The Great Anarchists: Ideas and Teachings of Seven Major Thinkers

This classic comparative study examines the thoughts of seven major writers on the subject of anarchy, using their own words to define the concept of anarchism, with subsidiary investigations of their ideology on the subjects of law, the state, and property. Three-quarters of this book consists of classified quotations from the seven writers — Godwin, Proudhon, Stirner, Bakunin, Kropotkin, Tucker, and Tolstoy; the author’s incisive commentary on each forms the balance of the text.
An excellent introduction to anarchist theory and a convenient reference, this volume features a chronological presentation that clearly illustrates the theory’s historical development. The author selects the most important aspects of doctrine and matches them with revealing quotations. His choice of apt illustrations makes this compilation consistently interesting and enlightening, leaving readers with vivid and definite impressions of anarchistic teachings.