Igniting a Revolution: Voices in Defense of the Earth

In a time when apathy is no longer a luxury we can afford; this book delves into the deep social-environmental issues that involve us all. This book has an underlying message that hyper-individualism is not at all in our best interest, we should be practicing social responsibility for even the slightest hope of a sustainable planet. Much of the environmental struggle reminds me of the idea that the means of resistance is not determined by the oppressed; rather the oppressor. Are the "eco-terrorists" fighting fair? Well, how about their opponents; big business with seemingly endless financial resources and legal sway? This book is a great read and a real motivator.

People in and around mainstream environmentalism have spent the last year mentally masturbating about whether or not environmentalism is dead. Igniting a Revolution is a thoughtful, noisy, cantankerous, and courageous collection that should serve as a conceptual prophylactic that ends that debate once and for all. During a time of Green Scare when federal authorities are infiltrating activist groups everywhere, decrying "ecoterrorism" in the hollow halls of government, and carting earth and animal liberationists off to prision as quickly as possible, Best & Nocella (along with the AK collective) have edited/produced a roof raising howl of tremendous defiance and disgust. Only time will tell if the book is prophetic and ecologically mindful revolutionary forces materialize to play a role in transforming society such that a verdant peace grows out of the shorted-out circuitry of the mega-war-machine. In the meantime, however, the diverse range of essays included herein should be more than capable of setting fire to readers' imaginations as they generate ideas of how a more just, peaceful, and beautiful world might be achieved. A must read I would think for anyone with even the slightest concern for the state of the planet...

I've been a member of the friends of AK press for about six years. Every month or so I get a package filled with books, videos and CDs. It is a cool deal, for twenty bucks a month you get everything AK press produces plus stickers and random zines. Today I opened an AK press package and found a book with my writing in it. It was pretty cool. Igniting a revolution: voices in defense of the earth is a pretty intense anthology with a nice rant from King Maxwell. It was cool enough to be in an AK press book, but this book is filled with some serious radical stars and takes up where most of the other radical ecology books of the nineties finished. The alliance-orientented big tent approach is worn on most of our sleeves. Queers, radical labor peeps, "take back the land" indigenous activists, eco-feminists, animal liberationists, anti-civilization roughnecks - y'all are included in here. This ain't your Dave Foreman radical ecology. Despite being in the book, I had no idea who else was going to be included. Poems from anti-imperialist political prisoner Marilyn Buck help to set the tone of the text as open but SERIOUS. A few poetic words are included on being imprisoned by Little Chairman Fred Hampton - POCC. The book includes a nice essay from Robert Jensen who seems to agree with the 100-mile diet as a revolutionary ecological tactic and a piece by Derek Jensen on his own direct action. Adam Weismann, a dedicated NY activist who is serious about freegan scavenging and helps to articulate a feral city-based life style in his chapter. L. Kimmerer offers a strong argument about faith and liberation. I'm kind of excited that there is a fervent discussion on the contribution of the anti-civilization movements to earth liberation activities. John Zerzan drops a brief tribute to liberation. Imprisoned activists Rob Los Ricos and "Critter" Marshall get seriously hardcore on folks while Jeff "Free" Luers tells his story of radical activism. Igniting a revolution has a great section on repression with words from a dozen folks who've done time for earth, native, and anti-imperialist actions. Sara Olson, the symbionese liberation army underground activist who was captured in 1999 calls for Armageddon. Rik Scarce writes about the repression of authors and activists. Anne Hansen also provides a chapter reflecting on her own contributions to earth liberation and the continued value of direct action. The two highlights of the book in my opinion are former Black Panther and former BLA activist Ashanti Alston's essay on the cross-fertilization between militants called "Mojo Workin'" - an awesome dialogue. The other piece which brought me to tears was pattrice jones' "stomping with the elephants" which documents how humans can learn from animals about liberation. Both should be required reading, and soon will be in my classes . . . Closing with a poem from BLA coordinator Jalil Muntaqim on Katrina, the book stands as an incredible testament to the power and dive

This book will change the face of environmentalism and induct a whole new generation into the struggle for a return to nature and earth liberation. Blessed be those who fight against the forces of earth's destruction. Long live the mother earth our war in her name never ending. A rebirth of uncompromising militant resistance is overdue for our alternative is the assured fact that our children will inherit a dead world. This book will feed the fires of rage and serve as a catalyst for others to attack those that prey on the earth making it an important piece of literary work within the earth and animal liberation movements. The authors Best and Noccela have out done themselves Prepare for war.

This important new book, Igniting A Revolution Voices In Defense Of Mother Earth is a series of essays from the above ground radical environmental and animal liberation movement. The book is divided into seven parts. Part One is on the History and Nature of Revolutionary Environmentalism. Part Two is based on the Sustainability and the Politics of Consumption. Part Three. Religion and Spirituality. Part 4. Primitivism and The Critique of Civilisation. Part 5. Repression and Resistance Part 6. Direct Action and Beyond. Part 7 Social Movements and Alliance Politics. The voices are diverse. This is a source book we truly need to strengthen our resolve in readiness for the future of the revolutionary ecological movement, the anti-backlash campaigns and to turn the tide against activists being continually scapegoated by the tri - dominant cultures' "big guns", the political right, corporations and the state. This book is written by and for earth liberationists, animal liberationists, Black liberationists, Native Americans, ecofeminists, political prisoners, primitivists, saboteurs, grassroots activists and militant academics and those who will join the resistance movement and fight for Mother Earth. Derrick Jensen, Rosalie Little Thunder, Jeff Luers, Leslie James Pickering, Kanahus Pellkey, Josh Harper, Anthony Rayson, Craig "Critter" Marshall, Marilyn Buck but to name just a few are some of the voices in the book. Committed, passionate and talented writers and activists infuse the movement with their encouragement, thoughts and insight. And there are a river of stories to be told too. There are plenty of stories to be told too. Some will move you, challenge you, shock, anger and educate you. Most importantly, hopefully they will inspire you to action. These voices are against brute force and injustice. Igniting A Revolution includes the voices of activists such as the individual activist Jeff "Free" Luers who is currently serving 22 years and 8 months in prison for property damage. As he says in the book, there just came a time when enough is enough. "When it came to dealing with the state and greedy corporations, the word "please" was no longer in my vocabulary." Luers also talks about his own encounters with interspecies communication something that is emerging and being identified more and more for hard-core earth and animal activists. pattrice jones, is another activist who wrote "Stomping With The Elephants Feminist Principles for Radical Solidarity" for the book. jone's analysis on How do you break a wild animal? makes for absorbing reading. She brings to the table a terribly tragic situation that interconnects, not alienates, sexism, speciesism and environmental exploitation while mirroring simultaneously "different symptoms of the same injury". Increasingly now as a positive phenomenon we are seeing direct action reinventing the social justice activist's landscape. The cornerstone of the movement has a wisdom to impact to build