In the last hundred years, anarchism has raised a series of decisive political, social, and economic issues through its theory and practice, seeking solutions that challenged the established social order, and for this reason, it was persecuted and suppressed by it by all means. James Joll deals in this book in detail with the anarchist movement and its history, presents its theorists, and outlines the portraits of its most important representatives; he concludes his description with a dramatic chapter on anarcho-syndicalism in Spain, where in 1936 the "total revolution" came close to its practical establishment. This fundamental and comprehensive work of the English historian contributes, as few other works in this field do, to the vindication of a political movement that, in his opinion, has been particularly harmed by the prejudices of the general public and the neglect of historians.