British anarchist activist and writer Christie offers a sympathetic study of the Federaci̤n Anarquista Iberica (FAI), the Spanish anarchist grouping that was founded in 1927 for the purpose of maintaining the anarcho-syndicalist orientation of the Condederaci̤n Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) and went on to play a major role in the doomed struggle against the Francoist fascists during the Spanish Civil War (Christie himself was famously jailed in connection to a plot to assassinate Franco). In addition to providing a historical and descriptive treatment of the FAI, Christie also aims to analyze, from an anarchist perspective, the question of how ideals can survive the process of institutionalization. Annotation 2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
