WHY A NEW EDITION OF MIGHT IS RIGHT?

We Some thirty-five years after Jack Jones’ Dil Pickle Press published the last Redbeard-era edition of Might Is Right in Chicago, a small publishing company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin produced an abridged, 18-page edition of the book. By 1969 the same company had expanded their edition to a 32-page effort. Three years later Revisionist Press of New York produced a hardbound copy of the entire book. This was followed in 1984 by a paperback edition from Loompanics Unlimited of Port Townsend, Washington. It was not until 1996 that another "Special Centennial Edition" of Might Is Right was printed, this time from M.H.P. & Co., of Bensinville, Illinois. This was followed by an 1999 edition from 14 Word Press of St. Maries, Idaho, and then an edition from Bugbee Books in 2003. Finally a 2004 edition was released from 29 Books of Brooklyn, New York, which was a facsimile reprint of the Revisionist Press edition. So why then another edition from Dil Pickle Press?

In the summer of 1967 Darrell W. Conder, who went on to become a professional genealogist and religious historian, discovered a 1910 edition of Might Is Right in a pile of unwanted books and magazines. At first outraged and later intrigued by the book’s message, over the next thirty-five years Conder collected information about Redbeard and his infamous work — sometimes traveling long distances to track down a single lead.

During those years Conder read or was told many things about the author, most of which turned out to be bogus. But for him the most exasperating thing was the outrageous claims about the author’s true identity. At first mere speculations, in time some of these claims took on the status as gospel truths! The other problem was that the later editions of Redbeard’s book were often used to promote the self-interests of some radical groups, which opened it up for smear campaigns with the result that the book saw limited circulation. To some degree, perhaps Redbeard himself would have approved of his message being used to promote certain causes, but when those causes were anathema to most of the English-speaking world, it had the effect of Redbeard’s message effectively being suppressed. This is why Conder, who had already authored and published a number of books, decided to correct the situation by producing an agenda-free edition of Might Is Right.

And so, with his copies from the 1890 Auditorium Press, the 1896 A. Uing Publisher, the 1903 A. Mueller Publishers, the 1910 W.J. Robbins Co. Ltd, the 1921 Ross’ Book Service and the 1927 Dil Pickle Press editions of Might Is Right in his collection, Conder transcribed his own edition of Might Is Right. However, there would be one big difference from all the other recent editions: Conder would edit Might Is Right purely as a scholarly work. This is why, when it was finally ready for publication, Conder’s new edition included over 350 footnotes. These footnotes clarified the meanings of some very obscure words (which Redbeard frequently used), and offered biographical notes on some of the obscure persons used by the author as examples. Conder reasoned that if he didn’t know the meaning of "strumous" or "olla podrida", the identity of Porfirio Diaz or W. Winwood Reade, or couldn’t readily identify poetic verse, which Redbeard frequently employed in the text, then neither would most readers. Moreover, Conder knew that most readers would never take the time to research these words, persons or works, with the result that some of the author’s significant points in fact would be missed and the message of the book misunderstood. It is no understatement to say that Conder’s additions effectively restored Might Is Right’s soul and allows the reader to understand the work exactly as Redbeard intended. But this is not all.

Conder used his considerable experience to investigate Ragnar Redbeard’s elusive identity, with some amazing results — one being that he completely disproves the claims that Redbeard was either Jack London or Friedrich Nietzsche. However, the most important result of Conder’s research was his documented discovery of Redbeard’s true identity, which will be presented in a special research paper to be issued in 2006. When released, this report will validate Conder’s ten-page history of both Redbeard and Might Is Right, which is presented in the introduction to his edition.

These important features makes Darrell W. Conder’s edition of Might Is Right the definitive edition of this infamous, yet intriguing book. The previous editions, which simply reproduce the original wording of the 1927 edition, and in some cases with some very sloppy type-setting, or promote some religious or political philosophy along with some cartoon-like illustrations, simply don’t measure up to the new Dil Pickle Press edition.

The bottom line is this: If you are seeking to read the book as Redbeard intended and you are interested in learning the author’s true identity, then the Conder edition is for you. On the other hand, if you are not serious about what you read, or have pre-conceived notions that you want to leave intact, then buy one of the editions mentioned at the beginning of this report. It’s that simple.