Customer Reviews

T.A.Z.: The Temporary Autonomous Zone (Autonomedia New Autonomy Series)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

A masterpiece, quite possibly the best book I have ever read! Hakim Bey managed to synthesize the philosophical statement that I have been looking for my whole life! It is good to see such an articulate voice out there who managed to "see through" the paradigm -the Spectacle- and suggest such creative and joyous ways for all humans realize their TRUE POTENTIAL. I've always felt that mysticism and all that consciousness-expansion talk had received a bad stigma because of all the "new age" framing it undertook, but Bey manages not only to "deframe" this concept, and poetically shows the VALUE that such practices can have to "free one's mind" - show people that they need not be oppressed, dogmatic, hive-minded SLAVES, that they truly are MONARCHS. Mysticism helps in a way that it provides methods for the individual rid himself of the "inner cops" inside their heads -all the social programming of generations, sabotaging us by our Freaudian Superegos. Deep inner changes, deep inner consciousness are monstrous catalysts for social reforms -accompanied by good wine and sense of humour- in true anarchist fashion, as Bey rightly states, even though I have a feeling his intent was more focused on change on an individual level...

Well, it was definitely the first book that made me laugh and cry hysterically, but I understand it might be too overwhelming to some...

I'm hopeful that younger generations, such as mine (I'm 20) have the opportunity to be presented to such work, especially at an early age... Man, why haven't I read this back in my schooldays? I might just have quit everything and ran into the woods! =D

5*s

"Thought provoking" is a term that's been abused and debased into shallow, lukewarm praise-- like calling a piece of art "interesting". Few books actually manage to demand a serious response from the reader; to attack us into interacting, to force us to really THINK. T.A.Z. does that. If you like that sort of thing - you know who you are - read it.

It seems to me that many people, including some reviewers here, have grossly misunderstood this wonderful little book. I will say if you are very closed-minded or extremely sensitive to offense, you may have a hard time. All the more reason to read it. T.A.Z. collects various writings (ranging in length from essays to slogans) first published throughout the 1980s by a mysterious Brooklyn-based anarchist; in fact, "Hakim Bey" is an author-character invented by writer Peter Lamborn Wilson for a wide variety of purposes: sometimes to voice opinions of Wilson's, sometimes as an antithetical strawman to Wilson's own perspective, sometimes to go further out on a limb in a line of thought than Wilson is comfortable to go himself, sometimes to scare people, to seduce them, to desensitize, sensitize, expose outrageous truths, craft subtle lies (some embedded with hidden truth, some maybe not) and to generally be radical/extremist- culturally politically and philosophically. Which of Bey's statements fall into what categories is not always clear, to the frustration of some and fascination of others (such as myself). Ultimately it is impossible to tell which of the author's statements are "real", ie perspectives truly held by Wilson, but that doesn't matter. The point is more to stimulate a response in the reader than to actually proselytize. That said, there is plenty of genuine info here: data, analysis, quotations, street reportage, etc.

People tend to conflate Wilson and Bey. Writings published under Wilson's own name, which tend to be more reasoned and academic, demonstrate something of a contrast. Bey's constant quotations of Nietzsche, who famously practiced similar authorial cons, and his conflicting/competing perspectives are also major clues. Futhermore, it is rumored that there were several silent contributors to the Bey material, one of whom was Robert Anton Wilson, a close friend of PLW's. The bottom line is that, like the bible, this book is LITERATURE. Treated as such, it is an incredible head-trip and potentially life-changing. I highly recommend TAZ to anyone interested in radical change, in consciousness or other. I'd also point fans towards a similar book from many years before: Thundersqueakby Angerford & Lea (aka Ramsey Dukes, which is yet another pseudonym). Read them carefully!

This small book is so big in ideas. This man truly understands the beauty and love of freedom itself.

I'm not saying this as an "Anarchist" or -ist or -tarian or -whatever. I like this book for the thoughts in its essays.

And yes, indeed, I do want somehow to find/create even for a brief time a truly T.A.Z... Perhaps on an artificial island in the pacific? Or perhaps in a decade or so with our economy trashing we can have "Free Cities" briefly?

For me, this is the kind of head trip I enjoy reading. It's not deep, but it can be. It's not serious, but it can lead to some very serious considerations. Actually, much of this book is outrageously funny. It's like Salvatore Dali rewriting the Dharmapada on LSD. Maybe what makes this book interesting, is the way it CONFRONTS you on so many levels. Sometimes, you are confronted by your sense of decency. Other times, you are confronting why you have the sense of humor you do. Because I found myself laughing over and over, about a story conserning incest producing a small tribe of half crazed gypsies living within the lonely trailors in the Pine Barrens. But mostly, the book confronts the mediocracy of normalacy. What can you say when a man tells you, "HEY, mysticism doesnt dissolve the Ego, only Death does that, nor does mysticism destroy the carnal desires." It sounds like a wise jester at our disposal. In fact, history tells us that the most enlightened zen masters, were ALWAYS seen as madmen, just as you have "divine idiots" in eastern Christianity, or crazed yogis who tell you the meaning of life, is that life has no meaning. Or whatever. This book takes the stuffing out of SO MUCH, and with great insight, and black humor, that you cant put it down. Hey, what can you say if someone writes down a title chapter as "BLACK MAGIC AS A REVOLUTIONARY ACTION"? To me, its back to the yippies trying to levitate the Pentagon, back in the 1960s peace marches. So, the book's not demonic, just confrontational. Indeed, its primarily a book about how to be an ANARCHIST. Or, how to conduct LIVING THEATER to confront the banality of existence. Let's have a revolution, and make Popeye our new leader. (We've done worse.) As such, Bey's work could easily be the philosophical underpinning of NEVER MIND THE BULLOCKS HERE'S THE SEX PISTOLS. (The book has a very "punk" Zeitgeist, mixed with Yippie revolution philosophy.) This is someone that sees that the problems on earth, are caused NOT by individuals, as much as its caused by Countries, Institutions, Churches, Colleges, as well as a whole sleu of "-ISMS" that produce philosophical, theological, economic, or political points of view, that often OBSCURE our views on the world, and cause wars, rather than clarifiy our role in life, and bring peace. I think Bey is a FREE THINKER, trying to break thru the crystalized conformities and stale philosophies that have frozen our minds into robotic mode. If we take ourselves too seriously, or take the ideas of institutions too seriously, we might miss the most important thing that CAN happen to us in our lives. WE MIGHT HAVE AN ORIGINAL IDEA OF OUR OWN. And, if POETIC TERRORISM is about anything, it might just be about that. How to break free of the NORMAL, to find the truth in the TRANS-NORMAL. So, if you have a strong sense of humor, and dont mind seeing a little bit of IDOL smashing going on, this is a book for you.

I really got into the book when I started reading it and I really enjoyed the ideas of poetic terrorism, art sabotage, sorcery, and similar things. I laughed at his proclamation that the avante-garde are the "death squads of contemporary aesthetics." I came away feeling like he had ranted about the post-modernist fascination with Thanatos simply because he had known a post-modernist artist or writer (or several) whom he didn't get along with. It reminded me of people who dismiss things like hip-hop or heavy metal. I don't see how a whole movement can be so wasted. Once I got through that part of the book I gradually lost interest in what he had to say. At one point I experienced a sense of deja vu and realized I had actually read this book in a dream once. This rekindled my interest for the final part of the book.

The idea of the TAZ isn't explicitly written about. He gives you an idea of what the TAZ is, but that is all. I can see how this inspired the Burning Man event and it kind of makes me want to attend one year, but I get the sense it is not as pure of an example of a TAZ as it would like to be, at least not anymore.

I liked this book and it made me think about things in a new way, but I wouldn't base my entire worldview on this book. I also want to mention that the author seems to be into "boys" (he never used the word "men") and "children masturbating". I think you should read this book if you have been considering it.

It's been a while since I read this, but I've always remembered it with some fondness. The book is a collection of essays on different aspects living life outside of society's rules. I thought the book was so interesting since it was such a modern description of anarchy. Bey's description of autonomous zones throughout history also gives pause and can make one wonder why we do accept the "Rules" as they are dictated to us. There are many historical examples of those that don't, and they go on to great creativity or interesting lives.

If you've ever been to a rave, then you've seen this book's politics in action. Leaderless hedonism with a twinge of altruism thrown in for kicks.

Funny thing about this book, and I don't know if I saw it mentioned in any of the other reviews here. The book is pro-pederasty. It kind of jumps out at you. You're reading along about pirate utopias, where moral laws were suspended, and it all sounds well and good, until he says something like, "And these places were so great, they even practiced pederasty and nobody cared." And you have to do a double-take because you really weren't expecting a pro-pederasty argument in the middle of your anarchist manifesto. In fact, Bey makes acceptance of pederasty a metric for determining how truly anarchic an anarchist is. Wonderful. Just something to think about when reading all the positive reviews here.

Hakim Bey, if you read his provided bio, is the heir apparent to the Situationists. This piqued my interest. He also has, so the bio goes, come up with the fantastically original concept of "T.A.Z". The reality is somewhat less flattering - he's some sort of Reichian Chaos Magician who quotes Continental Philosophers out of context to support his utterly banal "original" concept of the "Temporal Autonomous Zone" - which means people get together at events apart from law as a preview as an as of yet unrealized liberation. That's more or less the book. Expect a bunch of pseudo-magickal esoteric nonsense, blatant economic ignorance, a complete lack of footnotes and overrall, a high level of stupidity, too.

Bey even goes so far as to assert that there have been few studies of pirates and their brand of democracy at one point. There have been a number in economics, organizational behavior, and sociology prior to the book's publication in 1991, one need only look at "shipping". Additionally, there are oodles of English language primary sources, none of which are referenced in his scanty assertions.

In several interviews and in an article on wikipedia, he claims credit for the Rave movement and influence on the founders of Burning Man. Yet, this book was published in 1991. Odd, I recall Raves in the 80s. This is easily verifiable. Talk to any number of people who went to one.

Oh, and more importantly his central concept is mostly plagiarized from Turner's concept of "communitas" from his far more cogent The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure (Lewis Henry Morgan Lectures) (Foundations of Human Behavior). That was from 1969, when the concept was original and Raves had yet to form.

I read 100 pages of this garbage so you don't have to.

This puerile, bombastic, and muddled pamphlet will be of little use to anyone seriously concerned with remaking society along egalitarian, anti-hierarchical lines.

In a series of feverish and haphazard essays, 'Bey' (Peter Lamborn Wilson) lays out a defeatist, hedonistic, amoral, mystical argument for anarchists to abandon the real work of organizing in favor of creating "Temporary Autonomous Zones". Bey studiously avoids defining the 'TAZ', but the concept boils down to discrete and ephemeral blossomings of freedom and play-- parties, pirate ships, frontier communities, insurrections, etc.

Murray Bookchin, in his essay "Social Anarchism or Lifestyle Anarchism: An Unbridgeable Chasm" (available on the web) delivers the definitive downdressing of Bey for this facile and retrograde individualist doctrine, to which I have little to add.

I will say that the kernels of truth that the book contains, such as the observation that revolution must be rooted in joys and dreams as much as outrage and suffering, and that 'one cannot struggle for what one does not know', have been presented with superior flair and sophistication both before and after Bey (See e.g. the French Situationists, or more recently, Ken Knabb and the Crimethinc collective).

If you think you want to live freely, read this. Take what you need from it and leave the rest (you might come back for that later).