Soft Subversions is a fantastic collection of essays and excerpts put out by Semiotext(e). Semiotext(e) is based out of Columbia University and their books are remarkably cheap so you can probably pick this up for about $6 U.S.

The range of the essays in this collection is remarkable. Guattari deals with topics as diverse as psychoanalysis, schizoanalytic dream interpretation, capitalism, literature, revolutionary action, technoscience, queer issues, and the list goes on. About the only thing he does not discuss is self-esteem (hehe). The essays range from fairly easy to read to extremely difficult. However, this collection works as a great introduction to both Guattari's own work and the work he has done in collaboration with Gilles Deleuze.

Although some of the essays and excerpts can be found elsewhere, there is also quite a few essays in this collection that can not be found anywhere else. So this book is a must for any serious Guattari student.

Guattari is a great thinker and in many ways has been overshadowed by Deleuze. However, just like in The Guattari Reader (ed. Genosko), a very distinct thinker emerges in Soft Subversions. Guattari had always been a people's thinker. He was very interested in concrete social action at the molecular level and his life was a testament to this. The essays are subversive but not entirely polemic. They are "soft subversions" that sneak up unexpectedly. One does not need to be familiar with Guattari or contemporary French philosophy to gain something from this book. Any dedicated activist working at the grassroots level would surely gain something from this collection.



Recommended: Yes