PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- The notion for creating a Utopian society came to prominence after the world had suffered not only the losses of the First World War but also the devastation caused by the Spanish Flu epidemic. From India, Japan and California individuals banded together in the belief that a more caring and creative society can exist. Neima casts a sympathetic eye over the six attempts at a Utopian society that she discusses but unfortunately sometimes good intentions often collide with basic human wants and needs. A fascinating and thought provoking read. Greg Waldron
'Neima's book, impeccably researched and beautifully written, will be an inspiration for anyone looking to an alternative future today.' - Stella Tillyard, author of Aristocrats and The Great Level 'Deeply interesting and a pleasure to read, The Utopians illuminates the history of social dreaming at a time when it has never been more needed.' - Alison Light, author of A Radical Romance, Common People and Mrs. Woolf and the Servants The Utopians is the remarkable story of six experimental communities - Santiniketan-Sriniketan in India, Dartington Hall in England, Atarashiki Mura in Japan, the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man in France, the Bruderhof in Germany and Trabuco College in America - that sprang up in the aftermath of the First World War.
Anna Neima is a historian with a PhD from the University of Cambridge. She lives in north London with her husband and son. The Utopians is her first book.
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- The notion for creating a Utopian society came to prominence after the world had suffered not only the losses of the First World War but also the devastation caused by the Spanish Flu epidemic. From India, Japan and California individuals banded together in the belief that a more caring and creative society can exist. Neima casts a sympathetic eye over the six attempts at a Utopian society that she discusses but unfortunately sometimes good intentions often collide with basic human wants and needs. A fascinating and thought provoking read. Greg Waldron
Fascinating and richly documented . . . This is Neima's first book, and should not be her last. She writes with a novelist's eye for detail and clearly revels in the eccentrics she has to chronicle - Gurdjieff selling sparrows painted yellow, for example, to fund his trek from Russia to France. Few books manage to be so informative and so entertaining. -- John Carey * Sunday Times * Thanks to Neima's rigorous research, each chapter offers something new . . . by showing how a global crisis can lead people to question tradition and reshape society, the subject remains important to this day. -- Guy Stagg * Spectator * Brisk, sympathetic . . . ranges with impressive confidence across the world . . . pleasingly non-judgemental and avoids laborious analysis. Reading this book is perhaps the most delightful way to indulge in elite communism in the 21st century, other than being recruited to a Californian tech start-up. -- Marc Mullholland * Literary Review * Neima's brisk storytelling and eye for the illustrative quote and telling anecdote conveys the thrilling and sometimes scandalous strangeness of these experiments . . . highly readable -- Mary Harrington * The Critic * Meticulously researched . . . an engaging and immersive blend of macro- and micro-histories. The fascinating protagonists of each story are expertly situated within wider socio-economic history, with parallels usefully drawn between each community. -- Zoe Apostolides * Prospect * Neima's writing is absolutely, faultlessly superb. It was a pleasure to read every page and an example of how non-fiction can be capable of blending intense research with first-class prose plus a large dash of entertainment. Highly recommended. * BookMunch * Anna Neima has picked a valuable and illuminating focus for her first book. The Utopians selects six examples of 'social dreaming' established in the aftermath of the First World War, with its 'dizzying sense of an entire social order destroyed' . . . It's rare to wish a book longer but I would have enjoyed more . . . Engagingly written with colour, warmth and unobtrusive erudition, The Utopians looks back to find some sturdy roots of hope. -- Boyd Tonkin * The Arts Desk * In the midst of crisis it's inspiring to read about men and women who dedicated themselves to creating new worlds. Neima's book, impeccably researched and beautifully written, will be an inspiration for anyone looking to an alternative future today. -- Stella Tillyard, author of <i>Aristocrats </i>and <i>The Great Level</i> Can we ever transform ourselves and our divided societies? Deeply interesting and a pleasure to read, The Utopians illuminates the history of social dreaming at a time when it has never been more needed. This is a lovely book. -- Alison Light, author of <i>A Radical Romance, </i><i>Common People</i> and <i>Mrs. Woolf and the Servants</i> Neima is a historian of rare and wonderful powers. She writes with utter lucidity, bringing great swathes of thinking into focus, uncovering deep connections between experimental communities across the world. Considering her chosen utopians with a precious mix of shrewd realism and questing open-mindedness, she honours both practicalities and dreams. I finished this book newly persuaded of what the interwar years can teach us about the future. I'll be recommending it to everyone I know, and looking to Neima as an inspiring new voice in non-fiction. -- Alexandra Harris, acclaimed author of <i>Weatherland</i><i> </i>and <i>Romantic Moderns</i>
