My most recent book, “The Politics of Total Liberation: Revolution for the 21st Century,” hitherto available only in German, is now available in English for purchase (PDF download or hardcopy book), on the Palgrave Macmillan site, and other sites such as Amazon.com.
I am honored that celebrated animal rights author, Norm Phelps, wrote the Foreword to the book, and here is the critical praise on the back cover:
“This is an extraordinary book that shatters all safe spaces found among the debris, torture, genocide, and despair scattered throughout history by the so-called march towards progress.” –Peter McLaren, Distinguished Professor in Critical Studies, Chapman University, USA, Author of Che Guevara, Paulo Freire, and the Pedagogy of Revolution
“For at least the last half century, a biocentric revolution has been unfolding against the destructive tyranny of anthropocentrism — a revolution guided by the natural laws of ecology against the unnatural diminishment of nature at the hands of “civilized” man. In this bold and timely book, Steven Best writes from, and has documented, the evolution of this universal revolution, as he gives us a glimpse into the catastrophic consequences should this revolution fail.” –Captain Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
“The Politics of Total Liberation is groundbreaking with an innovative new approach to understanding the ills of our society. Best makes is clear that we are losing the battle to save the environment and animals because of greed, domination, control, and war mongering created by humans. Best obviously did not write this to be popular, safe, or political; rather, he wrote because his conscience told him that it is right.” –Chris DeRose, President, Last Chance for Animals
“Steven Best gets it: if we are to stop destructive human conditions and habits, we will need `the most uncompromising, militant form of politics we can muster.’” –Jim Mason, author of An Unnatural Order: The Roots of Our Destruction of Nature.
“I have no argument with Norm Phelps when he states that `this may be the most important book of the 21st century’.” –Ronnie Lee, founder of the Animal Liberation Front
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Was super excited about this book, but why so expensive? I doubt many liberationists can afford $100 for a book.
Yes, sorry about the price, the publisher sets it, and it is beyond my control.I suspect it is cheaper on Amazon and for a ebook/PDF download; it is were up to me, it would be free to everyone, but such are the constraints of a capitalist society. If you are a writer or academic, you could vey likely contact the publisher and get a free review copy, so long as you actually did review it.
Hi Steve, I just listened to your interview on AR Zone. I’m always inspired and refreshed by your thoughtful analysis of the movement. I’ve been checking the publisher’s website for the .pdf version of your book for the past few days, but it’s still not available. Any idea on when that might change?
Hi James, thanks for listening, I will ask the publisher tomorrow and try to get that information.
Yes, same problem here, book way too costly. Was waiting with some trepidation for its release in Italy by Ortica, but same not yet materialized, are there problems with the Italian version of the book that you know of ? My regards.
Hi, the Italian translation is on again, after a delay, but I cannot say at what stage of progress it is in, only that it is still due to be translated and published with Ortica.
See my comments to Deby please. And please note the profits are NOT going to me, I receive a paltry percentage.
Dr Steve Best, I went eagerly to Amazon to purchase and fortunately I was sitting down. $91.24 in Hardcover and no options for Kindle. With a full understanding of how much work must indeed have gone into this important work, nonetheless, being a published author, I feel your publisher cannot be working in your best interest and certainly not in the best interest of the many, many people who would have been awaiting this work eagerly; it being written by you.
I would be very keen to review and will approach them to do so. They may or may not choose to give me a review copy. However, the big problem here is that the people who will want and need to read it, simply won’t get the chance. No one spends almost a hundred dollars on a book anymore. I can only hope it gets distributed throughout the world library systems so that access isn’t denied to all.
Perhaps there is some kind of compromise that your publisher can facilitate so that this important work becomes possible for real, hands-on activists to attain.
Thank you for writing and composing the work. I hope I get to read it some day.
Best wishes with it.
Hi Deby, I share your feelings and concerns, it is, alas, the market imperatives of a major academic publisher like Palgrave Macmillan. They typically first publish in hardcover, which mostly gets institutional sales, and thus can be found in, or ordered for, libraries, and through interlibrary loan services (a very useful option!) Once the first edition sales are set well enough, it will come out in a much more affordable paperback sale. I’m not sure yet on the price of the e-book, which I trust is more affordable, as technically the book is not available until November 9. And I suspect a Kindle version option may soon be forthcoming. I also think discount and reduced used copies will be available later. Sorry for the price, it’s out of my control, and I am not the one profiting; so for now the best bet is review copies (for an actual review) or asking your school or local library to order a copy, or see if the ebook or Kindle version is more affordable. Of if you know German, read it in German! I hope you get to read it soon too, market imperatives sadden me as well. But I do think the book is worth some extra effort to obtain.
Thank you, Steve. Yes, I really do understand your position. I don’t think anyone is blaming you, by the way. It is the way of publishing, and hopefully your important work will make it into eBook format soon. I’ll keep searching for it. It seems to be an essential read.
The Book it worth the money
Congrats on the eloquent and impressive praise, can’t wait to read. Will have to shop for a good price on Amazon though.
Hey Steve, any interest in being interviewed about the book for SpeciesAndClass.com? If so, give us a holler through the contact form there. Also if you can get/lone me a copy I would be willing to review it for the site.
Best, Jon
Reblogged this on Notes toward an International Libertarian Eco-Socialism and commented:
It is unfortunate that this book costs as much as it does….
Thank you, there is a form on the Palsgrave-Macmillan site to have your library order this; it will soon be out as an e-book and I hope will be cheaper and in various ways more available, soon.
I really, really enjoyed your interview on ARZone (I’m sharing the interview link). Seems like you are the only publicly well-known animal rights activist (I hope not!) that really supports promoting rights for both species and of course supporting a healthy environment for both species to live in.
Other AR people are simply missing the point, supporting a single-minded cause, and continue promoting a watered-down version of veganism–which gets more and more diluted…And I’m so tired of the misanthropic AR people; they need to put away their hatred and egos and wake up–we all need each other to survive and thrive.
For the Animals, For the People, For the Planet!
Thank you Lorrie, I totally agree! AR alone in no way can effect systemic social change and struggle, hence for better or worse we have to work with, not against, other social (and environmental) movements, and misanthropy and eco-fascist and friendly-fascist single-issue approaches in the AR movement are disastrously counter-productive.
I agree we should work together where possible, so I am glad Paul Watson recognizes the value of your treatise on animal liberation. But I resent the slanderous association of misanthropes with fascists. Paul has described himself as “an unashamed misanthrope” http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/2009/11/03/fears-jeers-cheers-and-loathing-for-sea-shepherd-in-south-park-288
Paul also considers himself a vegan. But he has no time for academic, moral arguments about pure, total veganism. He’s too busy saving wildlife.
Marc, regarding what you said about Paul Watson: If one doesn’t educate others, people don’t learn. And if people don’t learn, one will always be “busy saving” animals; it’ll be a losing battle.
We need to take time to do both.
Steve: I was in the university library last week, browsing through a section of new and uncategorised books. To my total delight, your book was on the shelf.
So far, I have read the first three chapters and it is absolutely SPOT-ON! It is combining social, non-human and ecological concerns that we must do to combat the monster called human society.
Great stuff. I completely empathise with others on price. I can only thank the earth that I work (part-time) in a university which is a UK-copyright library.
Stay strong, and keep up this kind of thinking!
brian
Thanks Brian, great to hear, I hope others will at least try their local university library or ask their local libraries to order it; I just checked and the book is still not yet available as a cheaper ebook or pdf ;(
Hi, again, Steve.
Well, I just completed my first reading. Great, great, great stuff, really.
In the final chapter (conclusion), you highlight the issue of which future we (as a species) might choose. Starhawk, in her 1993 novel ‘The Fifth Sacred Thing’ asked the same question. This is from the rear cover of my old paperback copy:
‘Imagine a world without poverty, hunger, or hatred, where a rich culture honors the diverse mixes of races, religions, and heritages, and the Four Sacred Things that sustain us — earth, air, fire, and water — are valued unconditionally. Now imagine the opposite: a nightmare world in which an authoritarian regime polices an apartheid state, access to food and water is restricted to those who obey the corrupt official religion, women are the property of their husbands or the state, and children are bred for prostitution and war.’
That seems to your own sense of the future humanity must choose from.
Overall, the book is excellent. However, there is one point that I sense you might be neglecting. This is the epistemological issue relating to awareness of some of the concerns you raise in the book.
You are dead right that human concerns (race, class, gender) are urgent, but equally urgent are the lives (or deaths) of non-human species and ecological issues. You make these points consistently, and powerfully, in your book.
Within the neoliberal world we have had imposed on us (or, shoved down our throats?), those human concerns SHOULD be obvious. But, are they? I don’t think so.
However, issues of non-human rights (the chimpanzee in NY who was denied the equivalent of ‘human rights’ two weeks ago, and the orang-utan who was ‘given’ such rights in Argentina earlier this week) are of no concern to those who have not shared life with another creature, or species. Likewise, the ecological concerns require some scientific understanding of the aspects of the ecology that are out of balance, and what is forcing that state.
How do we address such issues in a world where well over 50% of all human beings (I’m not sure of the figure today) live in urban areas and have very limited access to explicit non-human life, and where educational systems the world over are focussing on ‘technology’ rather than some science?
For example, I lecture, part-time, in a university School of Education. Over the past 7-8 years, I have conducted a little data collection by asking both pre- and in-service teachers two questions:
1) what is the most urgent issue facing humanity today?
2) what is the most pressing issue facing life on earth today?
…the overwhelming percentage of students (including many with university degrees, and nearly all of whom are teaching in front of children and adolescents today) fail to distinguish the difference between ‘humanity’ and ‘life on earth’. For them, they are the same.
How do we change the human (or western, civilised) mindset that cannot distinguish between human existence and the rest of life on the planet? Or, the planet?
Otherwise, I don’t think I can quibble with a single point in your book.
Finally, as I borrowed the book from the university library, I need to apologise for not contributing to your income. I am really, really sorry. But as a part-time lecturer, my income is really not great.
Thank you for a truly excellent volume.
From the Irish midlands,
brian
Hi, Steve. It is a very wet and very wild day in the Irish midlands. Gael force winds seem to be saying that Earth is telling me something, and the news is not good!
I just received a copy of David Naguib Pellow’s recently published book titled, ‘Total Liberation: The Power and Promise of Animal Rights and the Radical Earth Movement’, published by University of Minnesota Press. Like minds, is all I can say.
It appears you thinking is reaching out into wider circles.
We urgently need such readings to answer the wind appropriately and get to work.
Stay well, and keep strong, Steve.
brian