Nationalism and Culture [Paperback]

Rudolf Rocker (Author), Ray E. Chase (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1551640945 | ISBN-13: 978-1551640945 | Publication Date: July 1, 1997

An important contribution to our thought about human society. A classic, long out of print.

Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Black Rose Books (July 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551640945
• ISBN-13: 978-1551640945
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #500,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A splendid work, June 9, 2001

By 

keith (ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nationalism and Culture (Paperback)

This book is magnificient. Rudolph Rocker, Anarchist, Syndicalist and libertarian thinker managed to put together in my opinion one of the all-time greatest works on the topics of Nationalism and its relation to culture. The product of over 30 years of work, this is Rocker's magnum opus. He disects the national state in all its manifestations to show how historically it has stifled cultural progress and is thoroughly reactionary in nature. Book 1 goes about tracing the evolution of nationalism and the creation of a centralized state with the race theory as its base to its logical conclusion in Nazi Germany. Also examined is the use of religion by Kings and Rulers of history as a tool in the exploitation of their subjects and the use of state power by religious leaders to cement their control. In Book 2 he demonst.rates how the great achievements of history have come about not as a national creation but precisely the opposite through the sharing of cultural achievments by different peoples. He presents a conclusive argument that the level of cultural achievement of a people is inverse to the level of political centralization of any area, using the examples of ancient Greek culture and the political system used there and the Roman empire with its vast, all powerful state, devoid of free expression and lack of original thought and artistic creation. Since this work is so extensive, I can hardly begin to point out everything said in it. While this may seem to be a dry philosophical book, it is not. Rockers style is lively and enjoyable. This book is a treasure of free thought in an era of extreme persecution(originally published in exile shortly after Hitlers rise to power) and demonstrates that if we as a people are ever going to achieve freedom and the flowering of culture it is going to be at the expense of National States and how the solution to the problems of the authors time and ours is a non-statist, anti-capitalist anarchist way of organizing society. Highly Recomended!

This review is based on the previous 1978 edition of N&C.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute classic!, February 9, 2007

By 

J. C. Brown (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nationalism and Culture (Paperback)

Rocker's book, Nationalism and Culture, is a classic text that should be read by anyone interested in understanding the historical development of the two. It is a fairly dense read and probably not for beginners. I sometimes had great trouble getting through a few pages without having to sit back and take it all in. It's the kind of book that takes a few reads as it is similar to an academic text book. Either way, I think for anyone interested in Anarchist thought, this is a necessary read. For others, it should be very enlightening and fascinating!

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing insight -- pre WW2 !, March 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Nationalism and Culture (Paperback)

Rudolf Rocker foresaw what would happen in Nazi germany and hence the title of the book. If the important people of his time would have had this much insight ... lots of bloodshed would have been avoided. These days it is especially interesting to see the USA foreign policy and US television helping a cultural holocaust along. The nationalism in the USA is horrible. This book points out what nationalism is and does.