Hello! I am not an historian but I am a political philosopher. I can help!

First, read about it in an encylopedia (such as the Blackwell Dictionary of Modern Social Thought). Reputable books; not just anything.

When starting with the real deal, I would suggest starting with the following book: Anarchism: A very Short Introduction. The author is Colin Ward, an anarchist thinker but also a social historian. It should give you a very brief and basic understanding of the most basic tenets of anarchism but also would allow you to know if you are interested in reading more about it. As usual, there are a few issues with it but I think that as a starting point, that would be great. After that, go with "From Bakunin to Lacan" by Saul Newman.

If you want to go further from there, I would read some articles. Go gradual. Start with "The Anarchist Tradition of Political Thought" by Fowler. That should shed some lights on the topic as well as improve your basics. Read on the topic by reputable academics and in peer-reviewed journals.

Then move onto the real stuff. I'd advise Kropotkin as he formulates the least restrictive understanding of anarchism. Of all the primary readings, it is him who provides the framework for much of anarchist thought. Much less so than let's say Proudhon, he sticks to the basics of anarchism and what makes someone an anarchist.

I am trying to give you not too much to start on though and try to be methodical about it and I'll tell you why: anarchism is very difficult to grasp. Not because of its complexity but because there is a lot of rubbish on the topic and stuff from self-proclaimed anarchists. Moreover, there is a lot of infighting in which they seek to "out-anarchist" each other. I've read papers arguing that anarcho-capitalism is not anarchism or that anarcho-syndicalism is not real anarchism. Sometimes, they have good arguments from an academic point of view but they are meaningless to the person learning about the field.

With what I provide, you should gain just enough baggage to know what you like about anarchism and what direction you want your studies of it in. Any issues you might have might end up having a type of anarchism that will answer them. Individualist anarchism per example will prone very extreme forms of individualism per example. Or religious anarchism will be interested in the place of religion as a "natural" way to organically function without a central authority.

Other books worth reading regarding the topic: Paul Wolff's In Defense of Anarchism How much land does a man need? by Tolstoi What is property? By Proudhon (hint: he says that property is theft) The ego and his own by Stirner The Anarchist manifesto by Anselme Bellegarrigue

That should get you started! With all of this, you should have a limited but relatively well-rounded idea of anarchism. There are so many labels of anarchism that it is difficult to cover them all but it's one reason why it is essential to read the classics if you are getting into the study of anarchism. I hope I helped!

James Joll's The Anarchists is an older but significant and worthwhile short survey. Paul Avrich is probably the most important historian of anarchism, especially notable for his classic studies on anarchism in Russia; his books belong high on any reading list. Outside the European context, Arif Dirlik has written on anarchism in China, in particular in his book Anarchism in the Chinese Revolution.