Cindy Milstein

I was pretty sure I had read all of Cindy Milstein's books (except maybe their most recent), but I saw this book at a store in Philly and had to buy it. Paths Toward Utopia was written by Milstein and drawn by Erik Ruin. I had never heard of Ruin before, but that didn't matter. What I think I like most about Milstein's writing is the excitement they show. I've found that anarchists from 100 years ago had such an excited style of writing—like they truly believed the world they were fighting show more for was possible—but the newer stuff I've read mostly lacks that. Or maybe with newer stuff it feels like most of us lose that vigor by the time we hit our late 20s or early 30s. Cindy Milstein is not one of those people.

There's hope in these pages; after all, the title has Utopia in it. It's not a blind, naive hope though. It's a hope from people who have been around the block, who are middle aged and should either be super cynical or have sold out long ago. It's a hope based in reality; a hope that has facts and examples to let us know that it can be done, it has been done. Movements are born and they die, but even after they're dead, something lives along in the people who were involved; and that something gets carried on to the next thing. From the Arab Spring to Occupy to Standing Rock to the George Floyd uprising.

There's not much else to say about Paths Toward Utopia; it's a short book with very few words, but worth the quick read. It's also the second book I've read in a row that quote both Martin Buber and Hannah Arendt. show less

I purposefully read this book as slow as I could because I wanted it to last. It took only a couple weeks, but I feel like a new person. Some of the pieces in this book are essays, some are fiction, some are poems, and some are in the middle; all are amazing. Everyone should read this book, but especially if you identify as both Jewish and anarchist.

Pretty crazy this was written before occupy took off. Lays it all out there very clearly. I wish it was longer and that the history of anarchism sections were more in depth.

Everything Cindy Milstein puts out has been amazing, and this book was no exception. It's easy to read, educational, and uplifting. Some of the essays were about spaces I've never heard of, most were updates about places I knew little about