Leier, Mark 1956–

PERSONAL:

Surname is pronounced "lear;" born November 4, 1956, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; son of James and Margaret Leier; married Annette DeFaveri. Education: Simon Fraser University, B.A, M.A, 1987; Memorial University of Newfoundland, Ph.D, 1992. Politics: "Anarcho-syndicalist." Religion: Atheist.

ADDRESSES:

Home—North Vancouver, BC, Canada. Office—Department of History, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Historian, educator, and writer. Simon Fraser University (SFU), Burnaby, British Columbia, associate professor of labour history, 1994—, and director of SFU Centre for Labour Studies.

WRITINGS:

Where the Fraser River Flows: The Industrial Workers of the World in British Columbia, New Star Books (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), 1990.

Red Flags and Red Tape: The Making of a Labour Bureaucracy, University of Toronto Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1995.

Rebel Life: The Life and Times of Robert Gosden, Revolutionary, Mystic, Labour Spy, New Star Books (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), 1999.

Bakunin: The Creative Passion, Thomas Dunne Books (New York, NY), 2006.

English book review editor, Labour/Le Travail.

SIDELIGHTS:

Historian Mark Leier has a specific interest in anarchism. His book Bakunin: The Creative Passion is a biography of Mikhail Bakunin, the Russian revolutionary and architect of the Russian anarchist movement. Leier explores Bakunin's ideas via an in-depth examination of his writings. The author also delves into the relationship between Bakunin and Karl Marx. Several reviewers noted that Leier's biography of Bakunin "focuses more on the thinker than the personality," as stated by a Publishers Weekly contributor. While some reviewers wished for a more in-depth portrayal of the Bakunin's larger-than-life personality, others commented that other historians had already covered this ground and that Leier's choice to focus on the man's ideas provided new insights. Writing in Booklist, Mike Tribby commented that the author's "biography reintroduces a fascinating revolutionary." A Kirkus Reviews contributor referred to Bakunin as "a thorough and conversational biography that celebrates as much as it recounts."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August 1, 2006, Mike Tribby, review of Bakunin: The Creative Passion, p. 17.

Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2006, review of Bakunin, p. 619.

Library Journal, September 1, 2006, Harry Willems, review of Bakunin, p. 156.

Publishers Weekly, April 17, 2006, review of Bakunin, p. 173.

Reference & Research Book News, November, 2006, review of Bakunin.

ONLINE

BC Bookworld,http://www.abcbookworld.com/ (August 5, 2007), Mark Leier, reviews of Where the Fraser River Flows: The Industrial Workers of the World in British Columbia, Rebel Life: The Life and Times of Robert Gosden, Revolutionary, Mystic, Labour Spy, and Bakunin.

Context: The Moscow Times,http://context.themoscowtimes.com/ (September 22, 2006), Walter G. Moss, "Enemy of the State," review of Bakunin.

Tyee Books,http://thetyee.ca/ (January 26, 2007), "The Case for Anarchy," interview with author.