Mikhail Bakunin stands out as unique among the revolutionary figures of the ninteenth century. It was Bakunin who was Marx’s greatest historical enemy in the socialist movement, and it was Bakunin who was the founder and main inspiration for the libertarian wing of the First International. His life and writings are a marvelous introduction to the nineteenth century. He embodied in his actions and in the events of his life much of the experience of the struggle for freedom, both individual and national, which rocked Europe during this period. He was a leader in armed uprisings against despotic governments, a tireless propagandist and journalist, a teacher, a conspirator and, of course, a prisoner of the Czar for twelve years until his escape from Siberia. In the present work, G.P. Maximoff, a close student of Bakunin, has accomplished for Bakunin what he could not do himself. From the scattered writings of Bakunin, he has selected those pertinent theoretical sections that give the reader a complete statement of Bakunin’s politics in Bakunin’s own words. In addition to Bakunin’s text, the book contains a definitive biographical sketch of Bakunin written by Max Nettlau, an introduction by Rudolph Rocker, and a preface by Bert F. Hoselitz.
