Barbed Wire: A Political History

148 Pages·2003·6.01 MB·English

by  Olivier Razac, Jonathan Kneight

BARBED WIRE

BARBED WIRE
A POLITICAL HISTORY
Olivier Razac
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH R Y
Jonathan Kneight
THE NEW PRESS
N E Y O R
O 2000 by La Fabrique-éditions.
English translation O 2002 by The New Press
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form, without written
permission from the publisher.
MHHARY OK CONORK.SS C AT A 1.001 NO -IN- PU Hl.lt: ATI ON UATA
Razac, Olivier.
I Histoire politique du barbelé. English |
Barbed wire: a political history / Olivier Razac; translated from the French by
Jonathan Rncight.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-56584-812-2
I. Barbed wire—Political aspects. 2. Wire fencing—West (U.S.)—History.
3. Wire obstacles—History. 4. Concentration camps—History. I. Title.
TS27I .R39 2002
323.4-9—dc21
2002019536
Originally published as Histoire politique du barbelé: La prairie, la tranchée, U camp
by La Fabrique-éditions, Paris
Published in the United States by The New Press, New York, 2002
Distributed by W. W. Norton U Company, Inc., New York
The New Press was established in 1990 as a not-for-profit alternative to
the large, commercial publishing houses currently dominating the book
publishing industry. The New Press operates in the public interest rather than
for private gain, and is committed to publishing, in innovative ways, works
of educational, cultural, and community value that arc often
deemed insufficiently profitable.
The New Press, 450 West 41st Street, 6th floor. New York, NY 10036
www.thcnewpress.com
Printed in the United States of America.
Boo^ design by Lovedog Studio
2468 10 97531
CONTENTS
Introduction ix
1. Three Historical Landmarks 1
America: Fencing In the Prairie 5
The First World War: The Trenches 32
The Camp 50
2. Barbed Wire and the
Political Management of Space 71
A Frontier Between Life and Death 75
Guard the Herd and Kill the Beast 84
Barbed Wire and Surveillance 90
3. Barbed Wire Today 97
Notes 115
Index 125

It’s the best fence in the world.
As light as air.
Stronger than whisky. Cheaper than dust.
All in steel and several miles long.
The cattle haven’t been born that can get
through it.
Gentlemen, take up the challenge and
bring your cows.
—John Warne Gates,
barbed-wire merchant,
Texas, 1870s