Drawing on a wide-range of anarchist publications, Only a Beginning is the first comprehensive overview of anarchist theory and practice in North America from 1976 to the present. Compiled and edited by Allan Antliff, it documents over a quarter-century of grassroots activism, including protests and gatherings, art exhibitions, street theatre, Internet sites, and squats, as well as environmental and anti-globalization protests, the rise of anarchist-feminism, the fight for queer rights, indigenous struggles, and prisoners' liberation.

In today's post-9/11 climate, protests against global trade deals, war-mongering, environmental destruction and other issues are becoming more frequent and high-profile. And in the midst of today's radical upsurge, anarchism is the only real voice speaking out passionately for social revolution.

Only a Beginning casts new light on the radical politics of the last quarter century and the centrality of anarchism for contemporary activism. Included are histories of major anarchist journals as well as essays on anarchist practices relevant to activist movements across North America.

Lavishly illustrated with original artwork and photographs, Only a Beginning is one of the most comprehensive collection of writings by anarchists ever assembled.

Allan Antliff is the author of Art and Anarchy: From the Paris Commune to the Fall of the Berlin Wall (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2007) and Anarchist Modernism: Art, Politics and the First American Avant-Garde (University of Chicago Press), and editor of Only a Beginning: An Anarchist Anthology (Arsenal Pulp Press). He has written extensively for the anarchist press in North America. He teaches in the History in Art department at the University of Victoria, where he is the Canada Research Chair in Modern Art.

Allan Antliff's profile page

Without a documentary history of anarchist organizations, theoretical developments, and activism we cannot build an effective movement. Only a Beginning saves us from this fate.
-Ann Hansen

Direct Action

I find Allan Antliff's recent anthology comprehensive and satisfying. Only A Beginning will surely increase in importance asnewly emerging resistant communities broaden our Anarchist lifeway.
-Pacific Rim Review of Books

Pacific Rim Review

...we are all indebted to Antliff for compiling this extraordinary collection. Antliff's collection is clearly a labour of love, the work of someone with both an intimate knowledge of various anarchist scenes and tendencies, and an eye for what is salient and worthy of more discussion.
-The Vancouver Rain Review of Books

Vancouver RainReview

Only a Beginning is an anthology to applaud.
-The Gazette (London, ON)

The Gazette