zanna_'s review
2.0
I was handed/gifted this book by a stranger at my regular hangout spot back then, The Wetlands, in NYC in the 90s. It was an extremely used paperback and I think I lost my copy somehow over the years. I dipped into it now and then, skipping around, never really finishing it: sometimes fascinated, sometimes confused, sometimes repulsed, sometimes inspired. The author's writing style was unlike anything I had read before. The book has its troubling and controversial aspects for sure, but it did open my mind up to new ideas, especially with the T.A.Z. essay section. It led me to revel a bit more in my own anarchistic leanings at that time. That's my take on this strange indulgence from my past.
akirathelemur's review
4.0
Reading this, I can kind of understand why Bey, amongst others, drove Murray Bookchin into a frothing rage. This can be bit of an infuriating read - Max Stirner through a lens of Discordianism, sprinkled with endless references to culture both high and low, going on questionable tangents, and all in a prose style that is somewhat overwrought. But, behind it all, Bey is getting at something interesting, an attempt to take Stirner's ideas and translate them into the late 20th century while, at the same time, adopting a curiously pragmatic approach towards addressing hierarchies. Yes, there's far too much mysticism and pseudo-spiritual nonsense. And yes, some of Bey's obsessions are rather less than savory. But stripping that away, there is real meat here.
This may appear to be a sprawling and incoherent text, but there's some solid theory and argument behind it all. And, unlike far too much writing in this area, it is damned fun to read.
This may appear to be a sprawling and incoherent text, but there's some solid theory and argument behind it all. And, unlike far too much writing in this area, it is damned fun to read.
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