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Seven Stories Press

Works of Radical Imagination

Book cover for Bakunin
Book cover for BakuninBook cover for Bakunin

The spellbinding story of both the man and his theories, Bakunin chronicles one of the most notorious radicals in history: Mikhail Bakunin, the founder of anarchism, here revealed as a practical moral philosophy rooted in a critique of wealth and power.

Mark Leier corrects many of the popular misconceptions about Bakunin and his ideas, offering a fresh interpretation of his life and thoughts. Bakunin is an insightful read for all those who wish to better understand the fundamental basis of modern radical movements.

Book cover for Bakunin
Book cover for BakuninBook cover for Bakunin

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“Unfailingly informative … and frequently exciting, Leier's biography reintroduces a fascinating revolutionary, knowledge of whose ideas helps one place such recent phenomena as the World Trade Organization protests in meaningful historical context.”

“The life of Bakunin (1814–1876), the Russian architect of the anarchist movement, provides a surprisingly enjoyable introduction to the tumult of 19th-century radicalism … [Leier] brings welcome consideration to the real merits of the movement.”

Mark Leier

MARK LEIER worked as a bridge tender, short order cook, dishwasher, construction laborer, printer, folk singer, and first aid attendant, before going to university and eventually receiving his PhD from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1992. Currently he teaches history at Simon Fraser University, where he is the director of the Centre for Labour Studies. Leier if the author or coauthor of four books on labor history, as well as Bakunin: The Creative Passion.  He lives in North Vancouver, British Columbia.