Four men in a cell in Rebibbia prison, Rome, awaiting trial on serious charges of subversion. One of them, the political thinker Antonio Negri, spends his days writing. Among his writings are twenty letters addressed to a young friend in France letters in which Negri reflects on his own personal development as a philosopher, theorist and political activist and analyses the events, activities and movements in which he has been involved. The letters recount an existential journey that links a rigorous philosophical education with a powerful political passion, set against the historical backdrop of postwar Italy. Crucially, Negri recalls the pivotal moment in 1978 when the former prime minister of Italy, Aldo Moro, was kidnapped and killed by the Red Brigades, and how the institutions then pinned that killing onto him and his associates.

Published here for the first time, these letters offer a unique and invaluable insight into the factors that shaped the thinking of one of the most influential political theorists of our time and they document Negris role in the development of political movements like Autonomia. They are a vivid testimony to one mans journey through the political upheavals and intellectual traditions of the late 20th century, in the course of which he produced a body of work that has had, and continues to have, a profound impact on radical thought and politics around the world.

Letter One: Dry Veneto

Letter Two: Working-class movement

Letter Three: Souzy

Letter Four: Admiratio

Letter Five: Jürgen

Letter Six: Torino

Letter Seven: July

Letter Eight: Piazza Statuto

Letter Nine: Autonomy

Letter Ten: New Year

Letter Eleven: Golem

Letter Twelve: Civil Warre

Letter Thirteen: Separation

Letter Fourteen: A jump for joy

Letter Fifteen: Carnival

Letter Sixteen: Deadline

Letter Seventeen: Manhattan

Letter Eighteen: Moro

Letter Nineteen: Ferocious Alphabets

Letter Twenty: Renaissance