Tag Archives: Man vs State

Anti-Politics

Posted on September 19, 2021 by smellincoffee

Anti-Politics: A Collection of Agorist Essays© 2021 ed. Sal Mayweather165 pages If you’re still waiting for your masters for permission to live after nearly two years of “two weeks to flatten the curve”, don’t bother reading further. This isn’t your … Continue reading →

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The Disappeared

Posted on August 6, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Disappeared© 2019 Amy Lord368 pages Clara Winter was only a child when her father disappeared. A poet and English teacher, he made the mistake of criticizing Britain’s new order, the martial rule imposed on it after a terrorist attack … Continue reading →

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Obey little, bake much: The Choice

Posted on August 5, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Choice© 2019 Claire Ward400 pages “Let them eat cake,” Marie Antoinette supposedly said of the people too poor to buy bread, and the words inspired revolution. The Choice throws that on its head, and makes it rallying cry — … Continue reading →

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Do you Vonu?

Posted on June 4, 2021 by smellincoffee

Vonu: A Strategy for Self-Liberation© 2018 Shane Radliff127 pages In 1968, a frustrated man named Tom Marshall ventured into the woods along with his wife to conduct a living experiment. Was it possible, he wondered, to create a life for … Continue reading →

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Three cheers for anarchy — three reads, anyway

Posted on June 1, 2021 by smellincoffee

While everyone else was honoring dead soldiers by buying things, shooting off fireworks (dear neighbors: why?), and grilling out, I was in bed all weekend with a case of food poisoning. Naturally, I wound up reading books about anarchism and … Continue reading →

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Death and madness in China

Posted on February 22, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Cultural Revolution: A People’s History© 2016 Frank Dikotter433 pages In twenty-five years of reading history, I know of no man who has instigated more human suffering and death at a broader scale than Mao Tse-tung, the rebel turned architect … Continue reading →

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Ruby Ridge

Posted on June 17, 2020 by smellincoffee

Every Knee Shall Bow / Ruby Ridge: The Truth and Tragedy of the Randy Weaver Family © 1995, 2002  Jess Walter 416 pages “[….] people ought not to be murdered by their own government.” The inherent brutality of the police … Continue reading →

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To Build a Castle

Posted on June 9, 2020 by smellincoffee

To Build a Castle: My Life as a Dissenter ©  1978 Vladimir Bukovsky 438 pages When frustrated Soviet officials asked Vlaldimir Bukovsky why he continued to provoke them, he replied that he doubted he could cause them nearly as much … Continue reading →

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Smuggler Nation

Posted on June 4, 2020 by smellincoffee

Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America © 2014 Peter Andreas 472 pages “What can a Governor do, without the assistance of the Governed? What can the Magistrates do, unless they are supported by their fellow Citizens? What can the … Continue reading →

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We the Living

Posted on July 28, 2018 by smellincoffee

We the Living © 1936  Ayn Rand 528 pages   “I fear for your future, Kira,” said Victor. “It’s time to get reconciled to life. You won’t get far with those ideas of yours.” “That,” said Kira, “depends on what … Continue reading →

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