Monthly Review Press : Books, Magazines and other MR Commodities

Wednesday June 19th, 2013

MR Press News & Reviews

"A compelling and intimate portrait of the life and legacy of Dr. Walter Rodney."
—Seth M. Markle, Trinity College

Clairmont Chung discusses Walter Rodney on Against the Grain

Clairmont Chung is the editor of Walter A. Rodney: A Promise of Revolution, published by Monthly Review Press, and director of the film W.A.R. Stories: Walter Anthony Rodney. He discusses the life and legacy of revolutionary and scholar Walter Rodney with C.S. Soong on KPFA’s Against the Grain radio program. … | more |

35% off June Book of the Month: Dispersed City of the Plains by Harris Stone

Dispersed City of the Plains is unlike anything else published by Monthly Review Press—that is, anything but the other three titles by the incomparable Harris Stone. Stone, a socialist, artist, and professor of architectural studies, grappled with questions of space, built forms, and culture in the era of monopoly capital. His approach alone is unique, but what truly sets Stone’s work apart is the form it takes on the finished page. The text is handwritten in careful script, lending the book an appealing aesthetic quality and forcing the reader to proceed a little slower and a little more carefully in the reading. This, in fact, was Stone’s intent. The handwritten text is accompanied by numerous illustrations, sketches of what he called “the dispersed city” that characterizes modern human habitation on the vast and lonely plains of the American heartland.… | more |

Joan Stone’s Foreword to Dispersed City of the Plains by Harris Stone

The following is Joan Stone’s Foreword to Dispersed City of the Plains by Harris Stone, his final book, published by Monthly Review Press in 1998. It provides a little context for the book’s creation and insight into Harris’s major aim: examining “the built form of the American city, the built form of monopoly capital.”… | more |

"I love this book. Biographer Nancy Stout is to be congratulated for her insightful, mature and sometimes droll exploration of a profoundly liberated, adventuresome and driven personality."
—Alice Walker

Nancy Stout Interviewed by Hazel Kahan

Nancy Stout is the author of One Day in December: Celia Sánchez and the Cuban Revolution. In this in-depth interview, Stout discusses Sánchez’s life, her role in the Cuban revolution, and her relationship with Fidel Castro. The interview was conducted by Hazel Kahan for her Tidings podcast and WPKN in Bridgeport, CT. … | more |

José Carlos Mariátegui: An Anthology reviewed in Journal of Latin American Studies

Harry E. Vanden and Marc Becker are well known for their important contributions to the study of Latin American Marxism, Latin American revolutionary politics and Jose Carlos Mariategui’s thought. Their new joint contribution is a volume that makes available to English readers a considerable number of Mariategui’s shorter texts… Mariategui, an undoubtedly gifted journalist, political author and literary critic, offers readers engaging and rich perspectives—mainly but not exclusively Latin American and Marxist ones—on some of the main issues that concerned European and Latin American progressive public opinion at the time. These translations are a welcome and useful aid for all engaged in teaching Latin American history and literature, the history of socialist ideas, indigenismo, world history, third world studies and so on.… | more |

"Lamrani brings forth valuable insight, much needed information, and honest judgment while exposing the economic aggression perpetrated by U.S. leaders against the people of Cuba."
—Michael Parenti

Watch Salim Lamrani’s Lecture on The Economic War Against Cuba

Salim Lamrani is the author of The Economic War Against Cuba. On May 26 he discussed the history, impact, and possible demise of the U.S. imposed economic sanctions against Cuba at Secular Hall in Leicester, UK. The event was a joint meeting of the Leicester Cuba Solidarity Campaign and the Leicester Secular Society and part of a UK speaking tour organized by the Cuba Solidarity Campaign. … | more |

"A compelling critical discourse analyzing the present crisis of democracy. We can only hope it will become a manifesto, taken up by an informed and energized citizenry—ready to act.."
—Carol Becker, Columbia University

America’s Education Deficit and the War on Youth reviewed on Critical-Theory.com

Giroux offers a compelling primer for the chaos that neoliberalism has wrought on our youth and education system. Giroux writes with passion that borders on poetic. And, unlike a lot of critical theory, the book is intelligible and easy to read. It would make a welcome addition any OWS-style people’s library or intro-level college class.… | more |

"Compelling and often spell-binding. This is surely one of the most important contributions to the social justice literature exposing farmworker injustice at all levels."
—Dr. Ann López, Executive Director, Center for Farmworker Families

Bruce Neuburger discusses Lettuce Wars at Revolution Books in NYC, June 11

Bruce Neuburger is the author of Lettuce Wars: Ten Years of Work and Struggle in the Fields of California. Join him for a talk at Revolution Books in New York City on June 11 at 7pm. … | more |

"An authoritative analysis of NATO’s intervention in Libya. It’s original and prescient—one that all concerned scholars and students should read to comprehend this new trend in global militarism."
—Patricia Daley, University of Oxford

Horace Campbell at Busyboys & Poets, Washington DC, June 10

Horace Campbell is the author of Global NATO and the Catastrophic Failure in Libya. Join him for a book talk at Busboys and Poets, the 5th and K Location, in Washington DC. … | more |

Monthly Review at the Left Forum, New York City, June 7 to 9

Don’t miss the closing plenary featuring John Bellamy Foster, plus panels on Lettuce Wars and the struggles of farmworkers today, Global NATO and the Catastrophic Failure in Libya and an appraisal of the Libya invasion, a Socialist Register panel considering The Question of Strategy, and a discussion of István Mészáros, TINA, and OCCUPY. Don’t forget to visit the MR Press table for discounts on a wide range of titles, new and old!… | more |

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"A sparkling and elegant primer. Far and away the best overall introduction to the subject."
—History Workshop Journal
"I love this book. Biographer Nancy Stout is to be congratulated for her insightful, mature and sometimes droll exploration of a profoundly liberated, adventuresome and driven personality."
—Alice Walker
"It is absolutely imperative for Haiti’s history that such a detailed account of the role of paramilitary violence in the country be recorded. The marshalling of facts and events and the meticulous references are phenomenal."
—Mildred Trouillot-Aristide, former First Lady of Haiti
"This valuable inquiry should be carefully studied and pondered, and should be taken as an incentive to action."
—Noam Chomsky
"An important contribution to knowledge by providing a theoretical framework for analyzing the changing nature of women’s paid work in Asia."
—Swasti Mitter, author, Common Fate, Common Bond
"Where fresh insights are rare, indeed, Michael Lebowitz provides a bundle of them … rich material for badly-needed discussion."
—Paul Buhle, author, Marxism in the United States
"Lamrani brings forth valuable insight, much needed information, and honest judgment while exposing the economic aggression perpetrated by U.S. leaders against the people of Cuba."
—Michael Parenti
"A wonderful book about a courageous and extraordinary woman who was highly principled, yet endowed by nature with all the clandestine skills."
—John le Carré
"Exceedingly well researched and written, this book lays bare the putrid essence of an important component of U.S. imperialism in its current form."
—Ward Churchill, author, Acts of Rebellion
"Compelling and often spell-binding. This is surely one of the most important contributions to the social justice literature exposing farmworker injustice at all levels."
—Dr. Ann López, Executive Director, Center for Farmworker Families
"Not only makes a powerful case for him as one of the great philosophers of the twentieth century, but also underlines how the problems and commitments that animated Sartre make him a vital figure of continuing importance."
—Dominic Alexander, Counterfire
"A compelling and intimate portrait of the life and legacy of Dr. Walter Rodney."
—Seth M. Markle, Trinity College
"An authoritative account of how the Polish transformation betrayed the Polish working class and its aspirations."
—Jan Toporowski, SOAS, University of London
"An excellent little introduction to Marx’s masterpiece … even if you’ve read lots of Marx, you can still learn a lot by reading this book."
—Doug Henwood, editor, Left Business Observer
"The Socialist Register has been the intellectual lodestar for the international left since 1965."
—Mike Davis
"A compelling critical discourse analyzing the present crisis of democracy. We can only hope it will become a manifesto, taken up by an informed and energized citizenry—ready to act.."
—Carol Becker, Columbia University
"This book is desperately needed, because it ends any illusion that we can solve our pressing environmental crises within the same system that created them."
—Annie Leonard, author and host, Story of Stuff
"An authoritative analysis of NATO’s intervention in Libya. It’s original and prescient—one that all concerned scholars and students should read to comprehend this new trend in global militarism."
—Patricia Daley, University of Oxford