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Alexander Berkman
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Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist (New York Review Books (Paperback)) Paperback – September 30, 1999

by Alexander Berkman (Author), John William Ward (Introduction)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 102 ratings
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In 1892, Alexander Berkman, Russian émigré, anarchist, and lover of Emma Goldman, attempted to assassinate industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The act was intended both as retribution for the massacre of workers in the Homestead strike and as an incitement to revolution. Captured and sentenced to serve a prison term of twenty-two years, Berkman struggled to make sense of the shadowy and brutalized world of the prison—one that hardly conformed to revolutionary expectation.
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  1. Print length
    500 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    NYRB Classics
  4. Publication date
    September 30, 1999
  5. Dimensions
    5 x 1.38 x 7.9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    094032234X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0940322349
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist is above all else the story of the education of one man.... [We] watch Berkman become humanized, tolerant, able to sympathize with the most diverse and antagonistic individuals.... No other book discusses so frankly the criminal ways of the closed prison society, its homosexuality or extortion. No other political prisoner even remotely approaches Berkman's sympathy for what most of the revolutionaries refer to contemptuously as common criminals. -- Kenneth Rexroth

[Berkman's] prison memoirs are fantastic.... They are absolutely extraordinary. -- Kay Boyle

About the Author

Alexander Berkman was born of a prosperous Jewish family in Russia in 1870 and emigrated to America as a young man. Deported for political reasons from the U.S. in 1919, he went to the Soviet Union, from which he was in turn expelled. “Expelled again and again,” he once wrote. “Must get off the earth, but am still here.

John William Ward (1922-1985) was an American Studies scholar who taught at Princeton University and Amherst College.  He was President of Amherst College from 1971-1979. His best known book was Andrew Jackson: Symbol for An Age.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ NYRB Classics (September 30, 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 500 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 094032234X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0940322349
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1.38 x 7.9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 102 ratings

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Alexander Berkman

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
102 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book insightful, powerful, and harrowing. They say it provides an amazing tale of personal transformation. Readers also describe the writing quality as intelligent, concise, and clearly stated.

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5 customers mention "Insight"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides great insight into what goes on in prisons. They say it's a powerful message of the times and an amazing tale of personal transformation. Readers also mention the book encapsulates the views of a whole movement.

"...But it is such a powerful message of the times, filled with the suffering and unfairness of life in prison and the events that led him and others..." Read more

"...I believe that it also sheds important light on the thought processes and rationalizations of any group of zealots, including 'Islamic' extremists,..." Read more

"...and compassionate political activist, is not only an amazing tale of personal transformation, but a great parable for all those who lean towards..." Read more

"A powerful memoir of Alexander's Berkman's experience in prison after attempting to assassinate industrialist Henry Clay Frick...." Read more

4 customers mention "Readability"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book worth reading, not merely for its historical value, but also for its amazing content.

"...The unnecessary cruelty of guards and prison staff, made for a very interesting read. By the way , the prison in which he lived, still exists." Read more

"...The book is worth reading not merely for its historical value but for its literary qualities as well...." Read more

"...Just amazing." Read more

"great book..." Read more

3 customers mention "Writing quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing quality of the book intelligent, concise, and clearly stated.

"...This book is a concise and clearly stated exposition of the movement ...." Read more

"...It is intelligently written and difficult to put down. Although it is 518 pages, I read it all in three days. It is just that riveting." Read more

"Not only is the event little known, the writing is so wonderful that even if it were fiction, it would be a great read...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Northwestrider
5.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2014
Verified Purchase
It is written with the flowery tones of the times, which makes for, on occasion, slow reading. But it is such a powerful message of the times, filled with the suffering and unfairness of life in prison and the events that led him and others there. The unnecessary cruelty of guards and prison staff, made for a very interesting read. By the way , the prison in which he lived, still exists.
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James Ellsworth
4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Exposition of Anarchism and Anarchists
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2014
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I am a fan of 'The Great Courses' and of lifelong learning. This work was cited as a source in a recent course on the variety of thought throughout American history. Berkman was an intimate friend of Emma Goldman, these days of interest as an early feminist and social activist as well as being an anarchist. This book is his great work because it encapsulates the views of a whole movement. Reading this helps us to understand why we were fighting the Cold War at a later point in time.

Berkman and Goldman were Russian immigrants of Jewish extraction. They felt doubly alienated from mainstream American society in the first half of the Twentieth Century. They were self-educated people and they were energized by events in Europe. They were also the type of zealots who believed that any steps were justified to advance some sort of millennium. As an example, they at first heartily approved of the attempted assassination of Andrew Carnegie's main manager, Henry Frick. by an anarchist.

In this memoir of his prison life, Berkman shows himself to be an egotist and an ideologue. He sees himself as a thorough-going anarchist and social reformer. He is not the kind of person that prison will rehabilitate. However, his memoir is very frank and informative about his ideas and the ideas of the movement he espouses. This book is a concise and clearly stated exposition of the movement . I believe that it also sheds important light on the thought processes and rationalizations of any group of zealots, including 'Islamic' extremists, who also choose to embrace terrorism and who cast a very narrow beam of understanding on the problems of society.

The book can also serve as a gripping account of life in prison with its challenges to sexual orientation, violence from warders and from prisoners and the graft that could be practiced by venal administrators. Berkman is frank about how he felt at varying stages during his long sentence.
5 people found this helpful
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Dana Garrett
5.0 out of 5 stars "Inhumanity is the keynote of stupidity in power" (p. 299)
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2003
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The book is the account of the anarchist Alexander's Berkman's experiences in prison after his botched attempt to assassinate the industrialist Henry Clay Frick, the monster who "legally" slaughtered workers during the Homestead strike of 1892. Although Berkman never abandons his anarchist principles, he does soften his moral repugnance for criminals whose crimes were not motivated by political or humanitarian aims. If anything his friendships with prisoners deepen his anarchist insights about how exploitation and poverty are the principal causes of criminal behavior. Like his lover Emma Goldman, he spends his prison years advocating for the needs of his fellow inmates, often being punished for his advocacy. Berkman details the brutality, graft and corruption of the prison establishment.
Anticipating Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, Berkman shows that those who view their punishment as a part of a larger purpose are best equipped to survive the inhuman treatment and conditions of prison life. The book is not all seriousness, however. It often has lighter moments, as when Berkman describes the quixotic attempt by his friends to tunnel into the prison to free him. Berkman's sub rosa argument, made to Goldman, that Leon Czologosz's assassination of President McKinley lacked redeeming social value, unlike his (Berkman's) attempt to assassinate Frick, while though interesting fails to be convincing. Those interested in the relationship of these remarkable people (Goldman and Berkman) will especially want to read that section.
The book is worth reading not merely for its historical value but for its literary qualities as well. It is intelligently written and difficult to put down. Although it is 518 pages, I read it all in three days. It is just that riveting.
23 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

JR
1.0 out of 5 stars A total ripoff!
Reviewed in France on January 18, 2019
Verified Purchase
This book contains so many mistakes - dozens on each page - that it is extremely difficult to read. It is supposedly "printed in Poland by Amazon Fulfillment, Poland Sp. z o.o., Wroclaw", but it looks like a sloppy OCR job.
Worse still, although unmentioned on Amazon's site, it is a severely abridged version (no page numbers so impossible to compare with the unabridged 500+ pages).
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M.J.A.Standish
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling Reading
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 4, 2015
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One of the best books about imprisonment and its effects. Compelling reading and a memoir that deserves to be known by a much wider audience. A must read for anyone involved with the criminal justice system or interested in penal reform.
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John
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Australia on March 30, 2015
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Classic
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