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orangecasio's review against another edition
dark
informative
slow-paced
3.5
This was hard to get through. Very dense and information heavy. Very interesting points that I would not have read elsewhere, however.
If you want to read it online: https://cominsitu.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/vicky-osterweil-in-defense-of-looting_-a-riotous-history-of-uncivil-action-bold-type-books-2020.pdf
If you want to read it online: https://cominsitu.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/vicky-osterweil-in-defense-of-looting_-a-riotous-history-of-uncivil-action-bold-type-books-2020.pdf
gogglor's review against another edition
informative
4.0
Informative and makes some great points
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime, Racism, Police brutality, and Classism
Minor: Gun violence and Racial slurs
Nothing gratuitous, just the kind of content you’d expect in a work like thisnolemdaer's review against another edition
i find her revolutionary tone funny (and nice to hear) but i think this could've been an article
zombiezami's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, and Colonisation
Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Sexual harassment, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
amu_pdf's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very educational read. It talks about the history of looting and puts a lot of major historical events into a different perspective that isn’t taught in schools. I definitely recommend reading this as it is a thorough read.
theol's review against another edition
5.0
The author traces the roots of contemporary civil unrest and looting to the history and tactics of the black liberation movement and slave revolts, recontextualizing the self-liberation of slaves in the U.S. South as property theft/destruction due to the objectification and comoditization of black people. She does a fantastic job of illustrating the interconnectedness of racism and capitalism in a very clear and concise way, with a great balance of historical context and analysis.
I don't normally write reviews, but I felt the need to now because I was so surprised by the negative reactions to the book I've seen. Very funny to see people appalled by the defense of illegal actions as protest to an unjust system in reaction to a book that spends so long discussing how the self-liberation of slaves was literally illegal at the time and severely punished by the proto-police force as the theft of plantation owners' property, and would have severely inconvenienced those benefitting off that unjust system as well. One through line of this book is about this culture's valuing of property over human autonomy and quality of life, and I think the overly sanitized versions of history we are constantly being fed leads people to overlook that.
That being said, I personally don't like some of the more casual phrasing the book uses, particularly towards the begining, but that's more of an issue of personal preference and less of an actual issue of the writing itself. Overall a great and engaging quick read for those who are receptive to it.
I don't normally write reviews, but I felt the need to now because I was so surprised by the negative reactions to the book I've seen. Very funny to see people appalled by the defense of illegal actions as protest to an unjust system in reaction to a book that spends so long discussing how the self-liberation of slaves was literally illegal at the time and severely punished by the proto-police force as the theft of plantation owners' property, and would have severely inconvenienced those benefitting off that unjust system as well. One through line of this book is about this culture's valuing of property over human autonomy and quality of life, and I think the overly sanitized versions of history we are constantly being fed leads people to overlook that.
That being said, I personally don't like some of the more casual phrasing the book uses, particularly towards the begining, but that's more of an issue of personal preference and less of an actual issue of the writing itself. Overall a great and engaging quick read for those who are receptive to it.
11corvus11's review against another edition
4.0
I've been dealing with some issues since losing internet, changing cellphone carriers who all suck, and blah blah blah so I'm writing on my phone with hands full of tremor and coordination issues and thus not doing a great job with reviews.
The shorter version (than the book deserves) of this is that I liked Osterweil's overall thesis, but I think the title may be more accurate as, "in defense of rioting" or "in defense of property destruction." The looting history including people looting themselves from situations of slavery and imprisonment was an interesting way of putting things. I think the books flaw is that it romanticizes certain things a bit too much and flattens out situations of civil unrest and illegalism as being unified and automatically liberatory when the reality is, it's complicated, messy, and it depends on if the tactics were advantageous for various situations.
With how much people all over the political spectrum rewrite history and pretend all movements have been won by unicorns, puppies, kittens, hugging cops, and voting, maybe a little romanticism for the violent nature of all effective revolution balances it out.
Also, if you didn't already notice, you can ignore the overall rating. The page is polluted by reactionaries and liberals that didn't read the book.
This was also posted to my blog.
The shorter version (than the book deserves) of this is that I liked Osterweil's overall thesis, but I think the title may be more accurate as, "in defense of rioting" or "in defense of property destruction." The looting history including people looting themselves from situations of slavery and imprisonment was an interesting way of putting things. I think the books flaw is that it romanticizes certain things a bit too much and flattens out situations of civil unrest and illegalism as being unified and automatically liberatory when the reality is, it's complicated, messy, and it depends on if the tactics were advantageous for various situations.
With how much people all over the political spectrum rewrite history and pretend all movements have been won by unicorns, puppies, kittens, hugging cops, and voting, maybe a little romanticism for the violent nature of all effective revolution balances it out.
Also, if you didn't already notice, you can ignore the overall rating. The page is polluted by reactionaries and liberals that didn't read the book.
This was also posted to my blog.