The anarchist prince : a biographical study of Peter Kropotkin
by George Woodcock, Ivan Avakumović (Joint Author.)
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Anarchism - the concept of a society without authority, of a civil order without any form of constitution or government - has fascinated people almost as long as we have possessed the power of speculative thought. In the general history of anarchism, the name of Peter Kropotkin dominates. Born in 1842 into an ancient military family of Russian princes, Kropotkin was selected as a child for the elite Corps of Pages by Tsar Nicholas I himself. Shortly before his death in 1921, he had moved so show more far from his aristocratic beginnings and attained such stature as a libertarian leader that he could write with impunity to Lenin, "Vladimir Ilyich, your concrete actions are completely unworthy of the ideas you pretend to hold." Woodcock and Avakumovic's biography, From Prince to Rebel, details the life that flowed between these two points in time. It surveys and analyses the most significant aspects of Kropotkin's life and thought: his formative years in Russia, 1842-1876, and the origins of his anarchist thinking (military service in eastern Siberia, the influence of the works of Proudhon and Bakunin, his role in the Chaikovsky Circle); his years as an migr in western Europe, 1876-1917, and the ripening of his political though (editor of Le Rvolt, his views on Marxist socialism); and his last years in the Soviet Union, 1917-1921, the revolution and civil war, and his meeting and correspondence with Lenin. Among the recent works of George Woodcock, a well-known Canadian author, are biographies of William Godwin and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (Black Rose Books). Ivan Avakumovic is Professor of History at the University of British Colombia and the author of History of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.Table of Contents Introduction 1. The Youth 2. The Explorer 3. The Convert 4. The Agitator 5. "The White Jesus" 6. The Traveller 7. The Writer 8. The Exile 9. The Neglected Sage 10. The Prophet Bibliography Supplement for 1971 Edition Supplement to the 1990 Edition Index1990: 490 pages, index, illustrated show lessTags
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A good workmanlike introduction to the life and times of the great anarcho-communist. I hadn't appreciated how much the Socialists and the Anarchists had gone at it hammer and tongs back in the day --Kropotkin lived just long enough to stand up to Lenin!
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George Woodcock was born in Winnipeg, Canada on May 8, 1912. He was educated in England, and returned to Canada in 1949. He was a poet, critic, and essayist. During his lifetime, he wrote and edited almost 150 books. His works included Anarchism, The Anarchist Reader, The Crystal Spirit, and Canada and the Canadians. He was the founding editor of show more Canadian Literature, the first journal to look solely at Canada's literary world. He also founded the anarchist literary journal Now in 1940. He died from coronary problems on January 28, 1995 at the age of 82. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The anarchist prince : a biographical study of Peter Kropotkin
- Original publication date
- 1950
- People/Characters
- Peter Kropotkin
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, Biography & Memoir, General Nonfiction, Politics and Government
- DDC/MDS
- 947.08 — History & geography History of Europe Eastern European Counties and Russia Russian & Slavic History by Period 1855-
- LCC
- HX914 .K7 .W6 — Social sciences Socialism. Communism. Anarchism Anarchism
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 73
- Popularity
- 429,861
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.00)
- Languages
- English, French, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 3
