This Summer, Semiotext(e) published an English translation of The Coming Insurrection, first published in French by La Fabrique. The book, described by Semiotext(e) as "an eloquent call to arms arising from the recent waves of social contestation in France and Europe," has been at the center of a growing controversy over the subversiveness of its content, the identity of its authors (who sign themselves "The Invisible Committee"), and the consequences of its publication.

The book has prompted an unusual amount of controversy given its small printing, with both Semiotext(e) and La Fabrique only pressing a couple thousand copies. Earlier this July, Glenn Beck reviewed the book on his show, calling it "dangerous" (among other things) and identifying it as exemplifying the thought behind a movement towards armed liberal uprisings in America. The book was written after the 2005 Paris riots, a period of violent unrest caused by the accidental deaths of two teenagers in a poor Paris housing project. For nearly a month, latent disaffection over police abuses of power, low employment rates, and economic concerns prompted a spontaneous series of riots all over France. Given The Coming Insurrection's call for what has been termed "insurrectionary anarchism," it's not difficult to imagine where Beck got the idea. However, even liberals have not embraced the book as Beck describes, with socialist website Z-Net running a review that called the book's suggested programs "counter-productive."

More interesting to me though, knowing what Glenn Beck's positions are and having read enough neo-Marxist literature (Žižek, Rancière, Debord) to see the book as probably more valuable as a sociocultural artifact, are the ways that the book has arisen in various media. That is to say, the publication history of the book. First printed by La Fabrique then translated for Semiotext(e), The Coming Insurrection has also been translated into a variety of languages for free online distribution; the entire English text of the book is even available.

The book's official launch was discussed in an article from Arthur Magazine, describing a planned gathering at a New York Barnes & Nobles where a book reading would take place, unbeknownst to the staff beforehand. After police intervention, the gathered crowd moved about the city, subsequently being kicked out of a variety of other establishments.

Although I have certain affinities for the book, I can't help but see the event as a bit contrived and mean. The above article seems rather unmoved by the thefts described and the difficulty it seems to have caused for the employees of the stores the group visited. But beyond characterizing the event, it and the book's mode and rate of transmission do make interesting points about marketing and media dissemination. Why has the book succeeded and what preparatory steps facilitated it? An interview with Michael Moore revealed that it was his most recent read; the book and its unusual launch were given a sympathetic treatment in The New York Times; and the integrity and reputation of its US publisher all seem to recommend the book.

In most regards, these are questions that can be asked of any successful or noted publication, but The Coming Insurrection has distinct philosophical origins in modern neo-Marxism and emerges clearly—as stated by publisher and authors—from a well defined event: the 2005 Paris riots. So, although this or any book is not so simply "pegged," it can at least have a reasonably clear pedigree. Coupled with the book's controversial contents, marketing and publishing can adopt diverse characteristics, and the New York launch reflects at least one facet of both—in particular, tapping into the book's revolutionary character, with which the event has affinities.

Given the growth of viral marketing, the idea of controversy selling itself acquires new dimension. Although I can't claim any great knowledge of anything beyond the basic concepts behind viral marketing, roughly what happens and what it's intended to accomplish, but controversy would seem part and parcel. Being involved, at least for the moment, in many of the fundamentals of marketing at the Press and the wonderful world of networking via my record label, I have to wonder what precisely went on at Semiotext(e) during and after publication. All of the above meditation essentially boils down to this question: for such an unusual book, what sort of marketing and publication models do publishers follow?

I'll stop with that thought in order to avoid going on for too much longer, as I could easily conceive an enormous digression into the history of publishing controversial books. Suffice to say, I found this particular instance of the phenomenon interesting and worth a little discursion.