Anarchist seeds beneath the snow : left-libertarian thought and British writers from William Morris to Colin Ward /

This is a highly informative and insightful study of what the author chooses to call, using a more inclusive term, the "left-libertarian" strain in British thought from the late 19th century to the present. To be more accurate, it is actually a discussion of the anarchist aspects of various significant figures, few of whom are "pure" anarchists except for the comparatively unknown and contemporary Christopher Pallis and Colin Ward. The book itself is, perhaps appropriately, rather relaxed and not very tightly constructed. Goodway (Cambridge) considers the notable and important degree to which such figures as William Morris, Oscar Wilde, Edward Carpenter, George Orwell, Herbert Read, Aldous Huxley, and E.P. Thompson had anarchist components in their writings and ideas. He does this through a rather relaxed yet comprehensive meander through their lives and thoughts; he is convincing that anarchism formed a significant part of these figures' intellectual makeup. The pages about Thompson are particularly acute. Goodway also writes well, in the same vein, about more marginal figures such as the novelist John Cowper Powys and the sexologist Alex Comfort. The book effectively enriches understanding of what turns out to be, perhaps surprisingly, an important part of British thought. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries. P. Stansky emeritus, Stanford University

Known for an enduring fondness for queen and country, the British Isles seem an unlikely place to uncover practicing anarchists. Goodway's closer inspection, however, reveals a latent but persistent strain of left-libertarian thought stretching from the Victorian era to the Blair years. Alternating seamlessly between literary criticism and social history, this elegant study of militant ideas reveals a rousing and tragic tradition with more than its share of martyrs, sinners, and saints. Though often conflated with terrorism and mere chaos, anarchism, Goodway (editor of Damned Fools in Utopia: And Other Writings on Anarchism and War Resistance) makes clear, has been a positive political philosophy advocated by a variety of writers, scholars, and theorists who represent more of a "community of thought" than a coherent school. Though not exactly comrades-George Orwell denigrates William Morris as a "utopian dreamer"; Morris refers to Oscar Wilde as "an ass"-Goodway effectively joins these and other thinkers into a loose federation of belief, demonstrating their importance to British history and global radicalism. The book is a call to action. "These seeds need to germinate," Goodway writes, "to put forth shoots and buds, eventually to flower, if there is to be any chance of a decent life for humans in the future." Spring may finally be approaching. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.