The Penguin Book of Twentieth Century Protest

This is a collection of essays, speeches, letters and other documents of protest edited by Brian MacArthur. It’s full of famous people like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Sylvia Pankhurst and Marie Stopes, as well as lesser-known writers; it’s a very thick book. And it’s a good record of what people were protesting about; war, women’s rights, imperialism, social justice for the poor, civil rights for black Americans, rights for gay people, the destruction of the environment. Two interesting things; there’s not a single entry protesting about the treatment of people with a disability, or disability rights; and one of Marie Stopes’ main reasons for pushing birth control is eugenics, so that the weaker and less deserving are never born. Now that’s something I bet they don’t talk about in their international society nowadays. Then again, maybe they do.