Housmans Radical Booksellers

Zine launch at Housmans on Friday 15th Feb. Come and have an unvalentines drink and listen to some poetry, £5 entry gets you entry and a free copy of the zine (and you can buy BOOKS too ❤️💜🖤)

BERNARD FRANKS MEMORIAL BOOK SALE From Saturday 26th January we shall be putting out for sale the library of Bernard Franks, very kindly donated to Housmans by his estate. The collection is primarily made up of Marxist and, often rare, historical tomes.
Bernard was self-educated and wrote on many subjects, including a lengthy work on the French Revolution (there are many books on the Revolution in his collection). His comrade Phil Edwards has written more about his life here...: http://www.housmans.com/blog/?p=2885
As ever we endeavour to keep the prices of such books as cheap as possible - the vast majority are on sale at £1, while a few are at £3 and £5. The books are available from our second-hand basement.
See More

Come and join the discussion at Housmans tomorrow as to the possibilities of meaningful happiness in a world of political failure.

The Crowdfunder for London's first black feminist bookshop has gotten coverage in The Bookseller - check it out and donate a little if you have the funds!
https://www.thebookseller.com/…/crowdfu nded-cash-rolls-lond…

AUTONOMY NOW Present: ‘Anarchism, Syndicalism and the Amsterdam Congress of 1907’ with Anthony Zurbrugg Thursday 31st January, 7pm Free Entry
... The Amsterdam Anarchist Congress of 1907 was a unique occasion for libertarians to meet and discuss. It gathered delegates from 14 different countries, among which important figures of the anarchist movement, including Errico Malatesta, Luigi Fabbri, Benoît Broutchoux, Pierre Monatte, Amédée Dunois, Emma Goldman, Rudolf Rocker, and Christiaan Cornelissen.
Various themes were treated during the Congress, in particular concerning the organization of the anarchist movement and syndicalism. Other issues included popular education, the role of the general strike, and anti-militarism– an International Antimilitarist Congress simultaneously took place in Amsterdam. However, the most important debate concerned the relation between anarchism and syndicalism (or trade-unionism).
In France several libertarians were leading the French Labour Confederation the CGT: did they offer a new and better strategy? What opposition were they facing? Did libertarians offer an alternative to Social-Democracy and the growing threat of war?
See More

'Rethinking Racial Capitalism' with Gargi Bhattacharyya Wednesday 30th January, 7pm Entry £3 redeemable against any purchase
How has capitalism created or enhanced racism? In what ways do the violent histories of slavery and empire continue to influence the allocation of global resources?
... Rethinking Racial Capitalism: Questions of Reproduction and Survival proposes a return to analyses of racial capitalism – the capitalism that is inextricably linked with histories of racist expropriation – and argues that it is only by tracking the interconnections between changing modes of capitalism and racism that we can hope to address the most urgent challenges of social injustice.
It considers the continuing impact of global histories of racist expropriation on more recent articulations of capitalism, with a particular focus on the practices of racial capitalism, the continuing impact of uneven development, territory and border-marking, the place of reproductive labour in sustaining racial capitalism, the marketing of diversity as a consumer pleasure and the creation of supposedly 'surplus' populations.
Review Full of intellectual energy and wit, Rethinking Racial Capitalism is a fascinating account of the entanglements between capitalism and racism, from the proliferation of territorial borders, to reparations and indebtedness. Fulfilling her promise of descriptive analysis, Bhattacharyya's storytelling is rich, alert, vibrant. Capitalism's allure appears as a hot bath, a teenage outfit, the opening of a menu. I didn't want the book to end.--Yasmin Gunaratnam, Reader in Sociology at Goldsmiths University of London, UK
An acutely observed, innovative and thought-provoking study of the articulation of racism with the development of capitalism. Replete with intersectional insights, it extends contemporary debate through a feminist lens. Careful socio-economic and political analysis is complemented with attention to issues of affect such as the trans-generational carryover of trauma. An excellent combination of analytical rigour with political acumen and compassion. A must-read for anyone concerned about the effects of racial capitalism.--Avtar Brah, Professor Emerita of Sociology, Birkbeck College, University of London
To read Gargi Bhattacharyya is always enlightening: she teaches how to think, not just what to think; she engages her readers as citizens, not just professors; and she grounds her scholarship in movements for liberation. Rethinking Racial Capitalism will transform our understanding of one of the key issues of the day - how capitalism and racism work together.--Arun Kundnani, New York University
About the Author Gargi Bhattacharyya is Professor of Sociology at the Centre For Migration, Refugees and Belonging, University of East London, UK
See More

#Feminism + Fiction + More, 2nd Hand Book Sale. Lots of great titles, priced £1,£3,£5. Sale begins 10am Thursday 10th Jan. More stock will be put out 17th Jan. Downstairs in the Vault @HousmansBooks . See you there! http://www.housmans.com

If you've got a few pennies to spare, consider donating to this crowdfunder for London's first black feminist bookshop!

In this witty new book, Carl Cederström traces our present-day conception of happiness from its roots in early-twentieth-century European psychiatry, to the Beat generation, to Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump. He argues that happiness is now defined by a desire to be "authentic", to experience physical pleasure, and to cultivate a quirky individuality. But over the last fifty years, these once-revolutionary ideas have been co-opted by corporations and advertisers, pushing us t...o live lives that are increasingly unfulfilling, insecure and narcissistic.
In an age of increasing austerity and social division, Cederström argues that a radical new dream of happiness is gathering pace. There is a vision of the good life which promotes deeper engagement with the world and our place within it, over the individualism and hedonism of previous generations. Guided by this more egalitarian worldview, we can reinvent ourselves and our societies.
Reviews "Happiness is big business - and big politics - these days. But as Cederstrom shows in this sharp and engaging book, its recent history can be disturbing. Combining humor with a much-needed skepticism, he shows that in a world of happiness, not all is smiles." Darrin M. McMahon, author of Happiness: A History
"In this lively and acerbic book, Carl Cederstrom provides a compelling history of how a particular psychoanalytic ideal of happiness sucked us in, promising total fulfillment but ultimately trapping us in a lie." Will Davies, Goldsmiths, University of London
"Pleasure was at the heart of the liberation struggles of the 1960s' but has morphed into a new form of ideology and tyranny, fed by the capitalist logic of incessant consumption. The happy self is not only a fantasy, an imperative to fulfil our potential, but also the impulse behind a wide variety of economic enterprises, orgasmic workshops, drugs, therapies, etc. Cedertrom's The Happiness Fantasy is a well-written, lively, and critical study of the fantasy that has wormed inside the core of our culture." Eva Illouz, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
"A wonderful piece of work." Simon Critchley, New School for Social Research
"With compelling clarity, wit and wisdom, Carl Cederström cuts through the disabling illusions ceaselessly promoting the personal pursuit of happiness, offering instead an altogether richer, more compassionate, embrace of life and its vicissitudes." Lynne Segal, author of Radical Happiness: Moments of Collective Joy
About the Author Carl Cederstrom is Assistant Professor at Stockholm University
ENTRY £3 on the door, ticket redeemable against purchase
See More

If you're look for a last minute present, or even want to treat yourself, consider getting a subscription to the Left Book Club, gift subs now set up on the website. Even better think about setting up a LBC reading/discussion group - they're really mushrooming around the country at the moment. Again details about that on the LBC website. https://leftbookclub.com

Just got an innovative bit of spam 😆😆
Hi Housman's Fish Market, I hope you're doing well. I just wanted to chase you again before we close for the Christmas holidays - did you see my previous emails? I wasn't sure if you were just busy or they got missed in your inbox.
... To recap from my other emails. I'm sharing a brand new type of Celebrity Video Endorsement Campaign that can be used for Housman's Fi sh Market.
We can create a celebrity endorsement video campaign that does the following:
- Provides Housman's Fish Market with a powerful endorsement video - Allows you to use that video endorsement on your online platforms & social profiles - Potential to promote your brand to hundreds of thousands (sometimes millions) of new customers - Perfect endorsement for the holidays - Content that could go massively viral
I've attached an example below:
Kind Regards,
Mike Fox | CEO
See More

#Repost from @ashreadslondon ...
Spent yesterday afternoon playing with books and helping to make this new display in the calming oasis that is @housmans_books ❤️ FYI Housman’s has a downstairs FILLED with fiction, poetry, kids books, YA, graphic novels, books about music, London and zines. You heard it here first #bookstagram 🤣🙋🏻‍♀️ check out Housman’s DOWNSTAIRS next time you’re in!!!... Side note: how is this the first time I’m hearing of Issa Rae’s book?! #housmansbookshop #bookdisplay #colourfulbooks #bibliophile #bibliotherapy #radicalbooks #independentbookstore #wejudgedeverybookbyitscover
See More

#Repost from @solidarityatsea ...
We stand strong, and in complete solidarity with the #Stansted15 who today, on #humanrightsday have been found guilty in an appalling use of terror-related law for stopping a deportation flight and thereby saving lives. In their own words: “We are guilty of nothing more than intervening to prevent harm. The real crime is the government’s cowardly, inhumane and barely legal deportation flights and the unprecedented use of terror law to crack down on peaceful protest. We must challenge this shocking use of draconian legislation, and continue to demand an immediate end to these secretive deportation charter flights and a full independent public inquiry into the government’s ‘hostile environment’.” #enddeportations #solidarityatsea #keinmenschistillegal

History is a weapon. The powerful have their version of events, the people have another. And if we understand how the past was forged, we arm ourselves to change the future.
This is the history of the struggle and revolution of human society: of hominids, hunters and herders; of emperors and slaves; of patriarchs and women; of rich and poor; of dictators and revolutionaries. From the ancient empires of Persia and Rome to the Russian Revolution, the Vietnam War, and the 2008 C...rash, this is a history of greed and violence, but also of solidarity and resistance.
Many times in the past, a different society became an absolute necessity. Humans have always struggled to create a better life. This history proves that we, the many, have the power to change the world.
Join Neil to give an overview of a people's history of the world, compressed into an hour!
Neil Faulkner is a historian and archaeologist. He is the author of numerous books, including A Radical History of the World (Pluto, 2018),A People's History of the Russian Revolution (Pluto, 2017) and Lawrence of Arabia's War (Yale, 2016).
See More

Many on the left see the European Union as a fundamentally benign project with the potential to underpin ever greater co-operation and progress. If it has drifted rightwards, the answer is to fight for reform from within. In this iconoclastic polemic, economist Costas Lapavitsas combats this view. He contends that the EU's response to the Eurozone crisis represents the ultimate transformation of the union into a neoliberal citadel, which institutionally embeds austerity, priv...atisation and wage cuts. Concurrently, the rise of German hegemony has divided the EU into an unstable mixture of wealthy core and dependent peripheries.
These related developments make the EU impervious to meaningful reform, particularly as its institutions are fundamentally designed to uphold the interests of capital against labour. The solution is therefore a direct challenge to the EU project that stresses popular and national sovereignty as preconditions for socialism and true internationalism. Lapavitsas's manifesto for a socialist opposition to the EU will be a challenging read for all on the left interested in the future of Europe.
With Brexit negotations reaching their crunch point by December, join us for what will no doubt be a fascinating discussion on what lies ahead for European politics.
"For those wanting a clear and concise summary of the left case against the euro and of the misrepresentation of German European hegemony as the consummation of the "European idea," there is no way around this book. Nowhere has the political economy of the common currency and of German ascendancy in Europa been more clearly exposed. There is now no excuse anymore for denying or ignoring the disastrous consequences of German predominance, as established through the euro, for the unity of Europe and for the great majority of its citizens." Wolfgang Streeck, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Costas Lapavitsas is a Professor of Economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He is a member of Research on Money and Finance (RMF). He is the lead author of the new RMF report Breaking Up? A Route Out of the Eurozone Crisis. His previous publications include Crisis in the Eurozone; Social Foundations of Markets; Money and Credit; and Political Economy of Money and Finance.
See More

Students! Head over to Housmans tonight from 6.30-8.30 for a 20% discount on everything and a free beer...