Böcker av Vijay Prashad

Washington Bullets is written in the best traditions of Marxist journalism and history-writing. It is a book of fluent and readable stories, full of detail about US imperialism, but never letting the minutiae obscure the larger political point. It is a book that could easily have been a song of despair - a lament of lost causes; it is, after all, a roll call of butchers and assassins; of plots against people's movements and governments; of the assassinations of socialists, Marxists, communists all over the Third World by the country where liberty is a statue.Despite all this, Washington Bullets is a book about possibilities, about hope, about genuine heroes. One such is Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso - also assassinated - who said: 'You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. In this case, it comes from nonconformity, the courage to turn your back on the old formulas, the courage to invent the future. It took the madmen of yesterday for us to be able to act with extreme clarity today. I want to be one of those madmen. We must dare to invent the future.'Washington Bullets is a book infused with this madness, the madness that dares to invent the future.

'अपने हीरो एदुआर्दो गालेआनो की तरह विजय प्रशाद ने सच के बयान को भी मनभावन बना दिया है। यह काम आसान नहीं है पर वे उसे सहजता से कर ले जाते हैं।' - रोजर वॉटर्स, पिंक फ्लॉयड/'इस किताब को पढ़ते हुए अमेरिकी दादागिरी द्वारा उम्मीदों पर कुठाराघात की अनगिनत घटनाएं दिमाग में कौंध जाती हैं।' - इवो मोरालेस आइमा, बोलीविया के पूर्व राष्ट्रपति/तख़्तापलट मार्क्सवादी पत्रकारिता और इतिहास लेखन की शानदार परंपरा में लिखी गई है। इसमें बेहद पठनीय और सहज कहानियां हैं, जो अमेरिकी साम्राज्यवाद के बारे में खुलकर बताती हैं लेकिन व्यापक राजनीतिक मुद्दों के बारीक पहलुओं को भी छोड़ती नहीं। वैसे एक तरह से यह किताब निराशा से भरी है और महान लक्ष्यों की पराजय का शोकगीत प्रस्तुत करती है। इसमें आपको कसाई मिलेंगे और भाड़े के हत्यारे भी। इसमें जनांदोलनों और लोकप्रिय सरकारों के ख़िलाफ़ साज़िश रचे जाने तथा तीसरी दुनिया के समाजवादियों, मार्क्सवादियों और कम्युनिस्टों की उस देश द्वारा हत्या करवाए जाने के वृत्तांत हैं, जहां स्वतंत्रता महज एक मूर्ति है। लेकिन इन सबके बावजूद तख़्तापलट संभावनाओं, उम्मीदों और सच्चे नायकों की किताब है। इनमें से एक हैं बुरकीना फासो के थॉमस संकारा, जिनकी हत्या कर दी गई थी। उन्होंने कहा था, 'अगर आप बुनियादी बदलाव लाना चाहते हैं तो उसके लिए एक हद तक पागलपन की ज़रूरत है। इस मामले में यह नाफ़रमानी से आता है, पुराने सूत्रों को धता बताने और नए भविष्य के निर्माण के साहस से आता है। ऐसे ही पागल लोगों ने हमें वह नज़रिया दिया है, जिससे हम आज पूरे सूझबूझ के साथ काम कर रहे हैं। आज हमें वैसे ही दीवानों की ज़रूरत है। हमें भविष्य के निर्माण का साहस दिखाना होगा।' तख़्तापलट कुछ ऐसे ही पागलपन और भविष्य रचने के साहस से भरी एक किताब है।

Washington Bullets is written in the best traditions of Marxist journalism and history-writing. It is a book of fluent and readable stories, full of detail about U.S. imperialism, but never letting the minutiae obscure the larger political point. It is a book that could easily have been a song of despair-a lament of lost causes;

Marx200 examines the significance of Marxism for today's world. Leading scholars and activists from different countries - including Cuba, India and the UK - show that Marx's ideas continue to provide us with the analysis we need to understand our world today in order to change it. The relevance of Marx's contribution to political economy is discussed, as is Marxism and the ongoing battle of ideas. John McDonnell MP, Shadow Chancellor, writes about Marxism as a force for change in the 21st century. The leader of the Indian Communist Party, Sitaram Yechury, focuses on Marx's legacy 200 years on.Other wide-ranging topics demonstrating the relevance of Marxist ideas and approaches in the current climate include: 'neoliberalism, austerity and Marx', 'capitalism and new technology', 'Marxism and the environment', 'Marxism & Women','Marxism and culture' as well as 'the role of the state', 'Marxism and the present as history' and 'Populist nationalism'.The book is based on a major international conference organised by the Marx Memorial Library to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx on 5 May 2018.Contents include: INTRODUCTIONMARY DAVISMarx200 - The Significance of Marxism in the 21st CenturyJOHN McDONNELLMarx as a Force for Change Today BEN FINEMarx and Value: The Enigma Code for Contemporary Capitalism DENISE CHRISTIEPublic before Profit VIJAY PRASHADEvery Form of Working-Class Activity MARY DAVISWomen, Class and Gender: A Marxist-Feminist PerspectiveJOHN FOSTERHistory and Marx's MethodISABEL MONALThe Battle of Ideas and the Formation of Consciousness DAVID McLELLANMarx's Materialist Conception of History: New Perspectives FRANCISCO DOMINGUEZMarxism and the Peculiarities of Indo-American Socialism ALAN F BLACKWELLArtificial Intelligence and the Abstraction of Cognitive LabourURSULA HUWSThe Onward March of CommodificationCHRISTINE LINDEYBeing a Marxist Artist Under Capitalism DAVID MARGOLIESLiterature and political judgmentTED BENTONThe Ecological Marx? JOHN O'NEILLFrom Socialist Calculation to Political Ecology SITARAM YECHURYMarxism as a force for change today

An inspiring reminder of the great strength of twentieth century Communism in the Global South.

This fast-paced and timely book from Vijay Prashad is the best critical primer to the Middle East conflicts today, from Syria and Saudi Arabia to the chaos in Turkey. Mixing thrilling anecdotes from street-level reporting that give readers a sense of what is at stake with a birds-eye view of the geopolitics of the region and the globe, Prashad guides us through the dramatic changes in players, politics, and economics in the Middle East over the last five years. ';The Arab Spring was defeated neither in the byways of Tahrir Square nor in the souk of Aleppo,' he explains. ';It was defeated roundly in the palaces of Riyadh and Ankara as well as in Washington, DC and Paris.' The heart of this book explores the turmoil in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanoncountries where ISIS emerged and is thriving. It is here that the story of the region rests. What would a post-ISIS Middle East look like? Who will listen to the grievances of the people? Can there be another future for the region that is not the return of the security state or the continuation of monarchies? Placing developments in the Middle East in the broader context of revolutionary history, The Death of the Nation tackles these critical questions.