When I came up with the idea for this section back in 1990, the idea was to curate a display space for books of seemingly disparate subjects that still resonated with a sense of similarity; namely, stuff I liked that had an outlaw/counter-culture point of view.
It was kind of like attempting to hyperlink a book section even though I didn’t know that word yet. Also, I was personally very influenced at the time by the brilliant (now defunct) Amok Bookstore so browsing this section could lead you to George Bataille, William Burroughs, semiotexte translations of Baudrillard, books about serial killers, or most of the paranoid material that would eventually be used by Dan
Brown as sources for his ridiculously famous novel (still kicking
myself for not writing that one first). For a little while, way before they were famous outside of evangelical Christian circles, I even stocked some proto-‘rapture fiction’ that was around before the ‘Left Behind’ series because I felt it was bizarre enough to deserve attention.
Over time this section-of-the-unpronounceable-name has grown in size and become more organized and focused in subject as my interests have morphed with age (lots of age…); gone are the Bataille and Burroughs that now have their own place of prominence, gone are apocalyptic christian novels and the serial killers, conspiracy theories and psychedelic substances take up less space yet still go together nicely, and the renaissance of the Anarchists completely dominates now.
However, I am still hyperlinking; but I think I’ll leave it to you to figure out why a number of anthropologists keep getting shelved with the books on anarchist theory.
Charles
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$11.95
ISBN-13: 9781570271519
Availability: In the Warehouse (Usually ships to store or customer in 2-7 days. Call for time-sensitive orders)
Published: Autonomedia, 1/2003
The title alone should be enough of an intrigue to get your attention. Hakim Bey is probably the most popular American writer that no one has ever heard of (check out how many websites are linked to him). For those in the know, Bey is easily the most cutting edge and controversial political philosopher at the end of this American Century. I would go so far as to say that he has the ability to approach common problems of 20th century politics with the same lateral-thinking genius that Einstein brought to 19th century physics; he sidesteps the implicit and invisible assumptions of most political dialogue, treating social change as a zen koan and anarchism as Western culture's crass attempt at something equivalent to Taoism. I promise that you've never read anything quite like this.
$12.95
ISBN-13: 9781584350804
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Semiotext(e), 8/2009
the authors were arrested by the French government, Glenn Beck hates it, let me just quote from it:
'It is no longer a matter of foretelling the collapse or depicting the possibilities of joy. Whether it comes sooner or later, the point is to prepare for it. It’s not a question of providing a schema for what an insurrection should be, but of taking the possibility of an uprising for what it never should have ceased being: a vital impulse of youth as much as a popular wisdom. If one knows how to move, the absence of a schema is not an obstacle but an opportunity. For the insurgents, it is the sole space that can guarantee the essential: keeping the initiative. What remains to be created, to be tended as one tends a fire, is a certain outlook, a certain tactical fever, which once it has emerged, even now, reveals itself as determinant – and a constant source of determination. Already certain questions have been revived that only yesterday may have seemed grotesque or outmoded; they need to be seized upon, not in order to respond to them definitively, but to make them live.'
$35.95
ISBN-13: 9780415189781
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Routledge, 1/2001
A fascinating exploration of the effect conspiracy theory has had on American culture and discourse. Mr. Knight does an excellent job of clarifying the diverse phenomena and definitions which have become attached to the phrase "conspiracy theory", in the process building an impressive theory of conspiracy as the meta-narrative currently acting in our culture to help us process the overwhelming and contradictory information we are all exposed to daily. Includes some great lit-crit stuff about Delillo and Pynchon and an amazing chapter on popular Feminism as conspiracy theory.
$22.95
ISBN-13: 9781904859666
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: AK Press, 12/2007
Graeber is an anarchist, an anthropologist who has appeared on the Charlie Rose show, worked with the Direct Action Network as part of the anti-globalization movement, has been credited with writing the first academic article about ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, and is most well known here at Skylight as the author of the popular little manifesto: ‘Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology’. His work has the very refreshing quality of being rigorous without being ghettoized by academic-speak. He is one of those rare academics, like Pierre Bourdieu and Giorgio Agamben, who is not afraid to address the political implications of his professional work; a quality that is very exciting for those of us who have suspected that the discipline of anthropology has much to offer in the struggle against authoritarianism. This new collection of essays, brought to us by those heroes at AK Press, is a major tool to be used for spanking your inner policeman.
$12.95
ISBN-13: 9780972819640
Availability: In the Warehouse (Usually ships to store or customer in 2-7 days. Call for time-sensitive orders)
Published: Prickly Paradigm Press, 4/2004
For many years now I've been waiting for a book to come along with the same exciting qualities as Hakim Bey's "T.A.Z"; terse, philosophically challenging, a synthesis of brilliant ideas, a manifesto for a new generation's resistance. Graeber's book has actually met those requirements. This is a refreshing and accessible look at our culture's general inability to think outside the box and a clear explanation of some commonsense ideas that simply needed to be put into words. Graeber expands on Hakim Bey by discussing how prevelent anarchist-like systems and cultures are already existing in the world now, but are invisible to the average person who lives trapped by cliches like, "anarchist organization? Isn't that an oxymoron?" Ha Ha. I can't tell you how many times I've heard this lame joke or how vindicating it is to see Mr. Graeber put it to rest. This book is highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the utopian project of envisioning the possibilities for a better world, or anyone who would like a template for understanding the structure of the growing anti-globalization movement, its consensus process, and the threat this poses to our petrified and so-called, "representative democracy".
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