"Militancy is not just tactically necessary; its dual objective is to transform people and "fundamentally alter" their being by emboldening them, removing their passivity, and cleansing them of the "core of despair" crystallized in their bodies.

"I think of your [Rosa Luxemburg's] fate, of George Jackson's fate, of Fred Hampton's fate--the state must know when the universe gives birth to a true revolutionary--it must see in them a light it must extinguish, lest their spark find and set alight the divine spark in us all, which would spread unti lthe world as we know it has been upended...You were the secret. You were the principle of life itself. You were a tree they had to cut down."

This is an incredible book. I don't quite know what to say, I've just finished it and I'm in awe of this little book. It's a collection of essays examining policing, finance, biopower, predictive policing, the relation of space to bodies, the dynamic between innocence and safety, and all of the ways in which these topics overlap. In addition to being a critical and thoroughly researched academic text, Jackie Wang weaves in stories of her own life--her own experience with the criminal justice system in the form of her brother first being sentenced to juvenile life without parole, then taking a plea deal for a forty year sentence. She discusses her own experiences of violence as a queer woman of color and how these facets of her life have informed her academic work.

Finally, and what I think is the perhaps the most spectacular part of this book, is the use of poetry woven throughout. Using her own poetry, as well as the words of revolutionaries, Wang insists that poetry deserves a spot in the revolution. Poetry, she writes, keeps us connected to the stars, to the vast spaces of our dreams where freedom is born. The final pages of the book feature a quote from Assata Shakur: "Dreams and reality are opposites. Action synthesizes them."

“for years, the united states has dumped untold billions of dollars into regime-change operations, nation building schemes, military interventions, and interminable wars in the Greater Middle East. Iraqis and Afghans, Syrians, Libyans, and Yemenis have grappled with the consequences. South Sudan was a different type of american intervention, but the results turned out to be sadly similar for its people.”

I discovered Nick Turse after reading Kill Anything that Moves in undergrad. He is an exceptional writer and a thorough reporter. This book was a great introduction to the conflict in South Sudan, something i had no prior knowledge of. Though the main focus of the book is stories told by the people who survived the atrocities in South Sudan, the undercurrent running through the entirety of the book is the continued ineptness of US foreign policy—how it hurts nations instead of helping. There were also subtle criticisms of the UN “peacekeeping” forces— in some instances, when it came time to actually try to save people, the UN couldn’t be bothered. disgusting but not surprising from both the US and UN.

My only complaint is the style of the book—it jumps around and was hard to follow at times. But overall, a worthwhile read.

“for the burden of life is love, but we carry the weight wearily, and so must rest in the arms of love at last, must rest in the arms of love”

just okay. i wanted to read this due to the customs seizing scandal in 1956. “Transcription of Organ Music” and “Song” were my two favorites. Some other memorable lines: “America, i used to be a communist when i was a kid, I’m not sorry;” “My mind is made up there’s going to be trouble. You should have seen me reading Marx. My psychoanalyst thinks i’m perfectly right.”