Book Reviews

Through The Anarchist Press - A Column In Freedom

by John Rety, with illustrations by Emily Johns.
Freedom Press

Squall 14, Autumn 1996, pg. 67.

While sojourning on a wild Scottish Isle, New Year, 1994, Rety came up with the splendid premise of informing himself only through the Anarchist press, ie through Freedom. And so it became his New Year resolution to eschew the "wretched propaganda" of the national press.

Rety, who edited the anarchist paper Freedom (est 1886) in the sixties, still writes a fortnightly column. And through this, for two years, he kept the paper’s readers up to date with the results of his experiment.

Wonderfully illustrated with Emily John’s brooding sketches, the columns, which really turn out to be a diary of Rety’s thoughts and adventures, are collected in this book (hence the title).

Scattered with literary references, quotes, musings, humour, tales and history, the book is at its most interesting when Rety describes contemporary events - Wanstonia, CJB demos, the land occupation at Wisley, nuclear testing on Muroroa etc - and the philosphical trains of thoughts they produce. All, of course, unpolluted by the outpourings of national newspapers.

Alternating between optimism, jocularity and outrage, Rety shows a clarity of thought and provides a fine commentary, not just on the last two years of actions, but on the state of the world in general.

Andy Johnson