DID YOU KNOW?

The roots of the word ‘radical’, are exactly that: Roots. Coming from the 14th Century Latin, radicalis, itself from Latin radic-, radix, meaning "root." And the earliest uses of radical are indeed all about literal roots, hinging on the meaning "of, relating to, or proceeding from a root." Branching out from botany, ‘Radical’ found its way into the world of Linguistics, where the word refers to the ‘root’ word on a language tree  (in this context: radicalis), and in Mathematics where a ‘radical’ function reduces a number to its root, or indeed in ‘radical’ surgery.

These ‘roots’ of Radicalism are central to the project of October Books in many ways, from our love of grass-roots activism, our attention to the history of our shop and the city more broadly, in our commitment to the preservation of nature, and our promotion of Alternative Futures - whether these are alternative economies, or alternative voices, or new and more egalitarian ways of living.