Reviewed by Wayne John Sturgeon

Utopia Britannica is a beautifully illustrated book charting an exhaustive history of british social and religious utopian communes, communities, movements and experiments from medieval times. Starting with Europes 'free spirits' taking us right up to the outbreak of World War II. It contains a comeplete A to Z of such, county by county, and where they can be contacted today. I found the sections relating to John Hargreave and the Kibbo Kift Kin, the organic Nationalism of Rolf Gardiner and the Christian anarchism of the Tolstoy infulenced and inspired community within British counter cultural history of particualar interest. Little known English radical mystics and prophets are mentioned (such as Jane Leade, a follower of the Lutheran Cabalist Jacob Boehme).

Chris Coates takes the reader on a thrilling journey form the diggers, ranters and Quakers of the English Civil War and their struggle, through the early Socialist movements, Robert Owen, the Chartists, Wiilliam Morris to the occult radicalism of Alfred Richard Orage's New Age magazine which gave voice to and popularised the alternative economic theory of Major C H Douglas and the early Social Credit Movement. There is also a guest article Colonising the Land by the anarchist Colin Ward and very helpful bibliographies on a host of relevant subjects.

I strongly recommend this publication as an alternative resource of its chosen subject matter and hope that in due course Chris Coates may be inspired to write a Companion volume form 1945 to the present day. When mainstream political discourse tends to apathy and resignation in the face of the huge problems facing us his book is deeply stimulating and inspiring. The sheer wealth of history the book contains and how much the various social protest groupings (however diverse) had in common is striking. The amount of research undertaken must have been considerable.

This book is relevant to present struggles as it facilitates a holistic view of social change, not a reductionist worldview but one which can embrace not just politics, economics, creativity and lifestyle but also spirituality. The book shows how far from those involved having their head in the clouds they were active on the ground!

Chris Coates covers such a range of material. Even the original 'Glastonbury Festival' of 1914 to 1926! Take a look at the Utopia website. Utopia may mean "nowhere" but this book will take you somewhere else!