make their voices heard and causes attended to. Anderson shows that the truth is plenty and playing into systems of oppression in order to get ahead will never work in the long run, and usually doesn't in the short either.
While I did find the book to be repetitive in some sections, this is far outweighed by Anderson's way with words. He balances style with information in ways that make heavy texts flow more easily for the reader. The foreword and afterword by big names in the anti-authoritarian game also add to the draw of the book with Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin providing an excellent summary to wrap things up. The graphic design of the print version is extraordinary. I don't know who is on AK Press' design team, but I have adored the experience of so many titles on their list both for the text and the visual and tactile elements. Anderson's words are poetic and passionate while simultaneously being grounded in reality. This is a short read with a ton of information that I would most definitely recommend.
This was also posted to my blog.
What struck me first off in reading this is how humble the author is. He clearly wishes for this book to be presented as a prompt for organization and discussion, rather than a Bible of how to think. This does not mean that Anderson is devoid of passion. On the contrary. He balances the intensity surrounding the topics at hand with the humility of knowing one does not have all of the answers and that times and minds change. Anderson wants to share what he has learned over time rather than indoctrinate the reader into a strict set of views.
The book tackles more wide ranging anarchist thought as well as niche specifics that many on the left struggle to parse out such as the celebration of elite and celebrity Black folks, Black nationalism movements, authoritarianism among leftists (even in anti-authoritarian movements,) and the spectre of history revisionism that many people feel drawn to in order to make their voices heard and causes attended to. Anderson shows that the truth is plenty and playing into systems of oppression in order to get ahead will never work in the long run, and usually doesn't in the short either.
While I did find the book to be repetitive in some sections, this is far outweighed by Anderson's way with words. He balances style with information in ways that make heavy texts flow more easily for the reader. The foreword and afterword by big names in the anti-authoritarian game also add to the draw of the book with Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin providing an excellent summary to wrap things up. The graphic design of the print version is extraordinary. I don't know who is on AK Press' design team, but I have adored the experience of so many titles on their list both for the text and the visual and tactile elements. Anderson's words are poetic and passionate while simultaneously being grounded in reality. This is a short read with a ton of information that I would most definitely recommend.
This was also posted to my blog.