{"title":"Books by Kristian Williams","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781849353205","title":"Resist Everything Except Temptation","description":"Oscar Wilde is remembered as a wit and a dandy, as a gay martyr, and as a brilliant writer, but his philosophical depth and political radicalism are often forgotten. Resist Everything Except Temptation locates Wilde firmly in the anarchist tradition, and argues that only when we take his politics seriously can we begin to understand the man, his life, and his work. Drawing from literary, historical, and biographical evidence, including archival research, the book outlines the philosophical influences and political implications of Wilde's ideas on art, sex, morality, violence, and above all, individualism.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308408385909,"sku":"9781849353205","price":14.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781849353205_ab4abfa0-7f35-48c6-8476-69c5ee4721d2.jpg?v=1786028972"},{"product_id":"9781849354561","title":"Gang Politics","description":"In Gang Politics, Kristian Williams examines our society's understanding of social and political violence, what gets romanticised, misunderstood, or muddled. He explores the complex intersections between 'gangs' of all sorts - cops and criminals, Proud Boys and Antifa, Panthers and skinheads - arguing that government and criminality are intimately related, often sharing critical features. As society becomes more polarised and conflict more common, Williams's analysis is a crucial corrective to our usual ideas about the role violence might or should play in our social struggles.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308701430133,"sku":"9781849354561","price":12.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781849354561_92eab1e1-b109-4730-8aea-43e936b3a5d7.jpg?v=1786028985"},{"product_id":"9781849354288","title":"Policing the Progressive City","description":"This is a story of Portland, Oregon, from an outpost of the Hudson's Bay Company, through its founding as a city and the long and lively twentieth century shaped by organized crime, labor unrest, and waves of migration. But more so, this is a story of how over the course of nearly 200 years, the city has pursued 'law and order' under the influence of business interests, political climbers, and social campaigners. By maintaining the Portland Police Bureau, a body that has time and again proved a law unto itself, the powers-that- be belie the city's reputation for liberal values and civic mindedness. An expert chronicler of police abuse of power, Kristian Williams now turns his focus to law enforcement in his own backyard. It is the city's progressive veneer, this book argues, that allows the repressive core of its policing machinery to function so effectively, weathering scandals, co-opting critics, and periodically renewing police legitimacy with well-timed and carefully limited reforms. Williams's meticulous research and expert storytelling lay bare the Portland Police Bureau's legacy of bigotry, corruption, and violence. The most well-intended efforts to address the community's needs have resorted to the criminal justice system, incarcerating and killing those they purport to help. Portland was among the first in the US to hire a female officer and the first large city with a female police chief, as well as an early and enthusiastic proponent of community policing. Yet the city's public record comprehensively shows racially discriminatory (and disproportionately violent) encounters with law enforcement, a department that commits racist and sexist abuse both inside and outside its ranks, and persistent criminal and retributive actions on the part of its officers. The PPB is an institution impervious to reform, let alone common decency.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56369338810741,"sku":"9781849354288","price":19.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781849354288.jpg?v=1791213102"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-kristian-williams.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}