This Is an Uprising

“An important analysis of nonviolent strategy.”

“Absorbing… Ambitious… Indispensable. A genuine gift to social movements everywhere.”

“For all those who dare to dream that truly transformational, even revolutionary change might be possible here in America in our lifetimes (but who wonder what strategies or tactics could possibly achieve a monumental shift in consciousness), this book is for you. We have more power than we realize, and the compelling stories of nonviolent movements around the world told here have much to teach us about how we can use our power wisely.” 

“Mark and Paul Engler’s This Is an Uprising is an essential resource for anyone interested in the strategies of nonviolent organizing. It is a thoughtful, well-researched, and compelling document in which the authors argue convincingly not only for the effectiveness of nonviolence resistance, but also for the need to integrate lessons taken from movements from vastly different political and social terrains.”

“If you’ve ever wanted to know how nonviolent social movements get started, what makes them succeed, and what causes them to fail, then Mark and Paul Engler’s This Is an Uprising is the perfect read for you…. Both a collection of inspiring true stories about the world’s most influential movements and a practical guide to using nonviolence as a method of political and social change, This Is an Uprising shows readers how transformation really happens, and how you can help.” 

“Thorough and authoritative...Both as a primer on the theory of nonviolent protest and as a practical guide to positive action, [This Is An Uprising] is an invaluable resource.” 

“Thoroughly researched, [This Is an Uprising] provides a great overview of how movements succeed — and fail…. If you’re looking for a far-reaching review of both contemporary and historical movements, as well as the academic literature that helps drive them, you can’t do much better than this book.”  

“The year 2017 is off the election cycle so the political action is likely to move into the streets. That’s why… I’m reading This Is an Uprising, by writer Mark Engler and his activist brother Paul. The book is a deeply informative history of direct action, from Martin Luther King Jr.’s groundbreaking Birmingham, Ala., campaign in 1963 to Occupy, the Arab Spring, and Black Lives Matter.”

“A new book that should help us rethink our lives… Couldn’t recommend it more strongly.” 

“Especially timely in the wake of protests across the United States, this book offers insight into how far we’ve come as a country and how much further we have to go.” 

“A usefully organized, concise history of social movements that will appeal to newer generations of activists.”

“Anyone who doubts that community organizing is a significant part of the social fabric will find such assumptions dispelled by this intriguing and illuminating overview.”

“Engler and Engler have distilled decades of complex and often discordant theories into an accessible guide to effective lasting civil resistance and organization building. This is a book that is likely to be read and reread for years to come.”

“This is a landmark book—not merely a history of nonviolent resistance, but a distillation of a few key concepts. ‘Momentum-based organizing’ puts a name on something that many of us had dimly intuited. It’s a powerful method for making real change fast. And real change fast is in fact what our world requires.” 

“This book is certain to become a seminal text…. The authors brilliantly illuminate the debates between advocates of mass mobilization, organization building, nonviolence, and disruption. Mark and Paul Engler have constructed a new intellectual platform to advance our understanding of these strategic dilemmas.” 

“Mark and Paul Engler have compiled a true masterpiece on the history, logic, ethics, and power of nonviolent action.”

“This exceptional book by two outstanding social activists has somehow managed to fuse artful story-telling, weighted social analysis, leadership know-how, together with a model of movement to gift us with a viable vision of a world that we can all live in. A compelling read.”

“This might be one of the most important books on community organizing and effecting change I have ever read.”

“This book tells the stories of the mass movements that have made our world and continue to change it, and it tells them with excitement, insight, and hope like few have told them before.”