Verso Books is a publishing house based in London and New York City, founded in 1970 by the staff of New Left Review. The company claims "global sales approaching $3 million per year and over 350 titles in print," possibly making it "the largest radical publisher in the English-language world."
Verso was originally known as New Left Books. The publisher gained early recognition for translations of books by European thinkers, especially those from the Frankfurt School. Verso's best-selling title is the autobiography of Rigoberta Menchú, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992.
The name "Verso" refers to the technical term for the left-hand page in a book, and is a play on words regarding its political outlook.
Verso titles are distributed in the United States by W. W. Norton & Company.
Famous quotes containing the word books:
“Ambivalence reaches the level of schizophrenia in our treatment of violence among the young. Parents do not encourage violence, but neither do they take up arms against the industries which encourage it. Parents hide their eyes from the books and comics, slasher films, videos and lyrics which form the texture of an adolescent culture. While all successful societies have inhibited instinct, ours encourages it. Or at least we profess ourselves powerless to interfere with it.”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)