We Are An Image From The Future: The Greek Revolt of December 2008

Product Information

What causes a city, then a whole country, to explode? How did one neighborhood's outrage over the tragic death of one teenager transform itself into a generalized insurrection against State and capital, paralyzing an entire nation for a month?

This is a book about the murder of fifteen-year-old Alexis Grigoropoulos, killed by the police in the Exarchia neighborhood of Athens on December 6th, 2008, and of the revolution in the streets that followed, bringing business as usual in Greece to a screeching, burning halt for three marvelous weeks, and putting the fear of history back into the bureaucrats of Fortress Europe and beyond.

We Are an Image From the Future delves into the December insurrection and its aftermath through interviews with those who witnessed and participated in it, alongside the communiqués and texts that circulated through the networks of revolt. It provides the on-the-ground facts needed to understand these historic events, and also dispels the myths activists outside of Greece have constructed around them. What emerges is not just the intensity of the riots, but the stories of organizing and solidarity, the questions of strategy and tactics: a desperately needed examination of the fabric of the Greek movements that made December possible.

Written by A G Schwarz, Tasos Sagris and Void Network. Published by AK Press, 2010.

Product Code: 9781849350198

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: 5

WOW!

As you probably already know after the execution style shooting of Alexis Grigoropoulos by the Greek police the country basically went ballistic. In fact the anarchists themselves seemed shocked by how far a lot of the general population went. This book brings together an exceptional range of views and some stunning photography on it and is a triumph. As someone unfamiliar with the Greek anarchist ‘scene’ I found it really interesting to read about the differences with the UK and countries I am more familiar with. For example there is a far more confrontational character with frequently well planned attacks against the state and there were less references to syndicalism (they use the term to refer to unions generally and instead refer to ‘base unions’) than I would have expected as the insurrection did not translate that much into a workplace setting. There were times when I found myself thinking that the extent of the violence that they use is an example of hubris rather than community strength. However as the book notes it is important not to sit outside of a hugely successful anarchist movement and say they aren’t as revolutionary as us because they don’t do it our way. It is this mentality of rejecting success in the anarchist movement itself that seems to have done it great harm, to the point where smaller self designated ‘purist’ groups bad mouth successful, but less ‘pure’, groups. The relations between anarcho-syndicalist organisations internationally demonstrates this well, unfortunately. AK are particularly deserving of praise for including pieces from a vast range of perspectives on anarchism and not being factionalist about it, even including a ‘post structuralist’ piece (yuk!). As such this book is top notch and makes me proud to be a friend of AK. That and the fact it was denounced on Fox news. You can’t get a better recommendation that that now can you?

Anonymous :: 21 May 2010, 10:14

Bleedin hec

As you probably already know after the execution style shooting of Alexis Grigoropoulos by the Greek police the country basically went ballistic. In fact the anarchists themselves seemed shocked by how far a lot of the general population went. This book brings together an exceptional range of views and some stunning photography on it and is a triumph. As someone unfamiliar with the Greek anarchist ‘scene’ I found it really interesting to read about the differences with the UK and countries I am more familiar with. For example there is a far more confrontational character with frequently well planned attacks against the state and there were less references to syndicalism (they use the term to refer to unions generally and instead refer to ‘base unions’) than I would have expected as the insurrection did not translate that much into a workplace setting. There were times when I found myself thinking that the extent of the violence that they use is an example of hubris rather than community strength. However as the book notes it is important not to sit outside of a impressively successful anarchist movement and say they aren’t as revolutionary as us because they don’t do it our way. It is this mentality of rejecting success in the anarchist movement itself that seems to have done it great harm, to the point where smaller self designated ‘purist’ groups bad mouth successful, but less ‘pure’, groups. The relations between anarcho-syndicalist organisations internationally demonstrates this well, unfortunately. AK are particularly deserving of praise for including pieces from a vast range of perspectives on anarchism and not being factionalist about it, even including a ‘post structuralist’ piece (yuk!). As such this book is top notch and makes me proud to be a friend of AK. That and the fact it was denounced on Fox news. You can’t get a better recommendation that that now can you?

Anonymous :: 21 May 2010, 10:12

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