The Prince

Niccolò Machiavelli

Handy hints for starting—and sustaining—your very own princedom, from the famous Florentine envoy to the courts of France and the Italian principalities. In continuous use since 1513, this “calculating prescription for power” has been well-thumbed by history’s despots and charlatans, like this century’s Hitler, Mussolini, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Peron, Khadaffi and Hussein. “And here comes in the question whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved… a prince should inspire fear in such a fashion that if he does not win love, he may escape hate… Since his being loved depends on his subjects, while his being feared depends on himself, a wise Prince should build on what is his own, and not on what rests with others. Only, as I have said, he must do his utmost to escape hatred.” GR

Publisher: Dover
Paperback: 71 pages

Anarchism and Other Essays

Emma Goldman

A useful selection of the writings of Red Emma. AK

Publisher: Dover
Paperback: 271 pages

God and the State

Michael Bakunin

“Among the l9th-century founders of modern philosophical anarchism, none is more important than Michael Bakunin (1814-1876). Born into Russian nobility, he renounced his hereditary rank in protest against Czarist oppression, and fled to Western Europe… A colorful, charismatic personality, violent, ebullient and energetic, Bakunin was one of the two poles between which l9th- and early 20th-century anarchism was formed. All threads of one chain of anarchism lead back to Bakunin, and everyone in the movement either built upon or reacted to his ideas. God and the State has been a basic anarchist and radical document for generations. It is one of the clearest statements of the anarchist philosophy of history: religion by nature is impoverishment, enslavement and annihilation of humanity. It is the weapon of the state. It must be smashed, according to Bakunin, before the right of self-determination is possible.”

Publisher: Dover
Paperback: 89 pages

Living My Life: Volume 1

Emma Goldman

“Candid, no-holds-barred account by the foremost American anarchist: her own life, anarchist movement, famous contemporaries, ideas and their impact.”

Publisher: Dover
Paperback: 503 pages

Living My Life: Volume 2

Emma Goldman

“Candid, no-holds-barred account by the foremost American anarchist: her own life, anarchist movement, famous contemporaries, ideas and their impact.”

Publisher: Dover
Paperback: 1 pages

Memoirs of a Revolutionist

Peter Kropotkin

Describes social ferment, tyranny in czarist Russia, the author’s intellectual development, scientific career, Siberian exile, escape and life in the West.

Publisher: Dover
Paperback: 557 pages

Gaugin’s Letters From the South Seas

Paul Gauguin

Shoes, canvases, wife problems, money and self-doubt. “Ill-luck has pursued me my whole life, without rest. The further I go, the lower I descend. Perhaps I have no talent, but—all vanity aside—I do not believe that anyone makes an artistic attempt, no matter how small, without having a little—or there are many fools. In short, after the effort I have made, I can make no more unless it bears fruit.” GR

Publisher: Dover
Paperback: 110 pages

Noa Noa: The Tahitian Journal

Paul Gauguin

Girls! Girls! Girls! Gauguin fled “filthy Europe” for a romantic painter’s life in paradise: “Another week passed, and Tehura returned. Then a life filled to the full with happiness began. Happiness and work rose up together with the sun, radiant like it. The gold of Tehura’s face flooded the interior of our hut and the landscape round about with joy and light. She no longer studied me, and I no longer studied her. She no longer concealed her love from me, and I no longer spoke to her of my love. We lived, both of us, in perfect simplicity.” A fairy tale. GR

Publisher: Dover
Paperback: 65 pages
Illustrated

First Footsteps in East Africa, or, An Exploration of Harar

Richard F. Burton

“Following his spectacular pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina in 1853, Burton mounted an even more harrowing expedition in 1854 to Harar, the Somali capital, accompanied by three young British officers. Four months later, after leaving his companions on the Somali coast and disappearing into the desert, he entered the city alone. Disguised as an Arab merchant, he spent 10 days ‘in peril of his life,’ but his daring and diplomacy, his ability to pass as an Arab and his sound knowledge of Mohammedan theology allowed him to leave as boldly as he had walked in. His successful penetration of the Muslim citadel made him the first European to do so without being executed… The text provides a vivid narrative of Muslim beliefs, manners and morals, documents the pleasures and hazards of desert life and contributes a vast amount of invaluable geographic, ethnographic and linguistic data.”

Publisher: Dover
Paperback: 544 pages

Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Mecca: Volume 1

Sir Richard F. Burton

“It is for his pilgrimage in 1853 to Mecca and Medina and the most sacrosanct shrines of Islam that Burton is best known—and for his celebrated book that recorded his experiences during the journey. Successfully posing as a wandering dervish, he gained admittance to the holy Kaabah and to the Tomb of the Prophet at Medina and participated in all the rituals of the Hadj [pilgrimage]. He is still one of the very few non-Moslems to visit and return from Mecca… Whether telling of the crowded caravan to Mecca, engaging in minute analysis of Bedouin character, waxing lyrical about a desert landscape or reporting conversations with townsfolk or fellow pilgrims, Burton gives us a vivid picture of the region and its people.”

Publisher: Dover
Paperback: 436 pages