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The Utopians: Six Attempts to Build the Perfect Society
‘ Fascinating and richly documented . . . Few books manage to be so informative and so entertaining. ’ Sunday Times
The Utopians is the remarkable story of six experimental communities – Santiniketan-Sriniketan in India, Dartington Hall in England, Atarashiki Mura in Japan, the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man in France, the Bruderhof in Germany and Trabuco College in America – that sprang up in the aftermath of the First World War.
Each was led by charismatic figures who dreamed of a new way of living. Rabindranath Tagore, Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst, Mushanokoji Saneatsu, G. I. Gurdjieff, Eberhard and Emmy Arnold and Gerald Heard all struggled to turn ambitious ideals into reality. They – and their fellow communards – left their jobs, their homes and their social circles. They faced mockery and persecution, penury, hunger and discomfort, and their own doubts about whether their efforts to change society would ever make a difference.
Anna Neima’s absorbing and vivid account of these collectives, from creation to collapse, reveals them to be full of eccentric characters, outlandish lifestyles and unchecked idealism. They were dramatic, fractious places where high ideals collided with the need to feed the chickens, clean the toilets, bring up squabbling children and grow the grain for the daily bread.
These communities were small in scale and dismissed in their time. Yet, a century later, their influence still resonates in realms as disparate as progressive education, environmentalism, medical research and mindfulness training. They provided, and continue to provide, a rich store of inspiration for those who aspire to improve the world. Without them, the post-war world would have been a poorer place.
The Utopians is the remarkable story of six experimental communities – Santiniketan-Sriniketan in India, Dartington Hall in England, Atarashiki Mura in Japan, the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man in France, the Bruderhof in Germany and Trabuco College in America – that sprang up in the aftermath of the First World War.
Each was led by charismatic figures who dreamed of a new way of living. Rabindranath Tagore, Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst, Mushanokoji Saneatsu, G. I. Gurdjieff, Eberhard and Emmy Arnold and Gerald Heard all struggled to turn ambitious ideals into reality. They – and their fellow communards – left their jobs, their homes and their social circles. They faced mockery and persecution, penury, hunger and discomfort, and their own doubts about whether their efforts to change society would ever make a difference.
Anna Neima’s absorbing and vivid account of these collectives, from creation to collapse, reveals them to be full of eccentric characters, outlandish lifestyles and unchecked idealism. They were dramatic, fractious places where high ideals collided with the need to feed the chickens, clean the toilets, bring up squabbling children and grow the grain for the daily bread.
These communities were small in scale and dismissed in their time. Yet, a century later, their influence still resonates in realms as disparate as progressive education, environmentalism, medical research and mindfulness training. They provided, and continue to provide, a rich store of inspiration for those who aspire to improve the world. Without them, the post-war world would have been a poorer place.
320 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 2022
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945 people want to read
About the author
Anna Neima
7 books5 followersAnna Neima is a historian with a PhD from the University of Cambridge. She lives in north London with her husband and son.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
August 25, 2021
Whether or not one appreciates this book, it's undeniably fascinating: it has been hard to read, because I've spent my entire life trying to find my utopia, a place and people with whom I could share my views and practice, change the world if you will, and I have always encountered the ridicule and oppression of a system that sustains itself by crushing every alternative.
It not pleasant to read about the egotistic and fallible men and women that tried to build utopian loves for themselves and others, but it's even harder to recognise the inevitability of failure when it comes to utopias.
But, as the author brilliantly observed in her conclusions "While few practical utopias last for long, utopian living is extraordinarily generative."
Although the practicality of living at the margins of society, creating a perfectly equal utopia, self sufficient and pure, where everyone can cultivate only the best aspects of human nature might be impossible, to dream, plan and try to find solutions is a permanent condition of the human soul.
Long live the utopians, even when we fail.
It not pleasant to read about the egotistic and fallible men and women that tried to build utopian loves for themselves and others, but it's even harder to recognise the inevitability of failure when it comes to utopias.
But, as the author brilliantly observed in her conclusions "While few practical utopias last for long, utopian living is extraordinarily generative."
Although the practicality of living at the margins of society, creating a perfectly equal utopia, self sufficient and pure, where everyone can cultivate only the best aspects of human nature might be impossible, to dream, plan and try to find solutions is a permanent condition of the human soul.
Long live the utopians, even when we fail.
June 21, 2021
I was completely engrossed by The Utopians, and read it over the course of a few days. Alternative communities like these are a fascinating topic anyway, but the book is engaging and beautifully written. It felt well researched but never heavy handed for it. Enjoyable and really interesting. Recommended.
April 11, 2021
This book is a history of six attempts during the inter-war years to build a better life in a number of countries such as India, Japan, England and France to name a few. It displays how the people generally by a captivating personality persuaded people to become part of a new community to fundamentally change society and make life better.
A really interesting common thread throughout all of the communities was that the people were interesting thinkers who could outline a philosophy but couldn't work out the practicalities of how a community would work in practice such as finding living arrangements for all their community and how to make it financially sustainable. There was also an issue that the people that lived in these utopian communities tended to look to the founders to guide them even though that wasn't the intention.
I found it fascinating reading of the various different philosophies of the different communities. You could see with some of them as you were reading how the community would evolve.
Good to read of various attempts to make the world a better place.
A really interesting common thread throughout all of the communities was that the people were interesting thinkers who could outline a philosophy but couldn't work out the practicalities of how a community would work in practice such as finding living arrangements for all their community and how to make it financially sustainable. There was also an issue that the people that lived in these utopian communities tended to look to the founders to guide them even though that wasn't the intention.
I found it fascinating reading of the various different philosophies of the different communities. You could see with some of them as you were reading how the community would evolve.
Good to read of various attempts to make the world a better place.
December 8, 2025
This is one of those books hard to rate because it’s a good, well-written, well-research book, about an interesting topic but the people IN the book are oh-so-unlikeable.
I am really interested in making the world a better place; I *want* to make the world a better place; and yet I couldn’t relate to these utopians. I could hardly not smack the book in some chapters. These are mostly wealthy people playing house with their fortunes and/or donations from other wealthy people. I understand that the First World War was a shock like no other, quickly followed by the Spanish Flu, and that people were genuinely trying to figure out a better way to live in society. But not only these are very privileged people, I also take issue with the ideia of retreating to communities instead of engaging with the whole of society as a methodology (nothing against said communities, just the notion that that’s the way to change the world).
I understand that some people are more charismatic than others, but I also take issue with the whole guru thing that some of the leaders of these communities have going on (*cof cof* Gurdjieff - the con artist vibe is strong with this one).
Ultimately, even these “utopias” failed in the practical sense, I think that every time someone tries to do better, everyone benefits from the intellectual exercise and its practical application. To imagine an utopia is to ascertain what do we want as humans and how do we want to live; is to add to the great conversation that has been going on since we exist - therefore it’s never a failure.
I am really interested in making the world a better place; I *want* to make the world a better place; and yet I couldn’t relate to these utopians. I could hardly not smack the book in some chapters. These are mostly wealthy people playing house with their fortunes and/or donations from other wealthy people. I understand that the First World War was a shock like no other, quickly followed by the Spanish Flu, and that people were genuinely trying to figure out a better way to live in society. But not only these are very privileged people, I also take issue with the ideia of retreating to communities instead of engaging with the whole of society as a methodology (nothing against said communities, just the notion that that’s the way to change the world).
I understand that some people are more charismatic than others, but I also take issue with the whole guru thing that some of the leaders of these communities have going on (*cof cof* Gurdjieff - the con artist vibe is strong with this one).
Ultimately, even these “utopias” failed in the practical sense, I think that every time someone tries to do better, everyone benefits from the intellectual exercise and its practical application. To imagine an utopia is to ascertain what do we want as humans and how do we want to live; is to add to the great conversation that has been going on since we exist - therefore it’s never a failure.
February 8, 2025
Pred čítaním som mala celkom predsudky, ale prekvapilo ma, ako bola kniha vybalansovaná po štylistickej aj informačnej stránke, čítala sa ľahko napriek odbornosti. Autorka myšlienky jednotlivých utópií opisovala kriticky, objektívne a zároveň oceňovala ich posolstvo a dôležitosť v histórii. Zároveň ma však desí, ako moc som sa za posledné dni vedela napojiť na pocity úzkosti z globálneho nacionalistického smerovania krajín, ktoré ma obklopujú.
December 27, 2021
A fun, fascinating look at six utopian communities that were founded in the period between the World Wars (most notably the Briderhof). Most of the profiles were shorter than I would have hoped and others not as interesting, but overall a good book for everyone who has ever thought about going off and founding their own community.
September 6, 2024
Very informative about the wave of utopian communities formed by idealists trying to recover from World War I and prevent World War II. Only one commune felt cultish, that led by Gurdjieff at Fontainebleau, which relied on administering psychological shocks to its participants. But the fact that most of these groups couldn’t reliably feed themselves implies some inadvertent brainwashing might’ve taken place, as well. Good overview of the precedents and antecedents of these kinds of groups.
September 5, 2023
Enthralling start to finish. Utopian eccentrics putting their ideas into haphazard practice is such a perfect microcosm of any dreamer wrestling with reality.
Despite all these communities falling apart, its endearing to see how they’ve all paved the way for positive change through agriculture/education/welfare/arts policy. I went into this out of a morbid curiosity that attracts me to Louis Theroux’s exploits. What I got instead was lovely insights into leadership, community living, class conflict, and the chaotic magic of reckless positivity.
Neiman’s character profiles of the 6 contrasting leaders is golden. All of them were charismatic, and most of them with substantial inheritances . Beyond that the differences are fascinating: practical / out of touch, spiritual free-flowing/ administrator, stable / manic, narcissistic cult-figure / reluctant leader, compassionate / slightly sadistic L Ron Hubbard types.
The motivations behind creating a utopian society are just as interesting: a return to pre-church Christianity after the church supports the Great War, Huxley and Heard embracing East/West New Age spirituality as seemingly a last resort pathway to global peace after sustaining both world wars, people reacting against industrialization, literary-minded people quixotically delving into Tolstoy’s ideals, people reacting against crushing colonialism.
It is also extremely readable to boot! 🥾
“The solutions they came up with might now seem comical, dysfunctional, and even faintly horrifying — like their fixation on psychological shocks, or on connecting with the ‘superconsciousness’. But these men and women nonetheless produced ideas that were useful at the time and that, later on, gradually percolated into the wider world. “
A highlight has to be the one truly mad leader in this book, Gurdjieff, who seduced Russian nobility to fund and sometimes join his commune:
“The community, enriched by dollars, had become more surreal than ever. Gurdjieff spent all new funds rapidly and quixotically, on grand feasts and bizarre acquisitions like his fleet of red bicycles”
The opening lines from Gurdjieff’s nonsensical attempt at his own space-Bible of sorts:
“It was in the year 223 after the creation of the World, by objective time-calculation, or, as it would be said here on the “Earth”, in the year 1921 after the birth of Christ…”
“In reply to his critics [who said that it was confusing], Gurdjieff insisted that he had in fact intended the book to conceal as much as to reveal”. It ultimately took his followers 22 years to edit it into something coherent.
Despite all these communities falling apart, its endearing to see how they’ve all paved the way for positive change through agriculture/education/welfare/arts policy. I went into this out of a morbid curiosity that attracts me to Louis Theroux’s exploits. What I got instead was lovely insights into leadership, community living, class conflict, and the chaotic magic of reckless positivity.
Neiman’s character profiles of the 6 contrasting leaders is golden. All of them were charismatic, and most of them with substantial inheritances . Beyond that the differences are fascinating: practical / out of touch, spiritual free-flowing/ administrator, stable / manic, narcissistic cult-figure / reluctant leader, compassionate / slightly sadistic L Ron Hubbard types.
The motivations behind creating a utopian society are just as interesting: a return to pre-church Christianity after the church supports the Great War, Huxley and Heard embracing East/West New Age spirituality as seemingly a last resort pathway to global peace after sustaining both world wars, people reacting against industrialization, literary-minded people quixotically delving into Tolstoy’s ideals, people reacting against crushing colonialism.
It is also extremely readable to boot! 🥾
“The solutions they came up with might now seem comical, dysfunctional, and even faintly horrifying — like their fixation on psychological shocks, or on connecting with the ‘superconsciousness’. But these men and women nonetheless produced ideas that were useful at the time and that, later on, gradually percolated into the wider world. “
A highlight has to be the one truly mad leader in this book, Gurdjieff, who seduced Russian nobility to fund and sometimes join his commune:
“The community, enriched by dollars, had become more surreal than ever. Gurdjieff spent all new funds rapidly and quixotically, on grand feasts and bizarre acquisitions like his fleet of red bicycles”
The opening lines from Gurdjieff’s nonsensical attempt at his own space-Bible of sorts:
“It was in the year 223 after the creation of the World, by objective time-calculation, or, as it would be said here on the “Earth”, in the year 1921 after the birth of Christ…”
“In reply to his critics [who said that it was confusing], Gurdjieff insisted that he had in fact intended the book to conceal as much as to reveal”. It ultimately took his followers 22 years to edit it into something coherent.
April 19, 2023
A chronicle of 6 post WW1 attempts at “utopias.” All 6 were chosen for their intent to make global impact and due to the lasting impact they did make.
Though my goals look very different than the leaders in this book, I’m personally interested in building my own community center of some kind, whether on a personal scale to co-raise my children with my dear friends or as a social initiative for a local community (whether that be for a neighborhood, foster care youth, or something else, I’m not sure yet), so this book was interesting to me. I personally am not aspiring to global impact, but putting theory to practice through communal living was enjoyable to read. And Neima does a good job at keeping it interesting and keeping the pages occasionally witty. It was interesting to see what worked and what didn’t. Made me think about spirituality, cohesive mission statements, leadership, structure, and the money to back the cause.
It was inspiring, but also silly. The book documents beautiful belief in humanity on the same page as delusion. Democratic ideals next to authoritarian leadership. Large donors and barely surviving due to lack of fundraising.
It was also nice to have global historical context explained to me in a way that was succinct but educational.
Only 3 stars because educational non-fiction doesn’t excite me all that much, but maybe 4 for the fact it was. It was really well done, but mostly the analysis just focused on that time period, and I was left wanting more analysis with a modern day lens. Though it may not be a fair critique because that wasn’t the aim of the book.
Though my goals look very different than the leaders in this book, I’m personally interested in building my own community center of some kind, whether on a personal scale to co-raise my children with my dear friends or as a social initiative for a local community (whether that be for a neighborhood, foster care youth, or something else, I’m not sure yet), so this book was interesting to me. I personally am not aspiring to global impact, but putting theory to practice through communal living was enjoyable to read. And Neima does a good job at keeping it interesting and keeping the pages occasionally witty. It was interesting to see what worked and what didn’t. Made me think about spirituality, cohesive mission statements, leadership, structure, and the money to back the cause.
It was inspiring, but also silly. The book documents beautiful belief in humanity on the same page as delusion. Democratic ideals next to authoritarian leadership. Large donors and barely surviving due to lack of fundraising.
It was also nice to have global historical context explained to me in a way that was succinct but educational.
Only 3 stars because educational non-fiction doesn’t excite me all that much, but maybe 4 for the fact it was. It was really well done, but mostly the analysis just focused on that time period, and I was left wanting more analysis with a modern day lens. Though it may not be a fair critique because that wasn’t the aim of the book.
June 16, 2023
very interesting! it’s strange to imagine that in most of these utopias there is some kind of sacrifice, e.g. giving up all of your possessions, but this is what grants us a flourishing life. i would argue nozick’s pleasure machine thought experiment denounces that we only seek pleasure, granted to us by utopias. to take a rather anti-hedonistic position, we seek pain also and in that perhaps comes the overruling of imperfect societies. although, there are some worthwhile features worth adopting from these utopias.
August 10, 2021
This was an interesting look into six different communitarian living projects. It doesn't go into a great deal of detail, there's between 35-40 pages on each of them. But it gives an idea of how some of the ideas percolated into the mainstream and why some of the others didn't.
It was particularly interesting that one of the reasons some of the 'utopias' died out was because the external society progressed and evolved, while the projects stayed the same, or at least similar enough to their founding principles to be left behind.
It has a lot of references and bibliography which I liked because it's left me wanting to know more.
It's a book I can imagine a few of my friends enjoying but I only found out about it because it was in the New Books section at the library. I hope the publisher promotes it a bit more.
It was particularly interesting that one of the reasons some of the 'utopias' died out was because the external society progressed and evolved, while the projects stayed the same, or at least similar enough to their founding principles to be left behind.
It has a lot of references and bibliography which I liked because it's left me wanting to know more.
It's a book I can imagine a few of my friends enjoying but I only found out about it because it was in the New Books section at the library. I hope the publisher promotes it a bit more.
June 21, 2021
This is a fascinating and very entertaining book. Anna Neima's fluent prose is a pleasure to read as she tells the stories of six communities whose utopian ideals struggled with practicalities of living and of fundamental human nature. This isn't a subject I knew very much about before I picked the book up. I've spent many joyful summer days engrossed in their worlds.
July 20, 2021
Very well written, listened to audio version. Really enjoyed all of the explanations to worldwide political influences at the time. Well worth a read.
July 17, 2024
the book begins with a section on rabindranath tagore poet and founder of a utopian community. the film-maker satyajit ray studied at his school (er. as did future prime minister of india indira ghandi).
then on to dartington hall.
then on to japan.
'in 1918, mushanokōji took the next step in the development of his philosophy by moving to the mountains of kijō, miyazaki in kyūshū, and establishing a quasi-socialistic utopian commune, atarashiki-mura (new village) along vaguely tolstoyan lines... the commune also published its own literary magazine, atarashiki-mura... however, mushanokōji tired of the social experiment and left the village in 1926; a dam project forced it to relocate to saitama prefecture in 1939, where it still exists.'
but what is the point of it all? on his deathbed aged 104 remembering his few months at the atarashiki mura (new village) commune, kobayashi tatsue, a follower of mushanokoji, said.
'nurturing the self, respecting individuality, loving beauty and seeking peace'
later they are with gurdjieff and his 'institute for the harmonious development of man'. democracy is less of a problem here (gurdjieff is an old style guru).
'one can and does believe that one will escape from living in circles.' said the writer katherine mansfield who spent part of the last year of her life at gurdjieff's commune at fontainebleau in france.
another one of his visitors there, and a subsequent founder of a utopian commune back in the united states was the poet and author jean toomer (whose writing was an inspiration for much of marion brown's georgia trilogy). he founded a short-lived commune at bonnie oaks near briggsville, wisconsin (near the town of portage) together with his later wife, the author margery latimer. this commune is largely missing from his wikipedia entry but can be found in hers.
the aim of this commune (in toomer's words) was;
'to eradicate the false veneer of civilization, with its unnatural inhibition, its selfishness, petty meanness and unnatural behaviour.... adults can be re-educated to become as natural as little children....'
he also held some unfashionable ideas about the role of men and women in this set up.
frank lloyd-wright and his wife olgivanna (who had nursed katherine mansfield when she was at the gurdjieff commune) founded an architectural school called the taliesin fellowship inspired by gurdjieff's teachings.
'I do not want you to have the idea that taliesin is a school, or a community. it happens to be our home and where we work, and these young people are my comrade apprentices: no scholars. they come to help, and if they can learn-well, we are very happy...' - frank lloyd-wright to RIBA in 1939.
its surviving members run an architecture school in paradise valley arizona.
the last of the six utopias discussed by anna neima in her book is aldous huxley and gerald heard's trabuco college. the shortest lived (perhaps) but also the transitional one from inter-war utopia to post war counter-culture, the set up for the hippie commune.
then on to dartington hall.
then on to japan.
'in 1918, mushanokōji took the next step in the development of his philosophy by moving to the mountains of kijō, miyazaki in kyūshū, and establishing a quasi-socialistic utopian commune, atarashiki-mura (new village) along vaguely tolstoyan lines... the commune also published its own literary magazine, atarashiki-mura... however, mushanokōji tired of the social experiment and left the village in 1926; a dam project forced it to relocate to saitama prefecture in 1939, where it still exists.'
but what is the point of it all? on his deathbed aged 104 remembering his few months at the atarashiki mura (new village) commune, kobayashi tatsue, a follower of mushanokoji, said.
'nurturing the self, respecting individuality, loving beauty and seeking peace'
later they are with gurdjieff and his 'institute for the harmonious development of man'. democracy is less of a problem here (gurdjieff is an old style guru).
'one can and does believe that one will escape from living in circles.' said the writer katherine mansfield who spent part of the last year of her life at gurdjieff's commune at fontainebleau in france.
another one of his visitors there, and a subsequent founder of a utopian commune back in the united states was the poet and author jean toomer (whose writing was an inspiration for much of marion brown's georgia trilogy). he founded a short-lived commune at bonnie oaks near briggsville, wisconsin (near the town of portage) together with his later wife, the author margery latimer. this commune is largely missing from his wikipedia entry but can be found in hers.
the aim of this commune (in toomer's words) was;
'to eradicate the false veneer of civilization, with its unnatural inhibition, its selfishness, petty meanness and unnatural behaviour.... adults can be re-educated to become as natural as little children....'
he also held some unfashionable ideas about the role of men and women in this set up.
frank lloyd-wright and his wife olgivanna (who had nursed katherine mansfield when she was at the gurdjieff commune) founded an architectural school called the taliesin fellowship inspired by gurdjieff's teachings.
'I do not want you to have the idea that taliesin is a school, or a community. it happens to be our home and where we work, and these young people are my comrade apprentices: no scholars. they come to help, and if they can learn-well, we are very happy...' - frank lloyd-wright to RIBA in 1939.
its surviving members run an architecture school in paradise valley arizona.
the last of the six utopias discussed by anna neima in her book is aldous huxley and gerald heard's trabuco college. the shortest lived (perhaps) but also the transitional one from inter-war utopia to post war counter-culture, the set up for the hippie commune.
March 1, 2023
An interesting subject matter, clearly written and with the stories of six varied attempts at communal living between its covers, I found Anna Neima's book engaging and unique. Two things stuck out in my mind that bore commenting on when I finished the book however, so here we go.
The first chapter is easily the best in the entire work, introducing the reader to the format Neima takes to explore each utopia; a biography of its founder and their beliefs, an insight into daily life in these communities, and a history from its foundation to its disappearance. It is a good way to approach these projects, and drives home the commonalities that their ideological differences might disguise. The issue for me arises is that compared to the account of Rabindranath's attempt to bring the world together in a little plot of India, the rest of the work is often lacking in detail and the pictures of what life was like in these communities rather grey. I would have enjoyed some more insight into what life in the commune was like at Bruderhof and Atarashiki Mura, for while these chapters do a good job at exploring their founder's lives and thought before chronicling their utopian enterprises from foundation to obsolescence, there seems to me to be not enough colour in the accounts of daily life to bring the account to life. The weaker chapters feel like biographies with a utopia tacked on.
The other point I found hard to swallow was the author's contemporaneously moralised and tut-tutting anyone of these men and women who didn't conform to our oh-so-enlightened 21st century morals. It doesn't sit right with me to see utopians being judged by the standards of a time that is greedier, crueler and more self-destructive than their own.
As for the book itself: an interesting cover that caught my eye, two sets of plates, otherwise a very typical mass market paperback.
The first chapter is easily the best in the entire work, introducing the reader to the format Neima takes to explore each utopia; a biography of its founder and their beliefs, an insight into daily life in these communities, and a history from its foundation to its disappearance. It is a good way to approach these projects, and drives home the commonalities that their ideological differences might disguise. The issue for me arises is that compared to the account of Rabindranath's attempt to bring the world together in a little plot of India, the rest of the work is often lacking in detail and the pictures of what life was like in these communities rather grey. I would have enjoyed some more insight into what life in the commune was like at Bruderhof and Atarashiki Mura, for while these chapters do a good job at exploring their founder's lives and thought before chronicling their utopian enterprises from foundation to obsolescence, there seems to me to be not enough colour in the accounts of daily life to bring the account to life. The weaker chapters feel like biographies with a utopia tacked on.
The other point I found hard to swallow was the author's contemporaneously moralised and tut-tutting anyone of these men and women who didn't conform to our oh-so-enlightened 21st century morals. It doesn't sit right with me to see utopians being judged by the standards of a time that is greedier, crueler and more self-destructive than their own.
As for the book itself: an interesting cover that caught my eye, two sets of plates, otherwise a very typical mass market paperback.
September 21, 2022
This is a tough read. As the title suggests these are ATTEMPTS to build utopia.
Also, these six attempts are after World War One, then called (the Great War) And the 6th attempt is just as WWII is ramping up. There is so much history in this book I took pages of notes and may have read as much about the people mentioned as I did words in this book. The chapters are full of stories by and from writings, (letters, published articles and books) of authors and artists and gurus.
Many of these stories shape our world today. They attempted and learned a lot about what a person can take, from strange ideas about shocking sense into followers, to farming practices, to how far you can thin soup and survive. Regardless if it's bad weather or heart ache that will break your group up, money is always the biggest obstacle, but surprisingly, money is not always the reason the perfect society and world peace alludes everyone.
There's a lot to ponder further in this book. It's written in 2021. Our internet connected world was something none of these groups had. Maybe, there's a chance for utopia to be more than just a genre of idealized fiction if only we could learn from history, and not repeat mistakes made before World War II. As they say, only time will tell.
Also, these six attempts are after World War One, then called (the Great War) And the 6th attempt is just as WWII is ramping up. There is so much history in this book I took pages of notes and may have read as much about the people mentioned as I did words in this book. The chapters are full of stories by and from writings, (letters, published articles and books) of authors and artists and gurus.
Many of these stories shape our world today. They attempted and learned a lot about what a person can take, from strange ideas about shocking sense into followers, to farming practices, to how far you can thin soup and survive. Regardless if it's bad weather or heart ache that will break your group up, money is always the biggest obstacle, but surprisingly, money is not always the reason the perfect society and world peace alludes everyone.
There's a lot to ponder further in this book. It's written in 2021. Our internet connected world was something none of these groups had. Maybe, there's a chance for utopia to be more than just a genre of idealized fiction if only we could learn from history, and not repeat mistakes made before World War II. As they say, only time will tell.
August 29, 2021
Surprisingly fascinating read about six alternative living communities between the two world wars.
After the horrors of the Great War apparently, and perhaps understandably, many thinkers were in search of new ways to shape community. Even before the war some minds were already thinking about this. When the war ended many communities were formed with different philosophies.
While most failed some of the principles conceived found their way into the broader society and all these experiments can be seen as a prelude to the post WWII counter cultures and the more well-known communes of that era.
It's also interesting to think about these alternative ways of living in relation to current society.
After the horrors of the Great War apparently, and perhaps understandably, many thinkers were in search of new ways to shape community. Even before the war some minds were already thinking about this. When the war ended many communities were formed with different philosophies.
While most failed some of the principles conceived found their way into the broader society and all these experiments can be seen as a prelude to the post WWII counter cultures and the more well-known communes of that era.
It's also interesting to think about these alternative ways of living in relation to current society.
October 28, 2025
Very interesting book - Easy to read for a history / non-fiction book and very well written. I took away a clear message about practical utopian thinking and also a rejection at any type of trying to separate utopia through artificial community rather than larger picture thinking. One lacking critique, in my eyes, were how most of these were only possible to be funded or founded because of wealth - either generational or due to one benefactor. None figured out how to be sustainable in the long term. A lot do these also hit close to home because of having gone to UWC - a practical movement born out of WW2 and similar desires of harmony and international understanding.
January 10, 2022
This fascinating and highly readable book looks at six experiments in re-engineering society though communal effort, and shows though their examples that changing the fabric of society should be welcomed.
A superbly researched and stimulating read - which for me shows that now, more than ever, we need to challenge existing mores, and look to analyze the appropriateness of the fabric of our society.
I recommend this book to anyone who has ever questioned anything, or wants to learn more about free thinking.
Most excellent.
A superbly researched and stimulating read - which for me shows that now, more than ever, we need to challenge existing mores, and look to analyze the appropriateness of the fabric of our society.
I recommend this book to anyone who has ever questioned anything, or wants to learn more about free thinking.
Most excellent.
December 27, 2022
An engaging and informative read about six different attempts to build an ideal society. Neima's writing is very readable and clearly well researched.
The latter cases begin to feel a bit repetitive, and for all the different studies, even the societies that worked out particularly well, they feel limited in their scale and applicability to the world more widely. However, this is in itself informative for considering how we should work to improve the world, and it is nonetheless inspiring to learn about people working to achieve this end in their own varied ways.
The latter cases begin to feel a bit repetitive, and for all the different studies, even the societies that worked out particularly well, they feel limited in their scale and applicability to the world more widely. However, this is in itself informative for considering how we should work to improve the world, and it is nonetheless inspiring to learn about people working to achieve this end in their own varied ways.
December 29, 2023
While the theme is fascinating and the anecdotes interesting, the book lacks structure,logical order or coherent writing. It is an associative description of cases. As such, it often becomes exhausting to read leading the reader to question - so what? What can we learn from this? what is common and different across cases? Furthermore, it seems to present failures of cult management rather than utopian philosophies and principles, or the psychology of utopian thinkers. The latter remain vague and amiss while drowning in unsystematic reporting of historical facts and guesswork.
February 4, 2025
An interesting collection of the "utopians" that sprouted up after WWI. I am currently researching the cultural relevance of utopians and I was expecting more tell as to the "why" and "how" these utopians came to be. Yes, the book did accomplish addressing these aspects, but it felt as if it was more a statement of the facts rather than the contemplation and reasoning behind these actions.
It seems I am having a hard time articulating my issues with this book, but at the end of the day, I feel I gleaned little information, and that is not a fulfilling response to reading nonfiction.
It seems I am having a hard time articulating my issues with this book, but at the end of the day, I feel I gleaned little information, and that is not a fulfilling response to reading nonfiction.
November 21, 2021
The book is an interesting description of different attempts to implement a utopian society (sect?) in practice, highlighting the endogenous challenges (personalities, incentives) and exogenous difficulties (geography, financing and commerce, surrounding incomprehension, persecution). As such, the book makes a salutary complement to the fictional dreams of utopia of Skinner’s Walden Two 1948), Morris’s News From Nowhere (1890), and More’s Utopia (1551).
June 4, 2023
Reading about passionate, idealistic and ultimately doomed leaders at a moment when I am lacking motivation and a vision for the kind of future I want to see has been super humbling and inspiring. Some of the six described scenarios are more relatable than others, but overall you come out of it feeling like yes! Even though all these utopias failed, they were absolutely worth pursuing at the time and still have valuable lessons for the way we should live. A pleasure to read, 5 stars.
August 12, 2023
This is a book about social innovation. It fixes on the inter-war period, and part of its message is how utopian thinking reacts to the issues of its time. The six attempts are all nicely portrayed and contrasted. Some are social experiments, some religious and one, I suspect, the act of a charlatan. A few have survived to today but most did not outlive their founders and all ran into the problem of dreams contrasting with reality. Overall, the story is optimistic, if a little 'samey'.
September 3, 2023
An interesting book that I actually picked up at the Dartington Trust bookshop. As the conclusion seems to appreciate, some of the 'utopias' described err worryingly close to cults in many ways. But the idea of creating a community and fundamentally imbuing life with meaning (preferably without tending to fields all day) is an idea that persists in our current age when people seem further apart than ever.
March 28, 2025
A lovely history on various attempts to build utopian communes across the world in the postwar. Neima manages to write a great narrative that continues throughout each chapter, and allows us to see the connections each of these places had to one another, even if worlds apart. A critical examination of each 'utopia' allows the reader to see the common patterns of positive and negative for each. Really enjoyed it!
July 29, 2025
This was a very interesting book and very well researched. I’ve not read much about utopias and so was looking to expand my knowledge in this area. The reason I’m sadly giving this book only two stars is because to be honest, I just found it a bit of a slog to get through. The content, like I said, was interesting but the writing just didn’t grip me or hold my attention. It wasn’t a book I was really reaching for.
June 4, 2021
A thoroughly good, accessible read - a thoughtful and stimulating tour of post WW1 attempts to shape a better world. Mostly impractical, sometimes bonkers though these communities were, the account of them is never less than vivid and thought-provoking. Topical in the search for a balance of head, heart and hand, most of these communities were stronger on head and heart and largely short on both economic and practial implementation. Recommended.
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March 1, 2022If you ever heard of Tagore, you would want to read this book! It's about dreamers who worked at their dreams, watch them unravel..and even though their communities may no longer exist in form and function as when it began, these communities trigger social and political changes. Power to dreaming I say!
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