First published 2016
Born in China, Benedict Anderson roams the world - from California to Ireland, England to Indonesia - in search of a home that can't be found. As a pioneering historian of nationalism, he upends the very idea of nationhood, challenging its claims to authenticity and disputing its violent excesses. Yet Anderson's own life resists easy categorization, a tapestry of languages, fieldwork, and global thinking that finds joy in the very uncertainty he subverts. His intellectual memoir illuminates the richness of a life beyond boundaries.
Genres: biography, history, 20th-century, autobiography, biography-memoir, 21st-century, academic, cultural-studies
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: California, Ireland, England, Indonesia, Ithaca, New York (State), Southeast Asia
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
205 pages · Hardcover · Verso