Book launch: The Essays of Camillo Berneri

Iain McKay will talk on the works of the influential anarchist thinker, who fought both Mussolini and Franco before being shot on Stalin's orders.

When: 6pm Saturday May 20th
Where: Freedom Bookshop, London E17QX

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/booklaunch-talk-the-works-of-camillo-berneri-tickets-635239808367

About:

Iain McKay is one of the British anarchist movement's most prolific essayists, and perhaps its most prominent anthologist. Lead author of the Anarchist FAQ and a long-time writer for Freedom, Anarcho-Syndicalist Review and Black Flag, he has brought out definitive collections of the works of Proudhon, Kropotkin and George Barrett in recent years.

The State - or Revolution is the first anthology of Camillo Berneri's works in the English language. Born in the northern Italian city of Londi in 1897, Berneri was a militant from his teens and a noted anti-militarist during the First World War. His militancy as an anarchist and anti-fascist saw him arrested and eventually forced to flee Italy as Mussolini secured his grip on power there. A fearsome reputation preceded him and he was subsequently harassed, imprisoned and expelled from nations across Europe, until in 1936 the Spanish Civil War broke out, and he rushed to defend the anarchist revolution there. Berneri's unwavering principles and fame as an anarchist writer made him a hugely popular figure within his own political circles but brought him to the notice of the Stalinists, and he was murdered during the May Days in Barcelona.

Berneri left a huge legacy in both Italy and Spain, which is rarely explored in the English language. McKay's collection aims to fill that gap and bring more light onto a fascinating historical figure