Against Civilization: Readings and Reflections (Paperback)

~ John Zerzan (Editor) "Since the first edition of Against Civilization [1999] the general perspective referred to by its title has begun to make sense to a growing number..." (more)
Key Phrases: Native People, Old Way, Rock Candy Mountains (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

". . . a new anthology edited by the anarchist philosopher John Zerzan, Against Civilization: Readings and Reflections. The book is composed of excerpts from the works of a wide range of authors who've offered radical critiques of industrial society. . . . Among my favorite excerpts is a darkly cynical piece, "Civilization is Like a Jetliner," by T. Fulano. . . . Against Civilization is not all poetic rage; the various contributions include reasoned analyses of the inherent contradictions of industrial capitalism, celebrations of vernacular culture, and inspiring visions of worlds beyond systematic domination and exploitation. As Kirkpatrick Sale has said of the book, 'It is its collective refusal to say 'Here is civilization: just accept it' that makes this volume so important. Read it and you will never think of civilization in the same way again.'" -- Richard Heinberg; MuseLetter, January 1999

"A provocative anthologypresenting the likes of Freud, Friedrich Schiller, William Morris, and the Unabomber, along with bright contemporary thinkersthat raises the question of whether our elaborately structured, technology-driven society creates more problems than it alleviates." -- Jay Walljasper; Utne Reader, March/April 1999

"Twist the popular Earth First! slogan from "Visualize Industrial Collapse" to "Actualize Industrial Collapse" and you have the gist of this new anthology from John Zerzan. To many it has seemed that John has been alone in his attack on the totality of civilization. Now the reader can see a chronology: diversity and passion from hundreds of years of resistance against the nightmare we have inherited today. This book will introduce ecologists to anarchists and anarchists to ecologists; intellectuals to activist perspectives; and vice-versa. I think Chellis Glendinning's description in her Foreword is accurate when she says "Herein the reader will discover the questions that need to be asked and insights that beg to be nurtured if humankind and the natural world as we know it are to thrive in the future. This book is that important." -- Chris Kortright; Feral: A Journal Toward Wildness, Spring 1999 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

First published in 1999, Against Civilization quickly became known as the primer of primitivism, or "green anarchy," the most radical form of anarchism to develop in the past decade. An anthology of critical commentary on what editor John Zerzan terms "the pathology of civilization," the book offers compelling insight from a diverse group of writers and thinkers including Rousseau, Fourier, William Morris, Schiller, Bahro, Kirkpatrick Sale, and Paul Shepard. The 51 selections examine how progress and technology have led to emptiness and alienation, why every culture longs for a lost Golden Age, and question whether civilization can be saved from itself. Providing profound historical insight into the roots of cultural discontent, the book also paints a vision of a world unfettered by oppression and exploitation. This edition features 60 pages of new material.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Feral House; Enlarged edition (May 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0922915989
• ISBN-13: 978-0922915989
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #229,244 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Join The Primal Revival, December 15, 2000

By	blobby bloyar (Fascination Street) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Against Civilization: Readings and Reflections (Paperback)

Transcend the misery of the last 8000 years of Empire and join the Paleolithic heritage of over 2 million years of tribal life, ecstatic in wildernesses of soul, forest, and desert! Zerzan collects the feral souls of the ages, insurging to overcome this inhuman leviathan that seeks to swallow us all and spit us out as lifeless cogs! This book demonstrates a possibility to really go for the gold, to stop whining and demanding the petty-possible of Democrepublican corporate sellout mediocrity, and to reimagine how Wild life could really be! Especially noteworthy is the article on the Animals Fighting Back... It is high time we put the whole nonsense of civilization on the table to be debated and overcome. Why is civilization nonsense? Because it means war, hierarchy, class oppression, environmental degradation, et al. True "progress" will involve going beyond civilization to something more "civilized" and something more paleolithic and intense! Buy this book! It will provoke your thoughts! It will take you outside media culture!

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest Words..., February 3, 2006

By	Kyle Danley "Eco-Friendly" (Rochester, MI. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This I a beautiful collection of work from the most important thinkers of our time. John Zerzan put this amaizing book together for people who know the horrors of civilization. I would reccomend this book to anybody and everybody living in our destructive modern culture. This book brings up points of an all around great perspective of civilization, with words from my personal favorite authors. Another plus is it is short but still a very percise and accurate read. You could finish it in a day or weekend. Over all beautiful piece of work.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great critique of civilization, January 27, 2009

By	Aaron Grabill (Bemidji, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Against Civilization by John Zerzan is a great compilation of writings from the hands of many different authors.

The essays/excerpts cover a variety of subjects, including: topsoil depletion, deforestation, the loss of bio-diversity, pollution, and the human influence on the natural world. Many of the essays also discuss the harms of modern life, the emptiness of civilized living, and the pervasive unhappiness that pervades so many human lives.

My favorite writings were:

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Discourse on the Origins of Inequality
Fredy Perlman, Against His-story, Against Leviathan!
Marvin Harris, Our Kind
Chellis Glendinning, My Name is Chellis and I'm Recovering from Western Civilization
Ivan Illich, Toward a History of Needs
Tamarack Song, The Old Way and Civilization
William Koetke, The Final Empire: The Collapse of Civilization and The Seed of the Future
Theodore Roszak, Where the Wasteland Ends: Politics and Transcendence in Postindustrial Society
Feral Faun, Feral Revolution
Kirkpatrick Sale, Rebels Against the Future: Lessons from the Luddites

All in all, this book is a great read for those willing to take an honest, hard look at what we call civilization.