Scan barcode
vsabre's review against another edition
Detailed historical explanation. I would have preferred analysis
miguelf's review against another edition
3.0
It would be great to say that this was an eye opening overview on the history of organized resistance in the US: instead it’s more of a very broad brush overview and not walking away feeling like a whole lot was learned here. The dryness isn’t really the issue, rather it darts from one topic to another without a whole lot of focus or depth (much like this review – so they’re reciprocal).
politizer's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't really get it. Most of it reads as a long list of examples and enumeration of events that happened, with little explanation or argumentation to show what point the reader is meant to take away from the examples and events. Each chapter ends with a very brief list of takeaways, but the connection between the takeaways and the examples is not always clear to me -- I didn't really follow how the examples served as evidence for the arguments she was making. Given Berry's credentials, I don't doubt that there are good arguments for all this stuff, but I could have used them spelled out more explicitly. Maybe I'm just not the target audience for this sort of book; I'm not exactly a newcomer to books on this topic, but I'm also not a seasoned organizer or anything like that, and maybe the arguments in this book are more clear and self-evident to someone who is.
jesshayley's review against another edition
4.0
not the easiest non fiction to get through, but extremely interesting nonetheless
tonikayk's review against another edition
5.0
I was a political activist in the 80s and actually met the author at an event. I have followed the news and thought I was aware. This book brought enlightenment from the inside. I would suggest this book to everyone who cares and wants to know the truth of our recent political history.
roseofoulesfame's review
4.0
The two main things I learned reading this book:
1. Mary Frances Berry (henceforth to be referred to as the Notorious MFB) is a badass
2. Ronald Reagan was, like, THE WORST
I impulse-bought this after being inspired by Berry's appearance on the Daily Show where she was being interviewed by Trevor Noah (name a more iconic duo; I'll wait), and I have zero regrets.
Berry has written an easily understandable, concise, straightforward history of US Presidential policies and attitudes from FDR to GWB (NB: it doesn't feature all the presidents in between, but instead mixes things up by including chapters on the Vietnam War and Apartheid).
This "scrupulously even-handed" (the chapters on Clinton and Reagan in particular were eye-openers for me; you may have to work just as hard, if not harder, to hold politicians who seem to share your values to account) account is combined with plenty of handy hints on how to protest successfully, regardless of the issue or your position in society - it's the first (non-university) book I've ever annotated. Obviously, I'll be rereading this.
1. Mary Frances Berry (henceforth to be referred to as the Notorious MFB) is a badass
2. Ronald Reagan was, like, THE WORST
I impulse-bought this after being inspired by Berry's appearance on the Daily Show where she was being interviewed by Trevor Noah (name a more iconic duo; I'll wait), and I have zero regrets.
Berry has written an easily understandable, concise, straightforward history of US Presidential policies and attitudes from FDR to GWB (NB: it doesn't feature all the presidents in between, but instead mixes things up by including chapters on the Vietnam War and Apartheid).
This "scrupulously even-handed" (the chapters on Clinton and Reagan in particular were eye-openers for me; you may have to work just as hard, if not harder, to hold politicians who seem to share your values to account) account is combined with plenty of handy hints on how to protest successfully, regardless of the issue or your position in society - it's the first (non-university) book I've ever annotated. Obviously, I'll be rereading this.
robynne's review against another edition
4.0
Berry gives readers and insider's and outsider's perspective on the impact of protest in changing domestic and foreign policy in the US. As an historian, she uses evidence to provide good analysis of where and when protest movements worked effectively or not. From an insider's perspective, as a participant in protest movements as well as former chair on the United States Commission on Civil Rights, she works through protest movements chronologically focussing on one administration at a time. To that end, it is unfortunate that she didn't analyse the Obama administration. Certainly the book is timely in light of protests against President Trump (and this book was released just a week before the March for our Lives protest with its global impact), but to jump from George W. Bush to Donald Trump without any focus on Obama misses an important opportunity. Yes, Obama was the progressive and friendly president. But he, too, is a complicated man and his legacy should not be glossed over.