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The Wretched of the Earth | |||||||
 
| 80% Recommended by our customers. Publisher: Grove Press Catalog: Book Release date: 2005-03-12 Media: Paperback Number of pages: 320 Ean: 9780802141323 Book Isbn: 0802141323  Tip: compare prices with similar booksAuthor:
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 Written on March 6, 2007 Summary: Poorly written, few new ideas... I find that most reviewers have based their evaluation on their agreement or disagreement with the ideas of the author. Although I liked many of his ideas, this book was very poorly written and contained very little new thinking, so I give it the rating it deserves. Fanon doesn't state his idea and then support it, he just rambles on and beats around the bush and it's up to the reader to figure out what he's trying to say exactly. The result is that he uses a great many words to say very little. This makes for a very frustrating read. The ideas he presents are not original either. Most of them can be found in Gandhi's "Hind Swaraj" (it's easy to download free English translations of this work off the internet and I stronlgy recommend reading it; plus it's much shorter than Fanon's book). Considering that "Hind Swaraj" was written almost 50 years earlier than "The Wretched of the Earth", the ideas Fanon presents were already old by the time he wrote the book! Although Gandhi advocated non-violence while Fanon believes violence is inevitable in anti-colonial struggle, there isn't much that Fanon says that Gandhi hadn't already discussed. For instance, Fanon is often credited for predicting (or warning about) the fact that the intellectual and political elite of newly independent countries may simply replace the foreign oppressor. Gandhi had already warned his people about that, when he said that the leaders who overthrow colonialism by violence will also govern by violence. The example if India, which is one of the few colonies that gained independence by non-violence and which is one of the few that has been and remains democratic, proves that Gandhi's predictions were better than Fanon's since Gandhi also knew that violence was not inevitable in the fight for independence and that non-violence was the best way to avoid a simple substitution of the opressor. In other words, if you want to read well-writen work and interesting ideas about anti-colonialism, don't waste your time with Fanon, read Gandhi instead... Written on November 28, 2006 Summary: An Analysis of Bad Behavior and Greed Approximately one hundred and fifty years after the Gaul- tites wreaked havoc on the island of Hispanola, they've unleashed themselves again, this time behaving badly in Algeria. Using colonialism as the weapon of mass destruction the author gives a first hand analysis of the psychological and physical warfare during a time when he was assigned as a physician by the colonizing country to this geographic location. He leaves no stone unturned, including his depiction of the petty indigenous elite some of whom are highly educated, but are unqualified, unable to run the government and lead the people without going to their daddy, the colonist, for answers. And though the piece is somewhat over analyzed and redundant in some cases, this work is essential for gaining a clear understanding of colonialisms collateral damage, its affects on the colonized and the psychology behind detestable invaders. The long term destruction , as seen first hand by the author, undeniably can be seen openly now .  Written on January 31, 2006 Summary: Another Che Guevara Frantz Fanon is a great Pan-African writer and theorist. He was a psychiatrist who was born in Martinique in the West Indies in 1925. He is one of the foremost writers and intellectuals on black liberation from racial oppression and revolutionary armed struggle. Fanon was not just an armchair theorist with an incisive mind but a practical man who elected to get involved in the fight for freedom in the Algerian war of independence. He participated in the Algerian Liberation movement, the FLN, in the Algerian war of independence against the French in the 1950s. Fanon's thinking was influenced by his analysis of testimonies that he got from Algerian and French patients that he treated during the Algerian war that had been traumatized by the war. The testimonies included the French troops and police torturing innocent civilians, mass killings and assassinations and rapes of defenseless men, women and children. The Wretched of the Earth is a classic book written in the Communist framework that analyses the psychology of colonized people and eloquently explains their anger and frustration. He explains the techniques that imperialists use to subjugate the colonized peoples. Fanon discusses the social and economic basis of colonialism. He highlights the willingness of colonial powers to use violence, their attack on African culture and way of life, among other things. He concluded that violence was the only way to free the oppressed people. His views are in direct contrast to those of another great historical icon, Gandhi, who preached non-violent means to end oppression. The "Wretched of the Earth" has been very influential to all the subsequent liberation wars on the African continent, the civil rights movement and black consciousness movements worldwide. Fanon was very prophetic as he attached post independence disenfranchisement of the masses by the ruling elites as well as tribal or religious clashes. Leaders of the newly liberated nations would have done well to heed in advice and avoid corruption and violence against their own peoples. He saw the need for a liberated country to have a national culture and national identity to ensure that there is unity that welds the nation together against various forces bend on its destruction. Although Marxism has largely collapsed worldwide, this book is recommended reading for anyone wishing to learn about colonialism and its impact in Africa. The book now has an important historical value in the current largely decolonized world. The book will help the reader understand how revolutionary movements worldwide have justified the use of violence to achieve their ends. Readers from countries where the people are oppressed and wish to put an end to their plight may find this book to be still very relevant and enlightening. Written on November 5, 2004 Summary: Fanon, champion of the Third World Almost all prominent black revolutionaries of the 1960s, from Malcolm X, Huey Newton, Nelson Mandela carried heavy influences from Fanon's writings in their struggles from social change and racial equality. However, Fanon's "wretched of the Earth" could arguably be the ultimate manifesto, or bible of Third World liberation. Fanon was no Gandhi, though. ; he makes his strongest point to suggest that all solutions to decolonization lay on violent revolution by using the Frech-colonized Algeria as a model and his Manichean (Good Vs. Evil), or bipolar portrayal of the endless antagonism that naturally arises between the colonized and the settler. Fanon describes the conditions that emerge to allow for a war of liberation to take a foothold, the wave of repression unleashed by the occupying army to put down the rebellions, and most interestingly - because it is what has taken place ever since - the prospects of continued exploitation by the established relationship between the new "revolutionary" bourgeoisie and the former colonizer country after the nationalist struggle and pressure at home had forced its withdrawal. Fanon gives psychologycal analyses to testimonies given by his Algerians and French patients during the war period, and who had been affected directly or otherwise by the war. Cases involving French soldiers and police's torture, selective asassinations, surviving a mass killing, and gang rapes of rebels' wives by the French are some of which Fanon describes with chilling detail in the appendix. "The Wretched of the Earth" remains an invaluable document that testify to the often overlooked argument made by numerous armed movements of the 1960s as revolutions broke out throughout the ex-colonized World. Written on March 6, 2004 Summary: Must Read This is a very useful book to anybody interested in understanding colonialism and its effects in Africa. Colonialism was a military project, and Fanon explained that clearly. Fanon does not shy away from suggesting the use of force, if necessary, to achieved freedom. But this book is not about the use of force/violence to achieve freedom, and should not be regarded as such. It is a book that explains western attitudes towards the colonized world, their willingness to use violence, their assault on African culture, and the curruption of African leaders after independence. Do not forget that independence came to Africa, after the French, the British and Belgians were given a clear warning about the fate that was awaiting them in other parts of Africa by the FLN (in Algeria), the MAU MAU movement (in Kenya), and the very aggressive movement for indepence in the Congo and Ghana. Europe was distoryed after World War II, and their armies could no longer sustain their military projects in Africa. This vulnerability was exploited by African leaders. That is why they failed in maintaining direct colonial control of their former colonies. When you ready this excellent material, you will appreciate Fanon's foresight:-his warning to Africans(and every colonized country)to take their destiny into their own hands: saying that every generation must out of relative obscurity, find its mission, fulfill it or betray it. A warning that most Africans ignored after independence. To anybody interested in the works of people like Dr. Walter Rodney, Aime Cesaire, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, and Basil Davidson, this book is a "Must Read". Please read other Fanon material: Toward African Revolution, Dying Colonism, Black Skin White Masks. Interesting reading! Every African must read Fanon's books! |
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 The Wretched of the Earth |
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| Our price | $11.20 | $11.20 | $10.85 | $12.60 | $10.17 | $13.57 |
| List price | $14.00 | $14.00 | $15.95 | $14.00 | $14.95 | $19.95 |
| Lowest used price | $6.73 | $8.63 | $6.85 | $9.45 | $5.99 | $9.99 |
| Lowest new price | $7.82 | $8.04 | $8.99 | $10.75 | $7.98 | $11.12 |
| Catalog | Book | Book | Book | Book | Book | Book |
| Release date | 2005-03-12 | 2008-09-10 | 1979-10-12 | 2001-01-01 | 1995-04-25 | 2006-11-16 |
| Media | Paperback | Paperback | Paperback | Paperback | Paperback | Paperback |
| Number of pages | 320 | 240 | 432 | 102 | 352 | 256 |
| Ean | 9780802141323 | 9780802143006 | 9780394740676 | 9781583670255 | 9780679752554 | 9781844670864 |
| Book Isbn | 0802141323 | 0802143008 | 039474067X | 1583670254 | 0679752552 | 1844670864 |
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