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Revolution by the Book The AK Press Blog

Distro Top Ten — June 2010

Posted on June 21st, 2010 in AK Distribution


Abolish Restaurants: A Worker’s Critique of the Food Service Industry (Prole)
A beautifully illustrated pamphlet illustrating the daily misery, stress, boredom, and alienation of restaurant work, and all the ways that restaurant workers fight against it. Drawing on a range of anti-capitalist ideas as well as a heaping plate of personal experience, it is part analysis and part call-to-arms. Anyone who’s ever worked in food service or eaten in a restaurant will find something of value here. Get a few copies to stash in your local dining establishments!

Behind the Spanish Barricades (John Langdon-Davies)
In 1936, John Langdon-Davies went to Spain to report on the May Day celebrations. By the time he returned in August, civil war was raging, and many of those he had seen celebrating lay dead. On his second trip he crossed Spain on his motorbike with his teenage son and described what he saw and heard in this book, which he wrote in just five weeks and was published in 1937. Now available in a new edition with an introduction by Paul Preston (who also wrote The Spanish Civil War and a great preface for Anarchism and the City).

Floodgates of Anarchy (Stuart Christie & Albert Meltzer)
Back in print and featuring a new foreword, this polemic approaches the subject of anarchism in relation to class struggle. Drawing from the authors’ experiences as activists and documenting the activities of other 20th-century anarchists—including clandestine activities and social change by any means—this book argues that government is the true enemy of the people and that only through the dissolution of government can the people put an end to exploitation and war. If you’re curious about the inspiring (and entertaining) lives that qualify the authors as experts on such things, you should really also check out Granny Made Me an Anarchist and I Couldn’t Paint Golden Angels.

Guerrilla USA: The George Jackson Brigade and the Anticapitalist Underground of the 1970s (Daniel Burton-Rose)
“We are cozy cuddly/armed and dangerous/and we will/raze the fucking prisons/to the ground.” In an attempt to deliver on this promise, the George Jackson Brigade launched a violent three-year campaign in the mid-1970s against corporate and state institutions in the Pacific Northwest. This campaign claimed fourteen bombings, as many bank robberies, and a jailbreak. This new written account, drawing on the experiences of living participants, is a complex history that belong on your bookshelf alongside Outlaws of America and Arm the Spirit—you do have those on your shelf, don’t you?

Henry & Glenn Forever (Igloo Tornado)
The premise of this comic is explained at the front of the zine: “Henry and Glenn are very good ‘friends.’ They are also ‘room mates.’ Daryl and John live next door. They are satanists.” What follows is ultra-metal violence and cryfest diary entries, cringing self-doubt and mega-hilarious emo-meltdowns. Who knew Danzig was such a vulnerable, self-conscious sweety-pie? Who knew Rollins was such a caring spouse? Well, illustrating/writing team Igloo Tornado did and they kicked down sixty-four fully-illustrated pages on the subject. Come on, how can you resist?

Hopes and Prospects (Noam Chomsky)
In this urgent new book, Noam Chomsky surveys the dangers and prospects of our early twenty-first century. Exploring challenges such as the growing gap between North and South, American exceptionalism (including under Barack Obama), the fiascos of Iraq and Afghanistan, the US-Israeli assault on Gaza, and the recent financial bailouts, he also sees hope for the future and a way to move forward—in the democratic wave in Latin America and in the global solidarity movements that suggest “real progress toward freedom and justice.” Similar to Interventions this is a book of essays and lectures on timely topics that tie together to create a unique picture of our time and place in history.

Listening to Revolt: Selected Writings (George Rawick)
This volume offers the first major collection of the wide-ranging and revolutionary writings of the late George Rawick, a leading figure in both radical history and Marxist sociology. Personal assistant to C.L.R. James, and comrade of Marty Glaberman and Selma James, Rawick was a rarity who contributed decisively to African American history and to the study of white workers. His exciting scholarly and activist writings are generously represented here and put it context by David Roediger’s introductory essay on Rawick’s life, thought and politics.

Toward the Last Jubilee: Midnight Notes at Thirty Years (ed. Craig Hughes)
In November, Midnight Notes collective marked thirty years of collective work with a day-long conference called MN30. The gathering addressed the past and present but also grappled with the future. “The short pieces in this [long] pamphlet [seventy pages] are characteristic of the gathering and the movements and environment around them. Here, the authors don’t mince words—not in their celebration and admiration of MN, nor in their presentation of the very real difficulties of the period; not in their critiques of where the project has been and gone, and certainly not in their raising of the real pressing political issues we all need to grapple with.”

Viva Vegan (Terry Hope Romero)
Go beyond guacamole and spice up your life with festive ensaladas, hearty empanadas, tacos, tamales, and more (pupusas!!!)! With inventive twists on classic dishes from the Americas, this book opens up a world of fresh flavor without relying on animal ingredients. You’ll find hundreds of inspired recipes for all the foods you love, plus prep tips, menus, and color photos! From the co-author of some of our most popular vegan cookbooks: Veganomicon, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World , and Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.

Vive l’Anarchie: Illegalist Trial Statements
Voila! A small handy pocketbook of French Illegalist trial statements for your delight and to keep your anger stoked. Why? Well because they still burn and they still point the finger at all the right places. Spoken from the dock of the court, that symbolic point of reckoning and alleged justice, these speeches tell it like it is: capitalism is robbery, work is theft of our time and life energy, crime is the dignified revolt against an unjust order of things, and no court or democratic institution is fit to judge the actions of any rebel. These statements are neither apologies nor justifications, but calls to revolution!