Book reviews

Book reviews

• For a left populism - book review

  

  Mouffe’s elaboration of a left populist strategy contains some useful insights but ultimately rests on the centrist ideology that it appears to criticise, argues Josh Newman

• Contemporary Trotskyism - book review

  

  A valuable study of the Trotskyist tradition in Britain misses the importance of strategy in revolutionary organisation, argues Alex Snowdon

• Miseducating for the Global Economy - book review

  

  Miseducating for the Global Economy exposes the neoliberal push to package education for the sake of corporate rather than social interests, finds Phil Armstrong

• Counterfire's books of the year - part two

  

  The second instalment of the books that have inspired leading activists on the left over the last twelve months

• You're Not Here - book review

  

  Tariq Mehmood’s new novel is uncompromising but hopeful in its portrait of the impact of the war in Afghanistan on a northern city in Britain, finds Sarbjit Johal

• The Left Case Against the EU - book review

  

  Costas Lapavitsas makes a convincing argument why the Left should oppose the EU, writes Martin Hall

• Counterfire's books of the year - part one

  

  We asked a few leading campaigners and performers from the left what books have inspired them over the last twelve months

• Gaza: An Inquest into its Martyrdom - book review

  

  Gaza: An Inquest into its Martyrdom is a passionate and painstaking attempt to counter Israeli deception over the Palestinian struggle, finds Oliver Eagleton

• England’s Discontents: Political Cultures and National Identities - book review

  

  Mike Wayne’s England’s Discontentsprovides a valuable analysis of how Britain is ruled and the ideology and culture of its elite, argues Chris Bambery

• Deport, Deprive, Extradite: 21st Century State Extremism - book review

  

  Deport, Deprive, Extradite exposes the systematic racism lurking behind our supposedly liberal system of civil rights, finds Sean Ledwith

• How to Read A History Book - book review

  

  A history of History needs to understand the political origins of institutions of historical learning, not just the present malaise, argues Dominic Alexander

• Mistaken Identity: Race and Class in the Age of Trump - book review

  

  Mistaken Identity reveals identity politics as the strategy of defeat, but solidarities are built through engagement in existing movements, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Speaking of Universities - book review

  

  Stefan Collini offers a robust critique of the neoliberal academy, but we need an oppositional university as an alternative, argues Oliver Eagleton

• An African in Imperial London - book review

  

  Danell Jones’ biography of an African man living in Edwardian London reveals a remarkable life amid the racism and imperialism of the time, finds Jacqueline Mulhallen

• The Battle for Paradise - book review

  

  Naomi Klein gives a stirring account of the struggle against disaster capitalism in Puerto Rico after 2017’s Hurricane Maria, finds Ellen Graubart

• Minding the depth and breadth - a Labour conference reading list

  

  As Labour gathers for its annual conference Mark Perryman welcomes the variety of thinking a range of authors, new and old, are offering the Left at this vital time

• October Song - book review

  

  Paul le Blanc’s history of the Russian Revolution shows that the tragic outcome was not inevitable, and there is much to learn from it, argues Lindsey German

• A Party with Socialists in It - book review

  

  A history of the left in the Labour Party highlights the need for a strong extra-parliamentary movement, argues Chris Nineham

• Dead-End Lives: Drugs and Violence in the City Shadows - book review

  

  A study of poverty and drug addiction in the slums outside Madrid reveals the callous and destructive nature of the neoliberal city, argues Chris Bambery

• A New Hope for Mexico - book review

  

  AMLO, the new Mexican president, represents a break from neoliberalism, despite the political limitations of his programme, argues Orlando Hill

• Justice Denied: Friends, Foes and the Miners' Strike - book review

  

  The Miners’ Strike was a major class defeat, but as the essays in Justice Denied show, it is also a beacon for the collective values that persist, argues Sofie Mason

• Tales of Two Londons - book review

  

  This collection of writings on London has some striking moments, but is lacking class politics, despite its stated theme, finds Tom Lock Griffiths

• Solidarity with Bookmarks shows a united left can take on the far right

  

  The huge show of solidarity with Bookmarks bookshop on Saturday shows that the left can unite to defeat the far right argues Isabel Carr

• The Cynical Educator - book review

  

  Today’s education system may be making professionals into Cynics, but the answer is collective struggle, not ancient philosophy, argues Dominic Alexander

• Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States - book review

  

  Against the Grain explodes traditional views of the origin of civilisation, but lacks an analysis of the formation of class, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Bullshit Jobs: A Theory - book review

  

  David Graeber’s new book raises many questions about the function and worth of work, but doesn’t entirely explain why useless work persists, finds Clare Solomon

• Europe's Fault Lines: Racism and the Rise of the Right - book review

  

  In Europe’s Fault Lines, Liz Fekete exposes the links between neoliberal centrism, EU economic policy, and the rise of the far and fascist right, finds Martin Hall

• The James Connolly Reader - book review

  

  A collection of the writings of James Connolly, the Irish socialist revolutionary, contains still relevant insights about imperialism and national liberation, argues Kevin Crane

• Trotsky on Lenin - book review

  

  A welcome new edition of neglected writing by Trotsky makes accessible revealing insights into Lenin and Russian society, finds Dominic Alexander

• Tear Gas: From the Battlefields of World War I to the Streets of Today - book review

  

  Tear Gas shows that, historically, the use of tear gas escalates violence against protest, but movements can overcome such repressive force, argues Tom Whittaker

• Culture as Politics: Selected Writings of Christopher Caudwell - book extract

  

  David Margolies gives an introduction to a new edition of writings by Christopher Caudwell 

• Adrift: A Secret Life of London's Waterways - book review

  

  The fight against rapacious developers is at the heart of a new account of life on London’s canals, says John Rees

• The Struggle for Development - book review

  

  The Struggle for Development valuably debunks the statistics of neoliberal development, but an analysis of imperialism is needed too, argues Dominic Alexander

• Mapping My Way Home - book review

  

  Stephanie Urdang’s memoir reveals her courageous personal involvement in the struggles against apartheid and for national liberation in southern Africa, finds Jacqueline Mulhallen

• Rethinking Democracy: Socialist Register 2018 - review

  

  Socialism and democracy belong together, and recent popular movements of the left make possible a fight for authentic democracy, argues Sean Ledwith

• The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story - book review

  

  The Last Earth tells the moving stories of eight Palestinian women’s and men’s experiences of persecution and the refugee camps, finds Ellen Graubart

• What Is Islamophobia? - book review

  

  The contributions in What is Islamophobia? show it as a form of racism driven in the first instance by the state and the war on terror, finds Shabbir Lakha

• The Political Economy of the Kurds of Turkey - book review

  

  Veli Yadirgi argues that there is a clear relationship between the intentional de-development of mostly Kurdish regions of Turkey and the Kurdish question, finds Adam Tomes

• Republic of Islamophobia - book review

  

  Republic of Islamophobiaeffectively analyses the nature and rise of the vindictive Islamophobia that has come to grip French politics and society, finds Susan Ram

• Brazil: Neoliberalism versus Democracy - book review

  

  The root of the constitutional coup in Brazil lay in Lula and Rousseff’s attempt to marry inclusive democracy with the exclusionary logic of neoliberalism, finds Orlando Hill

• Revolt on the Clyde - book review

  

  William Gallacher’s account of the early-twentieth-century socialist movement in Glasgow shows how we can challenge our rulers today, argues Richard Allday

• A weak and unpopular establishment is losing control - video

  

  Chris Nineham is interviewed about his book 'How the Establishment Lost Control'

• A Redder Shade of Green - book review

  

  Ian Angus’ essays range across many issues at the intersection of politics and environmental science, illuminating the meaning of ecosocialism, finds Kevin Crane

• The Addis Ababa Massacre - book review

  

  The Addis Ababa Massacre reveals a major atrocity committed by Fascist Italy, in which the imperialist calculations of Britain and others are implicated, finds Martin Hall

• Marx the ecologist

  

  Some criticise Marx as anti-environmental, but understanding his ecology is essential to grasping his critique of capitalism, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh

• The Corbyn Effect - book review

  

  The Corbyn Effect, a diverse collection of arguments on left politics, is politically uneven but offers many insights into the upheavals in the Labour Party argues Alex Snowdon

• 1917: The Russian Revolution, Reactions and Impact - book review

  

  1917, a Socialist History Society collection of essays, pays powerful testimony to the power of socialist revolution to change the world, finds Judy Cox

• Studies in Pre-Capitalist Modes of Production - book review

  

  This collection of studies on pre-capitalist societies develops vital debates on the application of the Marxist method to history in general, argues Dominic Alexander

• The Politics of Immigration: Questions and Answers - book review

  

  The Politics of Immigration gives supporters of migrants the ammunition to answer back any anti-immigration argument, finds Orlando Hill

• Trump in the White House: Tragedy and Farce - book review

  

  Trump's presidency is a highly dangerous force, but to defeat its reactionary policies, its nature must be understood, argues Graham Kirkwood

• The Economic Struggle for Power in Tito's Yugoslavia - book review

  

  Vladimir Unkovski-Korica locates the roots of Yugoslavia’s bloody collapse in the ‘market socialism’ of the Tito years

• Creating an Ecological Society: Towards a Revolutionary Transformation - book review

  

  Magdoff and Williams provide a powerful case that ecological disaster can be overcome by a revolutionary transformation of social relations

• Frankenstein at 200

  

  Frankenstein was published 200 years ago. It's a horror story but the horrors it described are rooted in capitalism as well as the imagination

• The Winds of October - book review

  

  The Winds of October, a story of young people bringing about the end of a brutal class system during the Russian Revolution, is welcomed by Richard Allday

• From Bah Humbug to Oh Jeremy Corbyn: a review of Christmas politics books

  

  Never mind miserablism this Christmas, Mark Perryman discovers more than enough books that describe reasons to be cheerful

• Educational Justice: Teaching and Organising Against the Corporate Juggernaut - book review

  

  Educational Justice provides a clear view of the corporate program to deform schools, and turn education into a profitable production line, finds Adam Tomes

• How to understand racism: A review of Great War to Race Riots

  

  A new history of the 1919 race riots locates the dynamics of racism in the context of class, imperialism and wider popular struggles, argues Chris Nineham

• Reclaiming the State - book review

  

  Reclaiming the Stateargues persuasively against decades of neoliberal dogma about the role of state intervention in the economy, finds Phil Armstrong

• Union Power: The United Electrical Workers in Erie, Pennsylvania - book review

  

  Union Power is a revealing account of a vibrant and militant union in one US city in the century of Depression and McCarthyism, finds Kevin Crane

• A Moment of Disbelief: Poems on War, Terrorism, and Refugees - book review

  

  William Alderson’s poems in A Moment of Disbeliefand May Days unite politics and feeling in a brilliant reclaiming of a fine poetic tradition, finds Dominic Alexander

• How and why I write

  

  The Trumpet of Sedition blog has been running a series of articles by historians on 'How I Write'. John Rees contributes

• How the establishment lost control: Chris Nineham and Brian Eno - video

  

  In conversation with Brian Eno, Chris Nineham launched his book How the Establishment Lost Control. Video by Paul Merron.

• The Pink Tide: Media Access and Political Power in Latin America - book review

  

  The Pink Tiderepresents Latin American efforts to reform and democratise the media. While real advances have been made, the limits to reform are made clear, argues Des Freedman

• Catalonia: a reading list

  

  As the Catalan crisis grows, Chris Bambery provides a comprehensive reading list to understand more about it's history

• Reform, Revolution and Direct Action amongst British Miners - book review

  

  The Russian Revolution and World War I led to a surge in workers’ struggles in Britain, as an important new history of the miners’ strikes of 1919 shows, finds Lindsey German

• Marx, Capital and the Madness of Economic Reason - book review

  

  David Harvey’s latest book, using all three volumes of Marx’s Capital, demonstrates the social irrationality of modern capitalism, finds Dominic Alexander

• The Strange Death of Liberal England - book review

  

  A classic history of the years before World War I is also a source of inspiration for those who wish to create a more equal and just society, argues Alex Snowdon

• Bob Crow: Socialist, Leader, Fighter - book review

  

  A new biography of Bob Crow shows why he can be considered as the most effective union leader of his generation, argues Graham Kirkwood

• The Bolsheviks Come to Power - book review

  

  Rabinowitch’s classic account of 1917 reveals the mass, popular nature of the October Revolution led by the Bolsheviks, argues Chris Nineham

• How the Establishment Lost Control - book review

  

  Chris Nineham’s new book is both digestible for those new to radical politics and presents an engaging analysis for experienced activists, argues Martin Hall

• Corbyn and the chances of change – book extract

  

  In this final extract from How the Establishment Lost Control Chris Nineham outlines why a radical extra-parliamentary movement is needed to secure decisive change

• Night Thoughts - book review

  

  Night Thoughts is the subversive musings that Wallace Shawn cannot admit during the day; witty and involving, the book should be spread widely, finds Dominic Alexander

• Surprise, surprise: Brexit and the general election – book extract

  

  In this second extract from How the Establishment Lost Control Chris Nineham explains why the Brexit vote was such a serious defeat for the Tories and the whole ruling class

• A state of mutiny - book extract

  

  In this first of three extracts from How the Establishment Lost Control Chris Nineham looks at the sudden revolt of public opinion against the ruling neoliberal consensus

• The Syriza Wave: Surging and Crashing with the Greek Left - review

  

  Helena Sheehan in The Syriza Wave provides a vivid and incisive account of the rise and fall of Syriza, finds Peter Stäuber

• Threads: From the Refugee Crisis - review

  

  Threads is the story of the Calais refugees, and the growing crisis that the world ignores to humanity’s peril, writes Ellen Graubart

• Facing the Anthropocene: Fossil Capitalism and the Crisis of the Earth System - review

  

  The Anthropocene is the result of post-1945 capitalism, according to Ian Angus, in a vital contribution to the ecosocialist argument, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Uncertain Futures: An Assessment of the Conditions of the Present

  

  Edmund Berger’s Uncertain Futures provides an important defence of Marxist economic theory, and an analysis of crisis, argues Sean Ledwith

• Were you still up for? - Summer reading for interesting times

  

  The shock of the General Election hasn’t even begun to settle down. Mark Perryman recommends summer reads to help grapple with interesting times

• How the Establishment Lost Control

  

  Chris Nineham's book on the insurgent mood in Britain, and how it all went wrong for the ruling class

• Voices from the 'Jungle': Stories from the Calais Refugee Camp - review

  

  The stories of the Calais refugees reveal their struggles and solidarity, as well as their experiences of racism and oppression, finds Tom Griffiths

• Grunwick: The Workers' Story - review

  

  The Grunwick strike, 1976-8, was a pivotal event for the labour movement, and this classic account contains key lessons for activists, argues Richard Allday

• Studio: Remembering Chris Marker

  

  Chris Marker, the innovative, left-wing filmmaker, is given a moving and insightful tribute in Studio: Remembering Chris Marker, finds Tom Griffiths

• Palestine is still the issue, now more than ever - weekly briefing

  

  Let’s ensure that the increased Israeli oppression around the Al Aqsa mosque re-energises the BDS movement, argues Alex Snowdon 

• For Whose Benefit? The Everyday Realities of Welfare Reform

  

  For Whose Benefit? shows how the hard-won rights to social security have become stigmatised through a series of in-depth interviews, finds Jacqueline Mulhallen

• The Dilemmas of Lenin

  

  Tariq Ali finds a fresh approach to Lenin that enables a rediscovery of the importance of his revolutionary politics for today, finds Lindsey German

• Sound System: The Political Power of Music

  

  Dave Randall’s Sound System is a wide ranging and highly engaging discussion of politics and music that you just can’t put down, finds Sofie Mason

• The Long Depression: How It Happened, Why It Happened, and What Happens Next

  

  An understanding of capitalist crisis needs to make use of all parts of Marx’s theory, including the declining rate of profit, argues Dominic Alexander

• October 1917: Workers in Power

  

  The collection of essays in October 1917show the Revolution as animated by ‘the irrepressible aspiration of humanity to freedom’, finds Judy Cox

• Capitalism in the Web of Life: Ecology and the Accumulation of Capital

  

  Jason Moore shows that capitalism is innately destructive of its environment, but the solution is revolutionary socialist organisation, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• The Violence of Austerity

  

  The Violence of Austerity demonstrates the terrible impact of cuts and austerity. It shows why we must keep fighting for radical change, argues Ian Middlebrook

• The Dictator, the Revolution, the Machine: A Political Account of Joseph Stalin

  

  Tony McKenna’s compelling Marxist biography of Stalin disproves the allegation that October 1917 led directly to the dictator’s atrocities, argues Sean Ledwith

• A People’s History of Modern Europe

  

  Pelz’s People’s History of Modern Europe gives an illuminating history of the class struggles and revolts which accompanied the modernisation of Europe, finds Tom Whittaker

• The Econocracy: The Perils of Leaving Economics to the Experts

  

  The Econocracy calls for reform and democratisation of the field of Economics so that it may suit the present needs of our society, finds Orlando Hill

• W.E.B. Du Bois: Revolutionary Across the Color Line

  

  This biography reveals W.E.B. Du Bois as a radical and revolutionary thinker who challenged capitalism, imperialism and racism, finds Adam Tomes

• The Battle of Grangemouth: A Worker's Story

  

  The story of the Grangemouth dispute of 2013 contains important lessons for trade unionism and the labour movement in general, argues Kevin Crane

• Working-Class Politics in the German Revolution

  

  The Revolutionary Shop Stewards are a neglected part of the German Revolution of 1918-23, but the political lessons need clear understanding, argues Dominic Alexander

• Re-examine revolution, but don't abandon it

  

  Re-examine revolution, but surely now is not the time to abandon it. Chris Nineham reviews Socialist Register 2017: Rethinking Revolution

• No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age

  

  US union organiser, Jane McAlevey, gives us an outspoken and compelling argument about how union organising needs to change, argues Kevin Crane

• Epidemics, multinationals and capitalism

  

  From Ebola to swine flu, multinationals and their capitalist production systems are the real causes of new epidemic diseases, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Europe Isn’t Working

  

  Europe Isn’t Working is a valuable resource for the arguments against the neoliberal austerity machine that is the EU, argues Richard Allday

• Testosterone Rex: Unmaking the Myths of Our Gendered Minds

  

  In her latest popular neuroscience book, Professor Cordelia Fine takes us through the science that led to gender stereotypes

• Working the Phones: Control and Resistance in Call Centres

  

  Working the Phones, based on first-hand experience of work in today’s call centres, underlines the need for unionisation and politicisation, argues George Barratt

• Selling the Future: The Perils of Predicting Global Politics

  

  Selling The Future shows how the prediction industry reproduces an international system favouring the existing rulers, argues Peter Stauber

• Is Technology Good for Education?

  

  Neil Selwyn’s careful critique of ‘ed-tech’ is grounded in a humane commitment to education for a more equal and just society, finds Alex Snowdon

• Monbiot and the media

  

  George Monbiot’s essays are a valuable and stimulating exception in the mainstream media where dissenting voices are rarely heard, argues Ian Middlebrook

• To the Masses: Proceedings of the Third Congress of the Communist International, 1921

  

  The sharp and dramatic debates during the Third Congress of the Comintern contain lessons on strategy and tactics of crucial relevance today, argues Chris Bambery

• Weakness and Deceit: America and El Salvador's Dirty War

  

  Raymond Bonner’s account of US intervention in El Salvador shows that today’s catastrophic imperialist interventions have a long history, argues Dominic Alexander

• Medieval Europe

  

  Chris Wickham’s analysis of the European Middle Ages is a rich introduction to the development of Europe up to the 15th Century, argues Chris Bambery

• Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the US-Saudi Connection

  

  Medea Benjamin unravels the toxic relationship between the West and the oppressive regime in Saudi Arabia, in Kingdom of the Unjust, finds Jonathan Maunders

• After the eating and drinking, the sport?

  

  A selection of 2017 sporting reads by Mark Perryman for the post-festive recovery period

• Art, Literature and Culture from a Marxist Perspective

  

  Tony McKenna’s cultural essays show the rich possibilities of Marxist analysis for a range of art and literature, argues Sean Ledwith

• This Christmas for the Leveller in your life: festive offer from Philosophy Football

  

  A new Philosophy Football T-Shirt features the Thomas Rainsborough quote 'The poorest that is in England hath a live to live as the greatest'

• Studs Terkel: Politics, Culture, But Mostly Conversation

  

  Studs Terkel’s life was spent documenting working-class life and struggle in the US. Alan Wieder’s biography captures him splendidly, says Graham Kirkwood

• America's Addiction to Terrorism

  

  In this comprehensive account of social issues rooted in the neoliberal reign of terror, Henry Giroux provides a crucial critique of free-market fundamentalism in 2016, finds Shabbir Lakha

• 5 novels every revolutionary should read

  

  Some of the best pieces of fiction ever written about revolutionary experience are outlined by writer and historian John Rees

• The Leveller Revolution: Radical Political Organisation in England 1640-1650

  

  John Rees, The Leveller Revolution makes a powerful case that Leveller organisation during the English Revolution was essential to its success, finds Dominic Alexander

• The Candidate: Jeremy Corbyn's Improbable Path to Power

  

  The story of Jeremy Corbyn’s rise to leadership of Labour in 2015 is told with verve and insight in Alex Nunns' The Candidate, finds Lindsey German

• Culture matters to us all

  

  As libraries, galleries and museums face cuts across the board, Jonathan Maunders reports from the fight-back on the streets

• When memory yields to pride

  

  John Marciano’s The American War in Vietnam exposes ongoing attempts to rehabilitate a war that did so much to discredit imperialist interventions, finds Kit Klarenberg

• Black Ops Advertising

  

  Black Ops Advertising is a startling and entertaining critique of new forms of advertising, but the solution lies in collective organising, argues Lindy Syson

• Hunger Pains: Life inside Foodbank Britain

  

  Austerity policies targeting the benefits system have created enormous suffering, as a study of the rise of foodbanks shows, finds Ellen Graubart

• Burning Country: Syrians in War and Revolution

  

  The legacy of colonialism, and recent imperialist interventions lie behind Syria’s lost revolution and present catastrophes, argues Sean Ledwith

• Len, A Lawyer in History

  

  Len, A Lawyer in History is the important story of Leonard Weinglass and other activist lawyers in the US who represented people targeted for their politics, finds Alan Wieder

• Race and Class: The Colour of Struggle 1950s-1980s

  

  A special issue of the journal Race and Class vividly illustrates the history of black and anti-racist struggles for peace and equality in Britain, finds Dominic Alexander

• No way to remember anything

  

  An analysis of the 2011 Egyptian revolution reproduces the same mistakes on the left that led to the revolution’s defeat in 2013, argues Kevin Crane

• Crowds and Party

  

  Jodi Dean in Crowds and Party boldly reasserts the need for socialist organisation, as a necessary antidote to neoliberal individualism, finds Lindsey German

• Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century: Globalization, Super-Exploitation and Capitalism's Final Crisis

  

  John Smith’s Imperialism shows how neoliberalism has deepened inequality and exploitation worldwide, while the working class has expanded, finds Alex Snowdon

• A critical companion to microeconomics and macroeconomics

  

  Fine and Dimakou’s books, Microeconomics and Macroeconomics provide a thorough critique of orthodox economics, while explaining alternatives, finds Phil Armstrong

• Things you need to know about the British economy

  

  Tony Norfield’s The City explains British finance capital and its global role, and also has important political implications, argues Chris Nineham

• Sports reading: more of a marathon than a sprint

  

  Mark Perryman of Philosophy Football offers his reading selection for a summer of sport

• A Hidden History Of The Cuban Revolution: How the Working Class Shaped the Guerillas' Victory

  

  When is a revolution socialist? Recent books on Cuba show the importance of revolutionary organisation for the working class, argues Dominic Alexander

• Socialist Register 2016: The Politics of the Right

  

  The rise of the populist right shows that the centre cannot hold, and a socialist alternative is the only solution, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• China on Strike: Narratives of Workers' Resistance

  

  China on Strike gives in insights into Chinese workers’ struggles and the nature of capitalism in China, writes Orlando Hill

• Radical reading for the holidays

  

  A scorching hot list of summer political reading selected by Mark Perryman

• The Secure and the Dispossessed: How the Military and Corporations Are Shaping a Climate-Changed World

  

  Climate change is driven by the demand for profits, but the ruling class is recasting it as a security issue, finds William Alderson

• Chaos and Caliphate: Jihadis and the West in the Struggle for the Middle East

  

  Repeated, arrogant western interventions from 2003 to today lie behind the rise of IS, as two recent books agree, argues Sean Ledwith

• A History of the Barricade

  

  The barricade is the iconic tactic of historic class struggles, and its history is engagingly explored in Hazan’s history, finds William Booth

• Food, free markets and capitalist philanthropy

  

  Free markets cause food shortages, and philanthrocapitalism does nothing to solve the problem, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Fortress Europe: Inside the War Against Immigration

  

  Matthew Carr’s Fortress Europe is a powerful indictment of the inhumanity of the EU’s policies towards refugees, argues Tom Griffiths

• Blood year: Islamic State and the Failures of the War on Terror

  

  David Kilcullen’s insider account of the war on terror should be a warning to us all, writes Chris Nineham

• Socialism… Seriously: A Brief Guide to Human Liberation

  

  Danny Katch's Socialism...Seriously is an entertaining and witty introduction to socialism, finds Ralph Graham-Leigh

• The Letters of Joe Hill

  

  The collected writing of a folk balladeer, Wobbly and activist inspires workers and scares the right in equal measure today, finds Adam Tomes

• Lean Out

  

  Foster’s Lean Out rejects the neoliberal feminism of the likes of Sheryl Sandberg and Clinton. Feminism must be about inequality, argues Lindsey German

• Architect or Bee? The Human Price of Technology

  

  Mike Cooley’s Architect or Bee? put the case that a new organisation of technology could provide social good rather than profit. Orlando Hill welcomes the new edition

• The Lords of Human Kind

  

  Victor Kiernan’s The Lords of Human Kind is a classic dissection of the racist pretensions of European imperialism, argues Dominic Alexander

• 1916: Ireland’s Revolutionary Tradition

  

  Allen’s 1916 shows that the Easter Rising was no pointless sacrifice, but an essential revolutionary trigger to Irish independence, argues Sean Ledwith

• Ireland’s Guantanamo Granny

  

  Margaretta D’Arcy’s magnificent stand against Ireland’s complicity with US rendition is vividly told in Ireland’s Guantanamo Granny, finds Ellen Graubart

• The Conquest of Bread

  

  Kropotkin’s classic, The Conquest of Bread, reveals problems of radical politics and organisation that remain vital today, argues Dominic Alexander

• Bitter Freedom: Ireland in a Revolutionary World

  

  Maurice Walsh’s Bitter Freedom is a revealing exploration of the Irish independence struggle in its international context, after the 1916 Easter Rising, finds Kieran Crowe

• Austerity Ecology And The Collapse-Porn Addicts

  

  Austerity Ecology provides a valid critique of lifestyle greenism, but its techno-fix approach is no replacement for a mass movement for system change, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Combining audacity and realism: Trotsky on organising

  

  Chris Nineham reviews Leon Trotsky and the Organizational Principles of the Revolutionary Party

• China and the 21st Century Crisis

  

  In his powerful book, Minqi Li argues that China will be the key battleground of the coming global class struggle, finds Sean Ledwith

• Fire and Blood: The European Civil War, 1914-1945

  

  Fire and Blood brilliantly recounts the European civil war of 1914-45, which brought the idea of capitalist progress to an end, argues Chris Bambery

• Debt or Democracy: Public Money For Sustainability and Social Justice

  

  Mainstream economics mystifies the nature of money. Mellor’s Debt or Democracy explodes the myths, and provides the social alternative, argues Phil Armstrong

• Fat Activism: A Radical Social Movement

  

  Charlotte Cooper’s Fat Activism explores a long-standing social movement, revealing complex relationships with feminism, class and capitalism, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Injustice: Why Social Inequality Still Persists

  

  Danny Dorling's Injustice demonstrates that social inequality is bad for everyone, and that its justifications can all be shown to be entirely incorrect, finds Orlando Hill

• A World to Build: New Paths toward Twenty-First Century Socialism

  

  A World To Build shows us alternatives to neoliberalism in recent movements in Latin America, where political strategies have claimed important victories, argues Ian Richardson

• The Last Drop: The Politics of Water

  

  This angry but eloquent account of the politics of water exposes the savagery of the neoliberal strain of marauding capitalism

• 2016: a year of more surprises?

  

  Mark Perryman of Philosophy Football lists his top ten political books to help avoid being surprised by anything in 2016

• The New War on the Poor: The Production of Insecurity in Latin America

  

  The New War on the Poor shows how neoliberal security regimes produce insecurity, and worse, for poor citizens, while protecting rich interests, finds Ellen Graubart

• Top Ten Sports Books for 2016

  

  Mark Perryman of Philosophy Football picks his favourite reads for the new sporting year

• The Encyclopedia of the Dead

  

  Yugoslav author Danilo Kiŝ is celebrated for his opposition to authoritarianism, but his politics of the individual fail to offer real liberation, finds Dominic Alexander

• We Kill Because We Can: From Soldiering to Assassination in the Drone Age

  

  Laurie Calhoun’s We Kill Because We Can argues that drone warfare is illegal under international law, and only increases terrorism, finds Lindy Syson

• Enjoying It: Candy Crush and Capitalism

  

  An extract from Alfie Bown's new book, Enjoying It

• Hungry Bengal: War, Famine and the End of Empire

  

  Hungry Bengal demonstrates the central role of imperialism and racism in creating the wartime Bengal famine which killed millions and divided the country, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• How to Dismantle the NHS in Ten Easy Steps

  

  The extent of the threat to the NHS is revealed in clear, concise detail in El-Gingihy’s short book, finds Cameron Panting

• Fighters in the Shadows: A New History of the French Resistance

  

  David Shonfield reviews a major new history of the French Resistance, which reveals the role of immigrant workers and women, and how French identity has been forged and reforged in the years since 1945

• The Dignity of Chartism

  

  Dorothy Thompson’s writing on Chartism showed early working-class politics as it really was, a real challenge to the ruling class of the time, argues John Westmoreland

• Autumn books for the Corbyn effect

  

  Mark Perryman from Philosophy Football provides a rundown of new books for the #jezwecan majority

• Who is Charlie?

  

  Emmanuel Todd’s Who is Charlie? reveals connections between Islamophobia and moves to the right in France, finds Lindsey German

• Disaster capitalism: outsourcing violence in the UK

  

  Corporations bleed what profits they can from disaster. Democracy is replaced by a business plan. An excerpt from Antony Loewenstein’s Disaster Capitalism: Making A Killing Out Of Catastrophe

• The Anthropocene. The human era and how it shapes our planet

  

  Our effect on the planet may well mean that we’re entering a new geological epoch, but what really matters is organising to fight for the world we need, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Romanticism and Caricature

  

  The tradition of political caricature in Britain, whose classic phase was 1790-1832, is revealed by Ian Haywood’s Romanticism and Caricature, finds Jacqueline Mulhallen

• Not much peace, plenty of ill will, a good seasonal read needed please

  

  Mark Perryman of Philosophy Football offers his top ten books to buy to make somebody’s Christmas

• Frederic Jameson: The Project of Dialectical Criticism

  

  Robert Tally's study provides a crisp and coherent guide to the thought of a figure future generations, hopefully, will look back on as one of the prophets of their utopia writes Sean Ledwith

• The Establishment: And how they get away with it

  

  Owen Jones’ The Establishmentis a valuable dissection of the networks of power and ideology, but the concept of the ruling class adds a needed dimension, argues Sean Ledwith

• Springtime: The New Student Rebellions - He Who Cultivates Thorns Will Reap Wounds

  Tunisia's revolutionary uprising is described by Leila Basmoudi, who argues that the revolutions that have been unleashed across the Middle East are not over.