Fanon: The Postcolonial Imagination

"Caricatured as a mindless apostle of violence, Fanon emerges in Nigel Gibson's rigorous and subtle analysis as a major humanistic thinker about injustice, a serious critic of nationalism and, for the first time, as an impressively profound philosopher of modern post-colonial politics and culture." Edward W. Said, Columbia University

"This definitive interpretation of Fanon brilliantly touches the heart. Gibson presents a compelling and engaging analysis of Fanon's original theory of the racial gaze, of revolution, and of Fanon's complex theory of violence. All the perennial themes of political theory are masterfully presented in this major book. Readers will feel morally civilized after they read it." Teodros Kiros, Harvard University

"Gibson's prose is elegant and clear and this book is, by far, the best introduction to Fanon's life and work. But it does more than this....The key idea that runs throughout the book is that of the dialectic. Gibson argues that there is an unstable, critical and creative element in the heart of FAnon's thought that seeks to move through apparently irreconcilable contradictions. This kind of analysis is what we would expect from any responsible engagement with Fanon's work and Gibson develops it very well. But he goes further and makes an original and significant contribution by showing that for Fanon this kind of progress requires the development of a fighting culture." Richard Pithouse, Sunday Independent