Book reviews

Winston Churchill: His Times, His Crimes - book review

Lindsey German welcomes Tariq Ali’s dismantling of the myth of the imperialist warmonger Churchill in Winston Churchill: His Times, His Crimes
Arise: Power, Strategy and Union Resurgence - book review

Jane Holgate’s Arise raises important questions about trade-union organising strategy, but rank-and-file activity and political context are key, argues Graham Kirkwood
Sedated: How Modern Capitalism Created Our Mental Health Crisis - book review

In Sedated, James Davies makes a powerful case that the marketisation of mental health ignores the social causes of distress, harming us while serving capitalism, finds Lucette Davies
Capitalism and Slavery - book review

Over seventy years since publication, the first British edition of Eric Williams’ classic Capitalism and Slavery remains vital, despite establishment critics, argues John Westmoreland
The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution - book review

The Brutish Museums presents a powerful case for restitution of looted objects, and hostile responses to it highlight enduring attachments to imperialism, argues Dominic Alexander
Russia and the Media: The Makings of a New Cold War - book review

Russia and the Media makes a convincing case that a Cold War mentality in the Western media supports further militarisation and forestalls solutions, finds Michael Bailey
Policing the Pandemic: How Public Health Becomes Public Order - book review

Policing the Pandemic raises important issues about institutional racism, but the police cannot be treated separately from the system they serve, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
We’re Here Because You Were There: Immigration and the End of Empire - book review

Patel’s We’re Here Because You Were There is an important analysis of the racist logic of imperialist politics behind changing immigration policy, finds Jamal Elaheebocus
The American Way: Stories of Invasion - book review

Richard Allday enjoys an excellent collection of stories set in countries invaded by the US, by authors from each nation, in The American Way
Sexual Revolution: Modern Fascism and the Feminist Fightback - book review

Laurie Penny’s Sexual Revolution offers an eclectic argument full of inconsistencies, while omitting any understanding of how class underpins oppression, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity - book review

The Dawn of Everythingseeks a new narrative of prehistory, but for all its interest, the analysis is deeply flawed, argues Dominic Alexander
The Rebirth of Italian Communism, 1943–44: Dissidents in German-Occupied Rome - book review

David Broder’s The Rebirth of Italian Communism reveals the important story of the dissident Italian communist resistance in Nazi-occupied Rome, finds Chris Bambery
Ulysses at 100: the politics of James Joyce

On the centenary of the publication of Ulysses, John McInally looks at the politics of James Joyce and the society around him that set the background for the iconic novel
Paulo Freire, a Philosophical Biography - book review

Paulo Freire, a Philosophical Biography has some important insights for teachers but also for activists organising social movements, finds Orlando Hill
The Austrian Revolution - book review

The history of the 1918 Austrian revolution by the social-democratic leader of the time, Otto Bauer, despite itself shows why the revolution was lost, argues Chris Bambery
China 1949: Year of Revolution - book review

As China 1949shows, the CCP victory of that year enabled the country’s rise to global power status, but it was not a workers’ revolution, argues Sean Ledwith
Revolutionary Peacemaking: Writings for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence - book review

Daniel Jakopovich’s Revolutionary Peacemaking is a fine collection of writings exploring how we can achieve a society of peace and social justice, finds Ellena Plumb-Javed
Under the Socialist Banner: Resolutions of the Second International 1889-1912 - book review

The resolutions of the Second International are a revealing way of uncovering the contradictions in the pre-1914 workers’ movement, finds Chris Bambery
Twelve Books for Twelve Days of Christmas

Preparing for the season of goodwill, Philosophy Football's Mark Perryman selects books to tide us over into the New Year, and beyond
Counterfire's books of the year

A selection of books to read over the holidays
The Darker Angels of our Nature: Refuting the Pinker Theory of History and Violence - book review

Historians in Darker Angels of our Nature deliver a devastating debunking to Steven Pinker’s liberal imperialist theory of violence in history, finds Dominic Alexander
The Forty-Year War in Afghanistan: A Chronicle Foretold - book review

Tariq Ali’s new account of Afghanistan’s recent history demonstrates unequivocally that the anti-war movement was correct, finds Terina Hine
Ten Marxist classics for Xmas

Lindsey German's Marxist holiday reading list
Nothing to Lose but Our Chains: Work and Resistance in Twenty-First-Century Britain - book review

Nothing to Lose but Our Chains is a historically informed and wide-ranging discussion of work and resistance in the present day, finds Lindsey German
The Last Witches of England. A Tragedy of Sorcery and Superstition - book review

A study of the last witchcraft executions in England is very revealing about the roots of witch-panics in conflicts fuelled by capitalism and the state, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
The Making of the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985: A Memoir - book review

A memoir by a senior civil servant on the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement opens a window on how the establishment rules, finds Chris Bambery
Philosophers with No Clothes: A Review of The War Against Marxism

Tony McKenna’s new book is an important defence of Marxism, against thinkers who have confused and obscured its revolutionary core, argues Chris Nineham
Can Heterodox Economics Make a Difference? Conversations with Key Thinkers - book review

Can Heterodox Economics Make a Difference?gives us a wide range of economic views but the ‘key thinkers’ aren’t listening to each other, finds Orlando Hill
Free Speech and the Suppression of Dissent during World War I - book review

A history of repression during World War I shows the importance of defending civil rights, but free speech always needs to be seen in its political context, argues Dominic Alexander
Falling Down: The Conservative Party and the Decline of Tory Britain - book review

Falling Down shows that despite its historical dominance, the Tory Party faces long-term decline and clashing interests inside its ranks, finds Chris Bambery
Dissenting POWs: From Vietnam’s Hoa Lo Prison to America Today - book review

Dissenting POWs charts the record of US prisoners in Vietnam who opposed that imperialist war, in a vital contribution to the anti-war movement in the present, argues John Clarke
1933: Warnings From History - book review

1933: Warnings From History republishes an important contemporary analysis of how the powerful German working-class movement was defeated by Nazism, finds Chris Bambery
The Robbery of Nature. Capitalism and the Ecological Rift - book review

The Robbery of Nature raises important questions about means and strategy for solving the ecological crisis, and the role of work in society, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Recovery positions: A Labour Party Conference reading guide

As Labour Conference gathers in Brighton, Mark Perryman reviews books that seek to describe what the party’s recovery might look like
Chartist Revolution - book review

Chartist Revolution, an important history of the world’s first working-class political movement, shows its relevance to later revolutionary struggles, finds Dominic Alexander
Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties - book review

Set the Night on Fire is a monumental history of radical movements in 1960s Los Angeles, which holds lessons for global resistance movements today, finds Sean Ledwith
Stigma: The Machinery of Inequality - book review

Sociology and its limits: an ambitious new study of stigma falls short on a number of counts, argues Susan Ram
The World Turned Upside Down - book review

The World Turned Upside Down, a speculative fiction novel, is a compelling story of global exploitation and resistance driven by a complex protagonist, finds Hannah Cross
Forty Lost Years - book review

Chris Bambery welcomes an English translation of Forty Lost Years, a classic Catalan novel of revolution and civil war in Catalonia of the 1930s
Socialist Register 2021. Beyond Digital Capitalism. New Ways of Living - book review

Contributors to Socialist Register 2021, on digital capitalism, show that the system hasn’t changed its essential nature, and scepticism is needed, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Venezuela, the Present as Struggle: Voices from the Bolivarian Revolution - book review

Venezuela, the Present as Struggle opens up important debates about the way forward in the struggle for socialism in Venezuela and elsewhere, finds Orlando Hill
Value and Crisis: Essays on Marxian Economics in Japan - book review

Makoto Itoh’s Value and Crisis provides a valuable exposition of a school of Japanese interpretation of Marxist economics, finds Phil Armstrong
Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe - book review

Judith Herrin’s Ravenna, on the late capital of the Western Roman Empire, gives a fascinating account of the transition to medieval Christendom, finds Chris Bambery
Decolonising Israel, Liberating Palestine - book review

Halper’s Decolonising Israel, Liberating Palestine shows Israel as a settler-colonial state, but achieving a single democratic state requires international solidarity, argues Sybil Cock
Capitalism’s Benign Conscience or a Witting Guardian of Power?

Capitalism’s Conscience gives a range of critiques of The Guardian and its liberal world view, outlining and explaining why it so often betrays the left, finds Michael Bailey
Fight the Fire: Green New Deals and Global Climate Jobs - book review

Jonathan Neale’s Fight the Fire shows that solving climate change requires a movement based in the working class to succeed, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Workers’ Inquiry and Global Class Struggle: Strategies, Tactics, Objectives - book review

John Clarke welcomes an inspiring and fascinating collection of studies of global workers’ struggles but argues that the ‘workers’ inquiry’ approach is not a substitute for wider political work
The Last Man: A British Genocide in Tasmania - book review

Tom Lawson’s The Last Man: A British Genocide in Tasmania is a crucial demonstration that British imperialist claims to humanitarianism were entirely hollow, finds Dominic Alexander
The Ratline and The Good Germans - book review

Lindsey German reviews two case studies of the Nazi period, which, from above and from below, reveal the class nature of the regime and the resistance to it
32 Counties: The Failure of Partition and the Case for a United Ireland - book review

In 32 Counties, Kieran Allen shows that Irish unity is back on the agenda, if an anti-sectarian socialist politics can transform south and north, finds Chris Bambery
The Railway: An Adventure in Construction - book review

The post-war experiences of the young E.P. Thompson working on a railway in Tito’s Yugoslavia cannot be taken at face value, finds Dragan Plavšić
Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassinations - book review

Prashad’s Washington Bullets details the global economic and military interventions of the US, showing why anti-imperialist movements are vital, argues Jamal Elaheebocus
People's Power: Reclaiming the Energy Commons - book review

Dawson’s People’s Power argues for localised renewable infrastructure, but central, collective and democratic planning is what is needed, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Culture under capitalism: Why art is alienated – The Dialectics of Art review

Art is not a reflection of society but is shaped by social production and cannot escape the alienation of capitalist conditions, argues Chris Nineham
Ten Books for May Days

To celebrate International Workers' Day, Philosophy Football’s Mark Perryman has found ten books for all our May days
Tell the Bosses We’re Coming: A New Action Plan for Workers in the 21st Century - book review

Richman’s Tell the Bosses We’re Coming provides a valuable discussion of the challenges facing trade unions and offers a range of solutions to be debated, finds John Westmoreland
The Return of Nature: Socialism and Ecology - book review

Bellamy Foster’s Return of Natureshows that ecological science and socialism have developed together from Marx and Engels’ writings, finds Dominic Alexander
The Caduca - book review

Richard Allday defends science fiction, and enjoys Elaine Graham-Leigh’s The Caduca, a novel for the disregarded
Alliance of Adversaries: The Congress of the Toilers of the Far East - book review

The 1922 Comintern Congress of the workers of the Far East underlines the importance of anti-imperialism and the politics of liberation to the revolution, argues Chris Bambery
Books to spring into Spring with

As what's seemed like a never-ending lockdown approaches some sort of close, Philosophy Football’s Mark Perryman has been reading up on the sport we’ve lost and what sport might become
Berkeley: The Student Revolt - book review

Hal Draper’s classic account of the 1960s Berkeley student free-speech movement reveals enduring patterns that remain important for all activists, argues Joshua Newman
Jazz and Justice: Racism and the Political Economy of the Music - book review

Gerald Horne’s Jazz and Justice is an illuminating history of the material conditions of African-American Jazz musicians in its classic decades, finds Martin Hall
Lenin 150 (Samizdat) - book review

Lenin 150 (Samizdat)is a welcome collection of articles and pieces on Lenin by authors from around the world which asserts the importance of his political legacy, finds Chris Bambery
The Communist Movement at a Crossroads: Plenums of the Communist International’s Executive Committee, 1922-1923 - book review

The newly available records of the Comintern Executive Committee from 1922-23 show the importance of the organisation before its later Stalinisation, argues Chris Bambery
The Women's Liberation Movement and the Politics of Class in Britain - book review

A study of the Women’s Liberation Movement in Britain of the 1970s shows how essential it is to grasp the relationship of class and oppression, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself - book review

Richard D. Wolff in The Sickness is the System exposes the flaws and failures in the capitalist economic system, and argues for workplace democracy, finds Phil Armstrong
The Adventures of the Communist Manifesto - book review

Hal Draper’s edition of the Communist Manifesto with commentary strips away layers of falsifications and misconceptions to reveal afresh Marx’s meaning, finds Dominic Alexander
Monopsony Capitalism: Power and Production in the Twilight of the Sweatshop Age - book review

Monopsony Capitalismbrings competition into the centre of industrial organisation theory and shows how labour is an agent in the power struggle, finds Orlando Hill
The University and Social Justice: Struggles Across the Globe - book review

Student movements all over the world, covered in The University and Social Justice, show the potential student protest has to challenge the current order, finds Graham Kirkwood
The Spark That Lit the Revolution: Lenin in London and the Politics that Changed the World - book review

Robert Henderson’s book on Lenin’s time in London allows for a detailed focus on Lenin in the context of his political debates, organisation and research, finds Alex Snowdon
Cuban Healthcare: The Ongoing Revolution - book review

Cuban Healthcare provides a stimulating overview of the possibilities of a healthcare system free of the profit motive, but lacks some critical distance, argues Caitlin Southern
Dead Epidemiologists. On the origins of COVID-19 - book review

Rob Wallace in Dead Epidemiologists shows that the Covid pandemic is not random, but a product of recent change in industrialised agribusiness, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
The Dawning of the Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century - book review

Horne’s history of early colonialism in the Americas reveals how structures of racism were constructed to support the development of capitalism, finds Jamal Elaheebocus
Engels 200 – His Contribution to Political Economy - book review

The central importance of the revolutionary Friedrich Engels to Marxism, as an individual thinker as well as collaborator, is forcefully argued in Roberts’ Engels 200, finds John Clarke
Counterfire's books of 2020

It's been a turbulent year, but there hasn't been a shortage of books to read, so we asked some leading activists what they've been reading in 2020
How to read a way out of the crisis

The Coronavirus Crisis navigated by Mark Perryman’s reading guide to cause, effect and afters
How To Read Donald Duck: Imperialist Ideology in the Disney Comic - book review

The first-UK specific edition of the classic deconstruction of the imperialism and racism that underpinned Disney’s comics remains eye-opening, finds Dominic Alexander
Too Hot to Handle? The Democratic Challenge of Climate Change - book review

Willis in Too Hot to Handle? rightly says that more democracy is needed to deal with climate change, but this needs to go beyond neoliberal limits, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Eugene V. Debs: A Graphic Biography - book review

The story of the American trade-union militant turned socialist leader, Eugene Debs, remains important and is stirringly told in a new graphic biography, finds Sean Ledwith
Bit Tyrants: The Political Economy of Silicon Valley - book review

Rob Larson’s witty and informative Bit Tyrants provides a welcome analysis of corporate tech giants, and a mass strategy for confronting them, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh
Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe - book review

Diana Darke’s magnificent study of the eastern origins of western Europe’s architectural heritage reveals a history suppressed by imperialist prejudice, finds Dominic Alexander
The Living Flame: The Revolutionary Passion of Rosa Luxemburg - book review

The Living Flame: The Revolutionary Passion of Rosa Luxemburgshows the importance of keeping Luxemburg’s ideas of revolutionary democracy alive, finds Orlando Hill
This Is What America Looks Like - book review

Ilhan Omar has always been a fighter, and not just in the rhetorical sense. Kate O’Neil reviews the autobiography of the progressive Somali-American representative
There would have been no Corbynism without Corbyn: a review of This Land

While This Land offers an insight into Corbyn's leadership, Owen Jones draws the wrong lessons to be learned, argues Shabbir Lakha
First They Took Rome: How the Populist Right Conquered Italy - book review

David Broder’s account of how Italy was captured by the racist right shows the general danger of social-democratic parties collapsing into neoliberalism, argues Chris Bambery
Shakespeare in a Divided America - book review

Shapiro’s writing on Shakespeare remains fascinating and insightful, but Julius Caesar in the age of Trump reveals the weaknesses of a liberal perspective, argues Dominic Alexander
The London Dream: Migration and the Mythology of the City - book review

Chris McMillan knows the London Dream all too well, and his book shows how the city exploits labour whatever the form of capitalism it has hosted, finds Morgan Daniels
Keenie Meenie: The British Mercenaries Who Got Away with War Crimes - book review

Keenie Meenie exposes, with thorough research, the activities of a booming, highly lucrative outsourced industry, and its intimate ties with the British State, finds Susan Ram
20 Dictators Currently Supported by the U.S. - book review

David Swanson, 20 Dictators provides robust evidence that the claims for US foreign policy are contradicted by its behaviour, argue Phil Armstrong and Catherine Armstrong
Ernie O'Malley's On Another Man's Wound: books that made me a socialist

An anti-imperialist personal account chosen by Chris Bambery
Liberalism At Large: The World According to the Economist - book review

Zevin’s history of the Economist magazine opens up a rich angle from which to observe the nature and development of liberalism across 180 years, finds Dominic Alexander
Black history you can’t be without: Nine books on the struggle

A reading list of nine essential books on black history and the struggle against racism
Socialist Register 2020: Beyond Market Dystopia - book review

The wide range of essays in Socialist Register 2020 provide important reflections on the strengths and weaknesses of recent left movements, finds Sean Ledwith
Limits: Why Malthus Was Wrong and Why Environmentalists Should Care - book review

Giorgos Kallis criticises Malthus’ ideas and their modern influence, but sustainability requires structural change to move beyond capitalism, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Invisible Leviathan: Marx’s Law of Value in the Twilight of Capitalism - book review

Marx’s labour theory of value and the analysis of the falling rate of profit receive a robust defence in Murray Smith’s Invisible Leviathan, finds Dominic Alexander
The Monster Enters: Covid-19, Avian Flu and the Plagues of Capitalism - book review

Mike Davis’ The Monster Entersupdates his earlier book on capitalism and pandemic disease to reflect on the current failure of the neoliberal state, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh
The Unknowers: How Strategic Ignorance Rules the World - book review

The Unknowersis a fascinating exploration of the many ways in which our societies are built on strategic lack of knowledge, writes Joshua Newman
The Lie of Global Prosperity - book review

Donnelly’s The Lie of Global Prosperity shows how global institutions use bad data to promote the idea that poverty has declined due to neoliberal globalisation, finds Orlando Hill
Marxist Literary Criticism Today - book review

Barbara Foley’s introduction reflects the strengths but also some of the weaknesses of contemporary Marxist writing on literature, finds Dragan Plavšić
Reading the Labour Party: book recommendations by and for socialists

How can we explain what has happened in the Labour Party? We asked eight Counterfire authors to tell us about the books that have helped them to understand what the Labour Party is and how socialists should engage with it
Rebel Minds: Class War, Mass Suffering, and the Urgent Need for Socialism - book review

A Marxist critique of psychiatry puts mental-health issues in the context of the social crises created by capitalism, and argues for socialist solutions, finds Adrian Cooley
(B)ordering Britain: Law, Race and Empire - book review

(B)ordering Britain presents a powerful case that immigration law is rooted in the racism of Empire, and that migrant solidarity must be anti-imperialist, finds Alyssa Cassata
The Dilemmas of Lenin

In the week of the 150th anniversary of Lenin's birth, we repost Lindsey German's review of Tariq Ali's The Dilemmas of Lenin
Lockdown reading on revolution: some novels set in times of great upheaval

Lindsey German's pick of novels set in revolutionary times
Why You Should Be A Trade Unionist - book review

Len McCluskey’s short Why You Should Be A Trade Unionist gives us a powerful run through the arguments for working-class organisation, finds John Westmoreland
Value Chains: The New Economic Imperialism - book review

Capitalism remains interlocked with imperialism, and Suwandi’s Value Chains demonstrates a core aspect of international mechanisms of exploitation, argues Dominic Alexander
A World to Win: The Life and Works of Karl Marx - book review

Sven-Eric Liedman’s study contains some important defence of Marx’s work, but gives way to hesitation, detracting from the coherence of Marx’s method, argues Chris Nineham
EP Thompson’s The Making of the English Working Class: books that made me a socialist

A classic work of social history chosen by Dominic Alexander
A People Betrayed - book review

Paul Preston’s A People Betrayed is a searing and thorough account of how the Spanish state developed with corruption endemic to its functioning, finds Chris Bambery
Shamrocks and Oil Slicks - book review

Wilcox’s Shamrocks and Oil Slicks recounts the inspiring resistance in county Mayo against their government and Shell Oil’s collusion to force oil development, finds Ellen Graubart
Laugh through the lockdown

Five of the best novels to keep you laughing while you sharpen your critical faculties from John Rees
No Limits. The Disabled People's Movement: A Radical History - book review

A history of the disabled people’s movement highlights its historical successes, as well as showing how and why a new fightback is needed, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh
Comrade - book review

In Comrade, Jodi Dean champions comradeship as a political relationship, against the passivity encouraged by much of identity politics, argues Martin Hall
The Fall and Rise of the British Left - book review

Andrew Murray shows that Corbynism’s roots in social movements and rebellion against neoliberalism will mean its enduring significance, argues Chris Bambery
Ten books to shake 2020

Want to turn the world upside down in 2020? Philosophy Football’sMark Perrymanhas found ten books to help us on the way
In the Red Corner: the Marxism of José Carlos Mariátegui - book review

Mike Gonzalez, In The Red Corner, recovers José Carlos Mariátegui’s Marxist understanding of Latin America in the context of the development of capitalism, finds Orlando Hill
America’s Covert War in East Africa: Surveillance, Rendition, Assassination - book review

America’s Covert War in East Africa reveals the terrible violence of US military operations in Africa, and the complicity of the UK in this dangerous policy, finds Sean Ledwith
England’s Other Countrymen: Black Tudor Society - book review

A history of the black people of Tudor England shows large numbers and varied circumstances before systematic racism developed, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh
How America Became Capitalist - book review

James Parisot’s How America Became Capitalist uncovers the contested and contradictory history of capitalist development in the United States, finds Dominic Alexander
Gadget Consciousness - book review

In Gadget Consciousness, Joss Hands unpacks some of the ways social media helps and hinders collective consciousness and activism, finds Peter Stäuber
‘All Sorts of Woman’: review of Selina Todd’s Tastes of Honey and the National Theatre’s A Taste of Honey

Selina Todd’s biography of Shelagh Delaney contains an urgent political message and a new performance of Delaney’s most famous play shows us how radical she was, finds Katherine Connelly
Black British History: New Perspectives - book review

Black British History reveals neglected and hidden histories of the African diaspora in Britain from the Romans to the twentieth century, finds Paul Fredericks
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism - book review

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism raises important questions about the authoritarian use of digital technologies, but the solution needs to be radical, argues Reece Goscinski
How to read an election

Philosophy Football’s Mark Perryman provides a handy reading guide for the 12^th December General Election
The Coming Revolution: Capitalism in the 21st Century - book review

The Coming Revolution is an impressive guide for Marxists looking for a way to approach contemporary capitalism, argues Josh Newman
The Debt System - book review

The Debt System argues that international debt is a system of exploitation of poorer countries, which should be regarded as illegitimate, finds Phil Armstrong
Understanding Marxism - book review

Richard Wolff in Understanding Marxism concisely introduces Marx’s essential arguments on exploitation in capitalism, and workers’ democracy, finds Graham Kirkwood
Corbynism from Below – book review

Corbynism from Below is a wide-ranging collection of thoughtful essays on this historic opportunity for the left to transform society, finds Kevin Ovenden
Navigating the Zeitgeist: A Story of the Cold War, the New Left, Irish Republicanism, and International Communism - book review

The story of an active life during momentous times from the Cold War to the 1980s turns out to be more personal than resonating with the political, finds Jacqueline Mulhallen
A Socialist Defector: From Harvard to Karl-Marx-Allee - book review

An American socialist’s memoir of his life in East Germany overturns many standard assumptions about the contrasts of West and East, finds Dominic Alexander
Class, Party, Revolution: A Socialist Register Reader - book review

A collection of classic Socialist Register articles raise vital questions about Marx, Lenin, Gramsci and revolutionary organisation, argues Alex Snowdon
Stalingrad - book review

Vasily Grossman’s novel Stalingrad offers vivid insight into the heroic fight of Russian people at the decisive turning point of World War II, finds Lindsey German
The Biofuels Deception: Going Hungry on the Green Carbon Diet - book review

Biofuels turn out not to be a sustainable replacement for fossil-fuels, but just another way for agribusiness to maintain profits, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh
The Long Honduran Night: Resistance, Terror, and the United States in the Aftermath of the Coup - book review

In The Long Honduran Night,Dana Frank gives a personal and detailed account of the resistance of Honduran people and the involvement of the US, finds Orlando Hill
Peterloo: Witnesses to a Massacre - book review

This graphic history of Peterloo is a poignant piece of people’s history told through stunning artwork and the voices of those who were there, finds Adam Tomes
Antifa: the anti-fascist handbook - book review

The long history of anti-fascist mobilisation, outlined in Bray’s Antifa, underlines the importance of broad alliances for mass mobilisations, argues Richard Pratt
Can the Working Class Change the World? - book review

If the working class is to change the world, it needs serious strategies to find unity and overcome divisions, not woolly moralism, argues Richard Allday
The Coming of the American Behemoth - book review

Roberto’s The Coming of the American Behemoth argues that fascist-like processes arose from the essential workings of monopoly capitalism in 1930s America, finds Martin Hall
Lindsey German's August reading recommendations

With summer here, Lindsey German recommends some books to get stuck into
The Mobilization and Demobilization of Middle-Class Revolt - book review

An analysis of hegemony and consciousness among the economically distressed middle class of Argentina provides lessons for activists everywhere, finds Orlando Hill
A Walk Through Paris - book review

Éric Hazan’s A Walk Through Paris takes the reader on an engaging and evocative journey through the city’s radical and literary history, finds Katherine Connelly
Mythologies of State and Monopoly Power - book review

Michael E. Tigar seeks to demythologise the law so we can resist it and change it, finds Dragan Plavšić
A Suffragette in America: Reflections on Prisoners, Pickets and Political Change - book review

Katherine Connelly’s edition of previously unpublished writing by Sylvia Pankhurst shows her deepening socialist politics, finds Lindsey German
Heineken In Africa: A Multinational Unleashed - book review

Olivier van Beemen’s meticulous exposure of Heineken’s activities in Africa show the damage done by neo-colonial capitalism, argues Ellen Graubart
Manual for Survival. A Chernobyl Guide to the Future - book review

An important new book rigorously examines the impact of nuclear accidents. The evidence underlines just how destructive nuclear is, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Spring into sport

As one sport’s contest approaches its climax another has barely begun - Philosophy Football’s Mark Perryman reviews Spring books for those who measure their years out in seasons not months
Municipal Dreams - book review

Council housing was about building homes not financial assets, and we should be proud of that, finds William Alderson
World in Crisis: A Global Analysis of Marx’s Law of Profitability - book review

Marx’s law of profitability is shown in World in Crisis to explain today’s long depression, but ending capitalism requires a political strategy, argues Dominic Alexander
Keywords: The New Language of Capitalism - book review

Leary’s Keywords insightfully updates a classic critique of the use of language by power, to understand the vocabulary of neoliberal capitalism, finds Oliver Eagleton
The actress who gives a toss: A Working Diary - book review

Julie Hesmondhalgh’s diary of a tumultuous year of politics, creativity, theatre, film and activism is funny, moving and inspiring, finds Penny Hicks
Peak inequality: Britain's ticking time bomb - review

Danny Dorling’s Peak Inequality provides powerful evidence of the damage that rising inequality has had across housing, education, health and demography, finds Sean Ledwith
Old Gods, New Enigmas: Marx’s Lost Theory - book review

Mike Davis punctures many myths about Marx and shows how important the history of working-class struggle remains for today, finds Dominic Alexander
Nostalgia for the future: Luigi Nono - book review

This excellent edition of Luigi Nono’s writings offers an invaluable insight into the unity of thought of one of the twentieth century’s greatest musical minds, writes Richard Pratt
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

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Book reviews

Book reviews

Lindsey German welcomes Tariq Ali’s dismantling of the myth of the imperialist warmonger Churchill in Winston Churchill: His Times, His Crimes

Jane Holgate’s Arise raises important questions about trade-union organising strategy, but rank-and-file activity and political context are key, argues Graham Kirkwood

In Sedated, James Davies makes a powerful case that the marketisation of mental health ignores the social causes of distress, harming us while serving capitalism, finds Lucette Davies

Over seventy years since publication, the first British edition of Eric Williams’ classic Capitalism and Slavery remains vital, despite establishment critics, argues John Westmoreland

The Brutish Museums presents a powerful case for restitution of looted objects, and hostile responses to it highlight enduring attachments to imperialism, argues Dominic Alexander

Russia and the Media makes a convincing case that a Cold War mentality in the Western media supports further militarisation and forestalls solutions, finds Michael Bailey

Policing the Pandemic raises important issues about institutional racism, but the police cannot be treated separately from the system they serve, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

Patel’s We’re Here Because You Were There is an important analysis of the racist logic of imperialist politics behind changing immigration policy, finds Jamal Elaheebocus

Richard Allday enjoys an excellent collection of stories set in countries invaded by the US, by authors from each nation, in The American Way

Laurie Penny’s Sexual Revolution offers an eclectic argument full of inconsistencies, while omitting any understanding of how class underpins oppression, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

The Dawn of Everythingseeks a new narrative of prehistory, but for all its interest, the analysis is deeply flawed, argues Dominic Alexander

David Broder’s The Rebirth of Italian Communism reveals the important story of the dissident Italian communist resistance in Nazi-occupied Rome, finds Chris Bambery

On the centenary of the publication of Ulysses, John McInally looks at the politics of James Joyce and the society around him that set the background for the iconic novel

Paulo Freire, a Philosophical Biography has some important insights for teachers but also for activists organising social movements, finds Orlando Hill

The history of the 1918 Austrian revolution by the social-democratic leader of the time, Otto Bauer, despite itself shows why the revolution was lost, argues Chris Bambery

As China 1949shows, the CCP victory of that year enabled the country’s rise to global power status, but it was not a workers’ revolution, argues Sean Ledwith

Daniel Jakopovich’s Revolutionary Peacemaking is a fine collection of writings exploring how we can achieve a society of peace and social justice, finds Ellena Plumb-Javed

The resolutions of the Second International are a revealing way of uncovering the contradictions in the pre-1914 workers’ movement, finds Chris Bambery

Preparing for the season of goodwill, Philosophy Football's Mark Perryman selects books to tide us over into the New Year, and beyond

A selection of books to read over the holidays

Historians in Darker Angels of our Nature deliver a devastating debunking to Steven Pinker’s liberal imperialist theory of violence in history, finds Dominic Alexander

Tariq Ali’s new account of Afghanistan’s recent history demonstrates unequivocally that the anti-war movement was correct, finds Terina Hine

Lindsey German's Marxist holiday reading list

Nothing to Lose but Our Chains is a historically informed and wide-ranging discussion of work and resistance in the present day, finds Lindsey German

A study of the last witchcraft executions in England is very revealing about the roots of witch-panics in conflicts fuelled by capitalism and the state, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

A memoir by a senior civil servant on the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement opens a window on how the establishment rules, finds Chris Bambery

Tony McKenna’s new book is an important defence of Marxism, against thinkers who have confused and obscured its revolutionary core, argues Chris Nineham

Can Heterodox Economics Make a Difference?gives us a wide range of economic views but the ‘key thinkers’ aren’t listening to each other, finds Orlando Hill

A history of repression during World War I shows the importance of defending civil rights, but free speech always needs to be seen in its political context, argues Dominic Alexander

Falling Down shows that despite its historical dominance, the Tory Party faces long-term decline and clashing interests inside its ranks, finds Chris Bambery

Dissenting POWs charts the record of US prisoners in Vietnam who opposed that imperialist war, in a vital contribution to the anti-war movement in the present, argues John Clarke

1933: Warnings From History republishes an important contemporary analysis of how the powerful German working-class movement was defeated by Nazism, finds Chris Bambery

The Robbery of Nature raises important questions about means and strategy for solving the ecological crisis, and the role of work in society, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

As Labour Conference gathers in Brighton, Mark Perryman reviews books that seek to describe what the party’s recovery might look like

Chartist Revolution, an important history of the world’s first working-class political movement, shows its relevance to later revolutionary struggles, finds Dominic Alexander

Set the Night on Fire is a monumental history of radical movements in 1960s Los Angeles, which holds lessons for global resistance movements today, finds Sean Ledwith

Sociology and its limits: an ambitious new study of stigma falls short on a number of counts, argues Susan Ram

The World Turned Upside Down, a speculative fiction novel, is a compelling story of global exploitation and resistance driven by a complex protagonist, finds Hannah Cross

Chris Bambery welcomes an English translation of Forty Lost Years, a classic Catalan novel of revolution and civil war in Catalonia of the 1930s

Contributors to Socialist Register 2021, on digital capitalism, show that the system hasn’t changed its essential nature, and scepticism is needed, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

Venezuela, the Present as Struggle opens up important debates about the way forward in the struggle for socialism in Venezuela and elsewhere, finds Orlando Hill

Makoto Itoh’s Value and Crisis provides a valuable exposition of a school of Japanese interpretation of Marxist economics, finds Phil Armstrong

Judith Herrin’s Ravenna, on the late capital of the Western Roman Empire, gives a fascinating account of the transition to medieval Christendom, finds Chris Bambery

Halper’s Decolonising Israel, Liberating Palestine shows Israel as a settler-colonial state, but achieving a single democratic state requires international solidarity, argues Sybil Cock

Capitalism’s Conscience gives a range of critiques of The Guardian and its liberal world view, outlining and explaining why it so often betrays the left, finds Michael Bailey

Jonathan Neale’s Fight the Fire shows that solving climate change requires a movement based in the working class to succeed, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

John Clarke welcomes an inspiring and fascinating collection of studies of global workers’ struggles but argues that the ‘workers’ inquiry’ approach is not a substitute for wider political work

Tom Lawson’s The Last Man: A British Genocide in Tasmania is a crucial demonstration that British imperialist claims to humanitarianism were entirely hollow, finds Dominic Alexander

Lindsey German reviews two case studies of the Nazi period, which, from above and from below, reveal the class nature of the regime and the resistance to it

In 32 Counties, Kieran Allen shows that Irish unity is back on the agenda, if an anti-sectarian socialist politics can transform south and north, finds Chris Bambery

The post-war experiences of the young E.P. Thompson working on a railway in Tito’s Yugoslavia cannot be taken at face value, finds Dragan Plavšić

Prashad’s Washington Bullets details the global economic and military interventions of the US, showing why anti-imperialist movements are vital, argues Jamal Elaheebocus

Dawson’s People’s Power argues for localised renewable infrastructure, but central, collective and democratic planning is what is needed, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

Art is not a reflection of society but is shaped by social production and cannot escape the alienation of capitalist conditions, argues Chris Nineham

To celebrate International Workers' Day, Philosophy Football’s Mark Perryman has found ten books for all our May days

Richman’s Tell the Bosses We’re Coming provides a valuable discussion of the challenges facing trade unions and offers a range of solutions to be debated, finds John Westmoreland

Bellamy Foster’s Return of Natureshows that ecological science and socialism have developed together from Marx and Engels’ writings, finds Dominic Alexander

Richard Allday defends science fiction, and enjoys Elaine Graham-Leigh’s The Caduca, a novel for the disregarded

The 1922 Comintern Congress of the workers of the Far East underlines the importance of anti-imperialism and the politics of liberation to the revolution, argues Chris Bambery

As what's seemed like a never-ending lockdown approaches some sort of close, Philosophy Football’s Mark Perryman has been reading up on the sport we’ve lost and what sport might become

Hal Draper’s classic account of the 1960s Berkeley student free-speech movement reveals enduring patterns that remain important for all activists, argues Joshua Newman

Gerald Horne’s Jazz and Justice is an illuminating history of the material conditions of African-American Jazz musicians in its classic decades, finds Martin Hall

Lenin 150 (Samizdat)is a welcome collection of articles and pieces on Lenin by authors from around the world which asserts the importance of his political legacy, finds Chris Bambery

The newly available records of the Comintern Executive Committee from 1922-23 show the importance of the organisation before its later Stalinisation, argues Chris Bambery

A study of the Women’s Liberation Movement in Britain of the 1970s shows how essential it is to grasp the relationship of class and oppression, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

Richard D. Wolff in The Sickness is the System exposes the flaws and failures in the capitalist economic system, and argues for workplace democracy, finds Phil Armstrong

Hal Draper’s edition of the Communist Manifesto with commentary strips away layers of falsifications and misconceptions to reveal afresh Marx’s meaning, finds Dominic Alexander

Monopsony Capitalismbrings competition into the centre of industrial organisation theory and shows how labour is an agent in the power struggle, finds Orlando Hill

Student movements all over the world, covered in The University and Social Justice, show the potential student protest has to challenge the current order, finds Graham Kirkwood

Robert Henderson’s book on Lenin’s time in London allows for a detailed focus on Lenin in the context of his political debates, organisation and research, finds Alex Snowdon

Cuban Healthcare provides a stimulating overview of the possibilities of a healthcare system free of the profit motive, but lacks some critical distance, argues Caitlin Southern

Rob Wallace in Dead Epidemiologists shows that the Covid pandemic is not random, but a product of recent change in industrialised agribusiness, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

Horne’s history of early colonialism in the Americas reveals how structures of racism were constructed to support the development of capitalism, finds Jamal Elaheebocus