Review by Choice Review
Kropotkin is widely recognized as the deepest and most important thinker in the anarchist tradition of political theory. Laughlin's text is not a conventional study of a political thinker. Rather, it begins with a brief history of anarchist thought, whose birth is traced to the Diggers of 17th-century England, whose thinking, Laughlin argues, resonates with some of Kropotkin's ideas. It then continues with a biography of Kropotkin, which traces his public life and identifies some of his major ideas, especially the key notion of mutual aid and the idea of "scientific anarchism." It concludes with an extended discussion of Kropotkin's work as a geographer and the idea of an "anarchist political geography." The text is very readable and draws fairly extensively on Kropotkin's major writings, studies of Kropotkin's thought, and general histories of anarchism. The text is highly accessible, though general readers or undergraduates looking for an introduction to anarchism, or even to Kropotkin, may want more focused works. The most original and interesting part of the work is its engagement with Kropotkin as a geographer, but that part of the text will appeal largely to specialists. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. --J. Donald Moon, Wesleyan University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
