The Wretched of the Earth

Frantz Fanon was a psychiatrist from Martinique who participated in the Algerian Nationalist Movement and became a major theorist of revolutionary struggle, colonialism, and racial difference. The Wretched of the Earth is considered a classic work alongside Edward Said's Orientalism and The Autobiography of Malcolm X. This new translation by Richard Philcox updates the language for contemporary readers. The book analyzes the psychology of colonized peoples and their path to liberation. It examines the rage and frustration of colonized populations and the role of violence in historical change. Fanon critiques two dangers in postindependence colonial politics: the exclusion of masses by elites, and conflicts between different tribal and religious groups. Fanon's analysis serves as a handbook for social reorganization for leaders of emerging nations. The book has significantly influenced civil rights, anticolonialism, and black consciousness movements worldwide.