Max Nettlau

Max Nettlau (1865–1944) was active in the European anarchist movement for six decades. Best known as a historian of anarchism and biographer of Mikhail Bakunin, Nettlau was also a sharp internal critic of anarchist strategy and tactics. His works have been published in numerous languages and include A Short History of Anarchism.

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Praise

“No historian of anarchism can help but stand upon the shoulders of Max Nettlau. Nearly a century later, much of his scholarship on the origins, evolution, and global spread of anarchism remains unsurpassed. As a ‘participant-observer’ in the movement that he meticulously chronicled, Nettlau was exceptionally knowledgeable, sober in his critiques, and intransigently anti-sectarian and anti-authoritarian in his analysis. This book not only contains the history of how anarchism came to be, but also includes glimpses of what an open-minded and experimental anarchism ‘without adjectives’ may yet become.”
—Kenyon Zimmer, author of Immigrants against the State: Yiddish and Italian Anarchism in America

“Max Nettlau is the greatest historian of anarchism.”
—Paul McLaughlin, author of Anarchism and Authority: A Philosophical Introduction to Classical Anarchism

“Max Nettlau’s A Short History of Anarchism is a wonderful read: as fascinating as it is accessible. It offers a uniquely rich insight into the influential currents of anarchist praxis over the late eighteenth to early twentieth century; focuses attention toward a number of influential anarchists, including Kropotkin, Reclus, and Malatesta; and explores anarchism in action across England, Europe and the United States. Crucially, A Short History of Anarchism is far more than an ‘historical’ text: the struggles, crises, and tensions that Nettlau explores continue to hold great relevance, insight, and meaning for our own time.”
—Richard J. White, coeditor of The Practice of Freedom: Anarchism, Geography, and the Spirit of Revolt

“This is the best one-volume account of anarchism as it actually was at the time, rather than as later historians have often imagined it to be. Here at least and at last is the best-informed short introduction to the subject.”
—Nicolas Walter, author of About Anarchism

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Praise

“Max Nettlau is the greatest historian of anarchism.”
—Paul McLaughlin, author of Anarchism and Authority: A Philosophical Introduction to Classical Anarchism

“Nettlau is often called the Herodotus of anarchism, but he was rather its Thucydides. His life work was based on the omnivorous collection and omniscient study of printed and manuscript materials and also on personal acquaintance and detailed interviews with almost all the leaders of the movement.”
—Nicolas Walter, author of About Anarchism

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