authors reveal more about themselves than they intend to, Consider the title of this book, Bob has a history of turning friends into enemies, of causing the most damage among the ranks of his nominal allies, of launching indiscriminate attacks that hurt the people closest to him.
In my own case, I was enough of a friend at the time of publication to receive a signed copy possibly a free one at that, I dont recall.
But, I was hurt, when, at the back of the book, he asserted that “all media” had suppressed the flyer he created against the Iraq war.
I was a zine editor at the time, and a frequent publisher of Bobs work, And, strictly speaking, it was true that I hadnt put the flyer in my zine, But, I did put it all over the campus of the college I was attending at the time, as I did with posters from “Dadata” and other sources.
By the time I saw the words, it was too late to ask for a retraction, and so I just let my friendship with Bob slide, to avoid future burns.
If that sounds petty, thats because it is, But, I had been around Bob enough to know that he loved a good argument, not so much for the process as for the result Bob loved to win.
He loved to take revenge on people who had disagreed with him and he could be a most dangerous opponent.
If I had been hurt only in the smallest way this time, the next time it would likely be something bigger.
All of which tells you nothing about this book, but it may be a clue as to why Bobs writing is so engaging.
He invites you to come along with him and celebrate his victories, He gives the reader a chance to share in reveling in revenge against his opponents, He brings a razorsharp wit to bear on even the most incidental slight or disagreement, and wry smiles and outright cruel laughs are one of the pleasures of reading his work.
The strong point of this volume is the opening section on Bobs antiwork position, particularly the piece “No Future for the Workplace” that was written for the Wall Street Journal.
There are a number of good now very dated jibes to be found as well in the “DialaRumor” section.
And, stuck near the back, theres a very interesting scholarly piece on the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, But, honestly, the whole book is enjoyable, each piece giving some pleasure on reading,
So long as you dont know Bob personally, sitelink examiner. com/booksindenv The author, who wrote for an anarchist publication in San Francisco, spends most of this book talking about himself.
It would be far more interesting to someone in the Bay Area anarchist scene in thes, I have little interest in that extremely esoteric topic, however,
I bought it for the first section which follows up sitelinkAbolition of Work and Other Essays, which I read online and loved.
He responds to negative reviews in his usual scathing, hilarious, ad hominem way, That part was great. A middle aged boring white dull man, And his rants. He choose
not to work, So he evangelizes. Which is not work. Because he is against work, And the bills have to be paid, So he prints boring white dull man opinions, And than he goes to market to sell them, Just like with any produce, But this is not work, Because he is against work, This collection ofessays, tracts, rants, posters, court transcripts, xrated neologisms, belles lettres, and theoretical papers covers everything from The Last International to The Abolition of Work, and is sure to offend, inflame, and inspire almost any reader, often at the same time.
.