Freedom Press

Max Nettlau was the most proficient, and still is the most important, chronicler of anarchism. This single volume (at 400 pages) introduction to the history of anarchist ideas and early movements, summarizing the author's monumental 9-volume history and several biographies, is the most reliable guide. The 18 chapters cover the precursors of anarchism, the history of ideas like individualist anarchism, Proudhonism and revolutionary syndicalism, and the history of the world anarchist movement up to 1930.

This book is not intended for people who have spent a lifetime pondering the problems of anarchism, but for those who either had no idea of what the word implied or knew exactly what it implied and rejected it, considering that it had no relevance for the modern world. It is about the many ways in which people organise themselves in any kind of human society.