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35% Off November Book of the Month! José Carlos Mariátegui: An Anthology

José Carlos Mariátegui

José Carlos Mariátegui

José Carlos Mariátegui, a creative Marxist thinker and activist from Peru, who was born in 1894 and died in 1930, was once not widely known in the English-speaking world. Over the last few decades, however, more and more people have learned about his life and works, and in 2011, MR Press was proud to publish a comprehensive anthology of his writings, edited and translated by the scholars Harry E. Vanden and Marc Becker.

Now, we’re pleased to present José Carlos Mariátegui: An Anthology as our November book of the month. Receive 35% off when you use the coupon code BOM1114 at checkout.

When this book appeared, Michael Löwy said that “It will now be possible to discover a thinker who not only was the pioneer of Marxist analysis of Peru and Latin America, and the dreamer of an Indo-American Socialism as the only real alternative to imperialist domination, but one of the great universal Marxist authors of the twentieth century, comparable, by the originality of his heterodox revolutionary writings, to the contemporary (i.e. 1920s) works of Lukács and Gramsci.”

Paperback, 480 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1-58367-245-7
Cloth (ISBN-13: 978-1-58367-246-4)
October 2011
Also available as an e-book

Sara Castro-Klaren called it “an intelligent and welcomed selection from his complete works” in which “Mariátegui’s disciplined prose illuminates the ‘real’ with unique and powerful insights of particular relevance for thinking our own current crisis.” And Paul Le Blanc praised this “marvelous collection” as “a gift, facilitating the international renewal and enrichment of revolutionary Marxism in the twenty-first century.”

And here’s what a few reviewers thought:

Historical Materialism: “Vanden and Becker’s compilation is a welcome and long-overdue introduction to José Carlos Mariátegui for English-speaking audiences… His forcefulness, conviction, and intelligence make his early death all the more tragic from the perspective of the present. One can only hope Vanden and Becker’s anthology will be but a first step towards establishing Mariátegui as a forceful presence in the English-speaking world.”

New Politics: “Thanks to Harry E. Vanden and Marc Becker, we have once again available in English not only most of Mariátegui’s most important writings, but the most complete English language collection of his work ever published…. All of those interested in Marxist theory, Latin American history and politics, and in the role of the indigenous peoples in the social, labor and left movements should read this book.”

Upside Down World: “This anthology not only offers a profound insight into Mariátegui’s writings. It manages to remain relevant to contemporary historical reality, at a time when intellectual writing remains confined to academia. The publication of this anthology, with its detailed introduction to Mariátegui’s life and work, brings readers closer to works which otherwise might have been inaccessible to a broader audience.”

Journal of Latin American Studies: “The editors’ introduction argues quite convincingly that unlike many Marxist twentieth-century authors, Mariátegui’s thought retains its relevance for current generations of readers. … an important and welcome contribution.”

Alternate Routes: “Mariátegui is a powerful example of an engaged intellectual whose ideas have contributed to Latin America’s political transformations; greater attention by English readers is long overdue. Vanden and Becker’s anthology is an encouraging start.”

Socialist Review: “The creativity of his ideas has left a footprint still recognisable to those searching for answers to the economic crisis in Latin America, and with the help of this anthology, elsewhere too.”

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