The World That Never Was
A True Story of Dreamers, Schemers, Anarchists and Secret Agents
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Published:3rd Mar '11
Should be back in stock very soon
A masterly exploration of the strange twists and turns of history, The World That Never Was is a true story of dreamers, schemers, anarchists and secret agents of the late nineteenth century.
The last years of the nineteenth century saw the birth of a new phenomenon: international terrorism. Alex Butterworth interweaves group biography, cultural history and meticulous detective work to create a revelatory account of the age.
The last years of the nineteenth century saw the birth of a new phenomenon: international terrorism. Bombings and assassinations shook the great cities of Europe and America, threatening social order. Fiendish networks of anarchist conspiritors were blamed and the public whipped into a frenzy of anxiety.
The reality was rather different. These dramatic events were only the most visible part of a longer, clandestine struggle waged between the forces of revolution and reaction, in which little was as it seemed. Alex Butterworth interweaves group biography, cultural history and meticulous detective work to create a revelatory account of the age. Both intimate and panoramic, it is a story with uncanny resonances for today.
Exhilarating...almost any paragraph packs more action than an entire Dan Brown novel * Financial Times *
Butterworth has created an impressive work which will captivate those unfamiliar with anarchist history and teach even specialists much that they did not know before * Independent *
Compelling and insightful... The World That Never Was is a compelling narrative history both of a generation of demonised and battered - but optimistic - revolutionaries...and of the political police forces ranged against them -- Stuart Christie * Guardian *
A rich and passionate account of the world's first international terrorist campaign... Brilliant... A thrilling and important book * Sunday Times *
One of the most absorbing depictions of the dark underside of radical politics in many years...a riveting account, teeming with intrigue and adventure and packed with the most astonishing characters * New Statesman *
This is an amazing book full of incredible people all of whom turn out to be real and unbelievable stories, all of which turn out be true... A genuine tour de force -- David Aaronovitch
Intriguing, provocative and written with a novelist's eye for detail, this book is an engrossing journey into a murky, subterranean world -- Mike Rapport * BBC History Magazine *
One of the most absorbing depictions of the dark underside of radical politics in many years... Butterworth has opted to present the anarchists in a mode that emphasises narrative over analysis. The result is a riveting account, teeming with intrigue and adventure and packed with the most astonishing characters. One cannot help wishing there were more extended analysis, however, for when Butterworth does offer broader observations, they are exceptionally astute. -- John Gray * New Statesman *
Alex Butterworth, in this wide-ranging account of 19th-century anarchist activity, does justice to both sides of the picture - the glowing ideal, its shady enactment -- Lucy Hughes-Hallett * Daily Telegraph *
Sweeping, extensively researched -- Leo McKinstry * Express *
ISBN: 9780099551928
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 33mm
Weight: 383g
560 pages