Story of a Communist - by Antonio Negri

About the Book

STORY OF A COMMUNIST--the first volume of Negri's three-part autobiography--gives a riveting account of his intellectual development and of the price he paid for living out his ideals.

Book Synopsis

The philosopher Antonio Negri was one of the preeminent thinkers of our time: his writings on class, socialism, and empire have had an enormous influence on contemporary political theory. His political activism and outspoken advocacy for the downtrodden also placed him at the centre of some of the most dramatic developments in recent Italian history. Story of a Communist--the first volume of Negri's three-part autobiography--gives a riveting account of his intellectual development and of the price he paid for living out his ideals.

Negri paints a vivid portrait of the ferment in which some of his most important arguments and ideas took shape, and he provides crucial context for an understanding of the operaismo movement and of the influence that it continues to exert. Story of a Communist is also a very personal work, however: it is a compelling and often moving narrative of a childhood overshadowed by fascism, and of the ways in which Negri's later political interventions were shaped by his profoundly important relationships with comrades and collaborators.

This first volume traces the author's involvement with left-wing politics in the post-war period, recounting in fascinating detail his efforts to marry together his early intellectual work with his commitment to militant labour activism. It also provides an indispensable ground-level perspective on the increasingly repressive measures taken by the Italian government in response to the social movements 1960s and '70s, with the narrative culminating in a gripping description of Negri's own arrest in 1979 for alleged involvement in terrorist activities. This is, in short, a powerful record of an extraordinary life, and of the historical forces that shaped it.

Review Quotes

It would be simplistic to consider Story of a Communist [...] solely as the autobiography of Toni Negri. [...] [T]he story experienced in the first person [is] transfigured into the story of a generation of militants.--Dario Gentili "Il Manifesto"

there is no surrender to autobiographical passion or the fetishization of the past. Instead, the narrative affirms how individuality always arrives last--only after everything has already taken place. . . The lesson of this book is that the same is also true of individuality: it emerges only as the consequence of a singularity that is always historical and collective (or perhaps transindividual).--Pietro Bianchi "e-flux"

I find it necessary to come to terms with Negri's militant and intellectual career, described here with an honesty that must be recognized even if it disturbs us.--Gad Lerner

In this captivating and deeply personal memoir, Negri delves into his own past to answer the question "how can one live a communist life?" One key, he finds, is to discover anew in each era the joys of class struggle.--Michael Hardt

Toni was the type of intellectual, activist, friend, and comrade that, in a Europe surrendering to the sirens of fascism and warmongering, we need more than ever. This book is for minds and hearts eager to learn from past struggles.--Yanis Varoufakis

Praise for Antonio Negri:

Among the few academic thinkers who had the talent and charisma to make their ideas accessible to a broad audience.

-- "The New York Times"

An extraordinary storyteller or narrator of philosophy.--Pierre Macherey

Not just one of the most significant figures of current political thought, but one of the few contemporary western intellectuals to have been imprisoned for his ideas.--Katharine Ainger "New Statesman"

One of the most important thinkers of our time.--Fredric Jameson

I find it necessary to come to terms with [Negri's] militant and intellectual career, described here with an honesty that must be recognized even if it disturbs us.--Gad Lerner

About the Author

Antonio Negri (Author)
Antonio Negri (1933-2023) was an Italian philosopher and political activist. He was a prominent figure in the left-wing operaismo movement in the 1960s and '70s. He is best known for his writings on globalization--particularly the highly influential volume Empire (co-authored with Michael Hardt)--but he also wrote on subjects as various as Vladimir Lenin, Baruch Spinoza, and the Book of Job.