A gifted writer for the anarchist movement, Alexander Berkman left Russia for the United States in 1888 when he was eighteen. Thirty-one years later, after serving a prison term for an attempted assassination, he was expelled to the Soviet Union, a country which he eventually renounced. But before his repudiation of the Soviet system, Berkman attempted to answer some of the charges made against anarchism and to present its case clearly and intelligently. This book, first published in 1929, is the result of those efforts.
Thorough and well stated, The ABC of Anarchism is today widely regarded as a classic declaration of the movement's goals and methods. For those who have questions about anarchism, Berkman provides lucid answers. In conversational tones, he discusses society as it existed in the early twentieth century; why in his opinion, anarchy was necessary; the myths surrounding it; and necessary preparations for its successful implementation.
Of the book, Emma Goldman said: People need a primer of Anarchism--an ABC, as it were, that would teach them the rudimentary principles of Anarchism and whet their appetites for something more profound. [The book] was intended to serve this purpose. That it has fulfilled its purpose no one who has read [it] will deny.

In a clear conversation with the reader, Berkman discusses society as it now exists, the need for Anarchism and the methods for bringing it about. Often mentioned in conjunction with his lover Emma Goldman, Berkman was a leading writer and participant in the 20th-Century Anarchist movement.

The young, idealistic Berkman practiced propaganda by the deed, attempting to assassinate Henry Clay Frick during the Homestead Steel Strike of 1892. While imprisoned, he wrote the classic tale of prison life, Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist. After his release, Berkman edited The Blast! and Goldman's Mother Earth. Deported to Russia in 1919, he saw firsthand the failure of the Bolshevik revolution and dedicated himself to writing this classic primer on Anarchism.

It was July 23, 1892, and Alexander Berkman was planning to die. He just had some business to attend to first. Dressed in a new suit and a black derby hat, Berkman burst into the Pittsburg office of Henry Clay Frick, the notoriously anti-union manager of the Carnegie Steel Company. From his pocket, Berkman produced a pistol.

This pocket-sized book collects the shorter works of one of the world's most influential anarchists.

Alexander Berkman was a twentieth-century American revolutionary. Like the abolitionist John Brown before him, Berkman was hugely idealistic, ready to go to the furthest extreme of self-sacrifice and violence on behalf of justice and civil rights. He decided to assassinate industrialist Henry Clay Frick after reading in the newspaper that Pinkertons hired by Frick had opened fire on the Homestead strikers, killing men, women, and children. Berkman's bungled attempt cost him fifteen years in a federal penitentiary. Upon his release, he became an effective agitator against conscription and was again imprisoned and eventually deported to Russia, where he saw at first hand the early days of Bolshevism. Berkman's writings remain a lasting and impassioned record of intense political transformation.
Featuring a new introduction by Howard Zinn, Life of an Anarchist contains Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist, Berkman's account of his years in prison; The Bolshevik Myth, his eyewitness account of the early days of the Russian Revolution; and The ABC of Anarchism, the classic text on the nature of anarchism in the twentieth century. Also included are a selection of letters between Berkman and his lifelong companion Emma Goldman, and a generous sampling from Berkman's other publications.

Reproduction of the original: Selected Works of Voltairine De Cleyre by Alexander Berkman

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This collection of essays and articles explores themes of anarchism, feminism, and the struggle for social justice, through the lens of Berkman and Goldman's radical politics. Their passionate and incisive writing makes this book an inspirational read for anyone interested in the history of radical political thought in America.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This collection of speeches by Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman provides a firsthand account of their trial before the United States District Court in New York in July 1917. The two anarchist activists were prosecuted for opposing US involvement in World War I and advocating for the overthrow of the government. The speeches provide insight into the radical politics of the era and the repression of dissent by the state. This book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the history of anarchism and political repression in the United States.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Co-authors of the pamphlet Deportation: Its Meaning and Menace are Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, well-known activists in the early 20th-century radical and anarchist movements in the United States. The 1919 pamphlet tackles the contentious topic of deportation, discussing its ramifications and opposing its abuse as a means of quashing political dissent. The concept of deportation is scrutinized by the writers, who highlight its possible harm to civil liberties and its application as a tool for suppressing political activists and immigrants whom the government judged undesirable. They draw attention to particular incidents and situations in which deportation was used to quell opposition, frequently focusing on those who held extreme political views. Deportation, according to Berkman and Goldman, violates the values of justice and democracy and is a threat to the rights of expression, assembly, and association. They urge readers to oppose the improper use of deportation as a tool against people who have radical or unpopular opinions and instead support a more equitable and humanitarian strategy for dealing with political dissent.

Reproduction of the original: Selected Works of Voltairine De Cleyre by Alexander Berkman

Originally published in 1929, this early work by Alexander Berkman is both expensive and hard to find in its first edition. It is designed as an introduction to Communist Anarchism and outlines the main philosophical principles of the concept. This is a fascinating work and is thoroughly recommended for anyone with an interest in Russian history and political philosophy. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

In 1892, Alexander Berkman, Russian migr , anarchist, and lover of Emma Goldman, attempted to assassinate industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The act was intended both as retribution for the massacre of workers in the Homestead strike and as an incitement to revolution. Captured and sentenced to serve a prison term of twenty-two years, Berkman struggled to make sense of the shadowy and brutalized world of the prison--one that hardly conformed to revolutionary expectation.

The pages of The Blast seem to smell of black powder, or better, seem to have blown out of the eye of a social hurricane. A sense of absolute emergency pervades almost every column. --Richard Drinnon

After serving as editor for Emma Goldman's Mother Earth, Alexander Berkman moved to San Francisco and started his own newspaper. This historical reprint of the complete 29 issues features articles, letters, news and editorials by Berkman and his revolution-minded contemporaries. Topics include the political trial of labor activists Mooney-Billings, a profile of Pancho Villa, the imprisonment of the Magon brothers, arrests of Goldman and Margaret Sanger for birth control agitation, and anti--conscription actions. Complete with powerful political artwork and photos.

Originally published in 1912, this early work by anarchist and political activist Alexander Berkman is both expensive and hard to find in its first edition. It details an account of his time spent in the Western Penitentiary of Pennsylvania while serving a sentence for attempting to assassinate wealthy industrialist Henry Clay Frick. This is a fascinating publication highly recommended for those interested in anarchism and the history of American politics. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

An Unabridged, Edition to Include All Four Parts, With Original Footnotes and Illustrations -

A collection of writings from American anarchist Alexander Berkman, on the Russian Revolution, the American labor movement, the Paris Commune, Kronstadt, and Anarchism. Includes The Need of Translating Ideals into Life, The Kronstadt Rebellion, The Paris Commune and Kronstadt, The Idea is the Thing, and others. New Introduction gives a biography and overview.

A book of rare power and beauty, majestic in its structure, filled with the truth of imagination and the truth of actuality, emphatic in its declarations and noble in its reach.--Bayard Boyesen, Mother Earth.

No other book discusses so frankly the criminal ways of the closed prison society.-- Kenneth Rexroth

In 1892, Alexander Berkman tried to assassinate Henry Clay Frick for the latter's role in violently suppressing the Homestead Steel Strike. Berkman's attempt was unsuccessful. Berkman spent the next fourteen years in Pennsylvania's Western Penitentiary. Upon release, he wrote what was to become a classic of prison literature, and a profound testament to human courage in the face of oppression.

This new edition of his account of those years is introduced and fully annotated by Barry Pateman and Jessica Moran, both former associate editors of the Emma Goldman Papers at the University of California Berkeley. Their efforts make this the definitive version of Berkman's tale of his transformation within prison, his growing sympathy for those he'd considered social parasites, and the intimate relationships he developed with them. Also includes never-before-published facsimile reprints and transcriptions of the diary Berkman kept while he wrote this book, conveying the difficulties he had reliving his experiences.

Alexander Berkman (1870-1936) was a leading writer and militant in the anarchist movement and author of the classic primer What is Anarchism?

Barry Pateman was associate editor of Emma Goldman: A Documentary History, and editor of Chomsky on Anarchism. He is a historian and member of the Kate Sharpley Library collective.

Jessica Moran, was an assistant editor of Emma Goldman: A Documentary History. She is a member of the Kate Sharpley Library collective and is an archivist currently living and working in New Zealand.

Have you read it? she cries, waving the half-open newspaper. What is it? Homestead. Strikers shot. Pinkertons have killed women and children. She speaks in a quick, jerky manner. Her words ring like the cry of a wounded animal, the melodious voice tinged with the harshness of bitterness-the bitterness of helpless agony. I take the paper from her hands. In growing excitement I read the vivid account of the tremendous struggle, the Homestead strike, or, more correctly, the lockout. The report details the conspiracy on the part of the Carnegie Company to crush the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers; the selection, for the purpose, of Henry Clay Frick, whose attitude toward labor is implacably hostile; his secret military preparations while designedly prolonging the peace negotiations with the Amalgamated; the fortification of the Homestead steel-works; the erection of a high board fence, capped by barbed wire and provided with loopholes for sharpshooters; the hiring of an army of Pinkerton thugs; the attempt to smuggle them, in the dead of night, into Homestead; and, finally, the terrible carnage. I pass the paper to Fedya. The Girl glances at me. We sit in silence, each busy with his own thoughts. Only now and then we exchange a word, a searching, significant look.

Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist is Alexander Berkman's account of his experience in prison in the U.S. from 1892 to 1906. First published in 1912 by Emma Goldman's Mother Earth press, it has become a classic in autobiographical literature.Alexander Berkman (November 21, 1870 - June 28, 1936) was a leading member of the anarchist movement in the early 20th century, famous for both his political activism and his writing. Berkman was born in Vilna in the Russian Empire (present-day Vilnius, Lithuania) and emigrated to the United States in 1888. He lived in New York City, where he became involved in the anarchist movement. He was the one-time lover and lifelong friend of anarchist Emma Goldman. In 1892, undertaking an act of propaganda of the deed, Berkman made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate businessman Henry Clay Frick, for which he served 14 years in prison. His experience in prison was the basis for his first book, Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist.