The violent image : insurgent propaganda and the new revolutionaries /

Propaganda of the deed, a term most commonly associated with the anarcho-terrorism of the 19th century, is resurrected, reclaimed, and given new relevance in The Violent Image, a lucid, deep, and highly informative analysis of the evolution of political violence. Bolt (King's College, Univ. of London) offers a framework that characterizes insurgents and resistance fighters not merely as violent actors but as strategic communicators: that is, as purveyors of information who effectively utilize modern technology to contest hegemonic narratives promulgated by states. As citizenship roles and identity are increasingly defined through the consumption of social media, violent acts themselves have become secondary to tech-savvy messaging and marketing in an "ongoing war of images and ideas." Symbolic events are lightning rods for collective memory among alienated masses, creating opportunities for the activation and mobilization of communal grievance--and hence for a narrative reconstruction of the past that contests the present order and thereby transforms the future. The Violent Image shifts readers' attention from temporal events to the cognitive spaces where insurgent warfare is fought. By interrogating the communicative aspects of political violence, Bolt succeeds on every level in this deeply satisfying work. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, research, and professional collections. M. O'Gara Rocky Mountain College