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The World That Never Was: A True Story of Dreamers, Schemers, Anarchists and Secret Agents
The last third of the nineteenth century saw the world in flux. Science vied with religion to represent the soul of man, and technological advances opened the possibility of new ways of living. Yet as the world sank into a long depression, untrammelled capitalism continued to stretch the gulf between rich and poor. From Russia to America, across Western Europe and beyond,
...morePaperback, 502 pages
Published
March 3rd 2011
by Vintage
(first published 2010)
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Giving up on this one after slogging through a little over half of it. Might come back to it at some point but it's been frustrating me for so long now that I feel I have to move onto something else or I'll go mad.
It's a shame, really, since I feel like it fills a niche in the literature on anarchist history that confoundingly has never quite been filled. This is the only book I know of to focus specifically on 19th century anarchist terrorism. On top of that, it manages to tell the story of the...more
It's a shame, really, since I feel like it fills a niche in the literature on anarchist history that confoundingly has never quite been filled. This is the only book I know of to focus specifically on 19th century anarchist terrorism. On top of that, it manages to tell the story of the...more
3 likes · like · see review
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Butterworth chose a great time for this work (roughly, Kropotkin's active years), and there's a fabulous story to be told about it, but this book isn't quite it. On the upside, his research is mind-boggling, and my life is substantially richer now that I know about the fabulous Gabriel Jogan-Pages, aka Leo Taxil, who, e.g., managed to convince the military governor of Marseilles to hunt down an imaginary school of killer sharks, and convinced much of the world that the Freemasons worshiped devil...more
A great depth of research on show in a kind of who's who of European anarchism between the Paris Commune and the outbreak of the First World War but somehow an opportunity missed. For a start ending at the War means there is no mention of anarchist collectives in Free Territory Ukraine during the Russian Revolutionary upheaval, but those ideas must have been fermenting, they didn't magically appear in 1917, yet there is no treatment of them at all. Nor do Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, key...more
This is an impressive book that anyone interested in anarchist history would find a worthwhile read.
As others have noted, one of the biggest problems is that it is a huge story involving hundreds of individuals, making it very difficult to keep track of things. The book could certainly have benefited from a glossary of individuals, allowing for easy reference when an unfamiliar name comes up. Along with the myriad of individuals, the book jumps around a lot, making it hard to follow. Finally, w...more
As others have noted, one of the biggest problems is that it is a huge story involving hundreds of individuals, making it very difficult to keep track of things. The book could certainly have benefited from a glossary of individuals, allowing for easy reference when an unfamiliar name comes up. Along with the myriad of individuals, the book jumps around a lot, making it hard to follow. Finally, w...more
1 like · like · see review
I must admit this book was not particularly well written, but I'll have to explain. The text is very thick, and the author doesn't do much to make it easy to get through. There are so many different names/characters and historical incidences tossed around that it was difficult to follow. I get the feeling I was supposed to have taken a class in 20th century European history before reading this.
However, and that's a big however, I gave this book 4 stars, and for good reason. The book, as a whole,...more
However, and that's a big however, I gave this book 4 stars, and for good reason. The book, as a whole,...more
I wanted to like this book. I was hoping to find it a look into the complex lives and thoughts of people trying to change the world in the 19th century. Instead I found it dense, boring and incredibly hard to follow. I made it through a couple of early chapters before putting it down and never picking it up again.
The author's introduction made me hopeful that the story would be one that hadn't been told before and that would be full of rich stories from the primary sources. Their enthusiasm was...more
The author's introduction made me hopeful that the story would be one that hadn't been told before and that would be full of rich stories from the primary sources. Their enthusiasm was...more
This book was a monumental undertaking. It can be hard to follow. There seem to be almost as many characters as in War and Peace. I mean it covers everyone from Marx to Kropotkin to Michel and then throws in Wyatt Earp and Jack the Ripper for good measure. But it is a very well researched look at the political and historical context in which anarchism formed. I'm amazed by how we are still dealing with the same inner conflicts and difficult personalities. Definitely recommended. Tho you will hav...more
Apr 27, 2013
Eddy Allen
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
arts-and-historical
In the late nineteenth century, nations the world over were mired in economic recession and beset by social unrest, their leaders increasingly threatened by acts of terrorism and assassination from anarchist extremists. In this riveting history of that tumultuous period, Alex Butterworth follows the rise of these revolutionaries from the failed Paris Commune of 1871 to the 1905 Russian Revolution and beyond. Through the interwoven stories of several key anarchists and the secret police who track...more
A fascinating tale of anarchism, ideals and treachery from 1870-1920. At times the list of characters threatens to engulf the narrative despite the handy list of main players at the front of the book.
The persecution of the downtrodden masses by capitalism and autocracy sometimes makes you weep with the wretched sadness of the times and makes the acts of desperate violence seem understandable.
Finishing the book I have a better understanding of and a certain admiration of such key figures as Louis...more
The persecution of the downtrodden masses by capitalism and autocracy sometimes makes you weep with the wretched sadness of the times and makes the acts of desperate violence seem understandable.
Finishing the book I have a better understanding of and a certain admiration of such key figures as Louis...more
An enthralling, complicated, intriguing, confusing and ultimately rewarding read. The shear volume of information, characters, espionage and idealistic rhetoric were at times mind blowing, and I'll admit that 150 pages in I was struggling to cope. But I'm very glad I persevered, as it was well worth finishing. At times, the plot twists and turns like a fictional spy thriller: you'd think it hard to believe that characters Peter Rachkovsky, Errico Malatesta, Louise Michel and Peter Kropotkin were...more
Okay, this book was hard work, with a vast cast of characters to remember, and it did help to have some knowledge of the subject already, but I found it very rewarding. My knowledge of the Paris Commune was greatly extended, and though I knew something already about the Russian and British anarchists and the activities of the Okhrana, I learned a great deal more from this book. There were so many stories that were almost too ridiculous to be true, but they were true. The whole is a story of oppo...more
Mar 05, 2011
Eric
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
street-academia,
european-decadence
If you can get past some of the overburdened language and the massive cast of characters, this is a great book for tying together the personalities and sects of the radical left after fall of the Paris commune to the rise of Soviet communism. From Russian nihilists, French, Spanish, American and German anarchists, socialists and communists as well as the state organizations and personalities that tracked, tricked and, when it played to their advantage, egged them on. This is one of those books t...more
Amazing story of the various threads of anarchist thought and personalities at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century in Europe.
An interesting book - my first on the history of the anarchist movement. The story is full of really interesting characters that I had never heard of (but after I had read about them, I felt that I should have.) The author is very good at navigating through anarchist theory, contextualizing it within socialist/communist thought in the 19th Century and why this was important to history. My main complaint is that there are just simply too many characters to keep track of. A "dramatis personae" wou...more
need to have some understanding of europe in the late 1800s
Oh my wishlist just keeps getting longer and longer. ;0
A rambling incoherent mess.
Still reading it, but absolutely fascinating especially with the current war on terrorism.
While it's definitely an interesting book, overall it never quite seems to come together for me. It seems to assume a greater familiarity with events from the period than I have, and casts its net so wide in terms of players and events, that the throughline of the book never becomes especially clear. The connections are all there, but for me they were swamped in so many other details it was difficult to keep up.
so far a really interesting book on a todays often forgotten anarchist terror at the end of the 19th century.
Feb 14, 2012
JohnM44 Miller
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
none
Shelves:
could-not-finish
Intro was the best part. did not get far into chapter 1. Writing was confusing to me.
This was an interesting subject written about in the most uninteresting way. The narrative is almost impossible to follow because he jumps from place to place and lists hundreds of people and their social circles in great detail, making it hard to figure out who is actually important and what the context is.
Dense reading but worthwhile.
The relationships between the various anarchists and agents get convoluted pretty fast, and the sheer number of people covered makes it hard to keep track of everyone. But still, a reasonably readable look into a tumultuous period that I didn't know much about.
KOBOBOOKS
Reviewed by The Guardian
Reviewed by The Guardian
Cant wait to read this - it comes out in April, I've pre-ordered it from Amazon!
Mar 26, 2012
Deryn
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
the-library-is-my-friend
....I give up. Interesting subject, dry-as-dust presentation. Couldn't hang in.
But it's so dense that I would prefer it in a TV docu form
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