Scan barcode
runeclausen's review against another edition
2.0
Exactly what it promises to be. It does come up with some good points, but its awfully un-specific, which is to be expected since of course every dictatorship / situation is different. Not the most exciting of reads, and it could benefit from having some more and more descriptive real-life cases and how different dictatorships WERE actually dismantled.
bigbookgeek's review against another edition
5.0
As an activist, this is a must have for me! I honestly, when planning an action, go through his methods.
dave37's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting, and sobering read. Short version: (1) change can be made; (2) peaceful protest is the way to roll; and (3) innocent people will die.
timmytoenail69's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
I think this book is incredible. It provides people with a handbook on how to remove a dictator from power and how and why it is imperative to make sure that it is done via non-violent means. I also enjoyed that the book was very easy to read and so accessible to anyone who is remotely literate. I only have one major criticism of the book, which is that it was very general and as a result too vague. I don’t know how this could have been avoided as it’s supposed to be a handbook for everyone everywhere (almost) but it’s still something that I think takes away from the text.
unisonlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
I confess I hadn’t heard of Gene Sharp until I heard this book had been a well thumbed text by rebels during the Arab Spring of 2011. First released in the early 1990s this small book is a blueprint for peaceful action against tyrants and dictators. Specifically written about Burma, but not exclusively referenced, it proved to be a useful guide for anyone wishing to engage in dissent against their government. The appendix at the back lists of 120 methods of protest for the reader to engage in, a sort of menu of resistance if you will. The central pillar of the books success is that peaceful revolt will succeed more than violent revolt. Violent revolt almost always ends in failure for the simple fact that the ruling regime can call upon more firepower than the rebels – unless other countries intervene and if they do it is seldom for altruistic purposes and can result in a worse situation than before [something becoming more apparent as days pass in Lybia – Jul 2012]. Sharp puts great emphasis on planning and strategy, coordinating events and utilising existing power structures outside of the regime such as trades unions or student networks and his overriding point is that all tyrannies have weakness and revolt can get its fingers inside those cracks to pull them apart. The road is long and never easy but what is easy is to see how this pamphlet has become a modern classic of liberation literature.
adammck's review against another edition
Seemed like it may come in handy some day...
rayan_ral's review
4.0
Коротко і чітко. Не підручник, а скоріше high-level plan і загальне направлення думок.
omnibozo22's review
5.0
Well reasoned analysis and plans for moving governments from dictatorship to democracy with a minimum of violence. Sharp includes a list of nearly 200 ideas for working against dictatorship. While the US is not yet a full dictatorship, the DumptyTrumpty enablers are moving us in that direction. One of the most pressing problems of the current demonstrations against the police brutality and the larger racism of the current administration is that there is no larger plan. The most effective politicians at opposing the admin have been sidelined by the oppressive electoral college two party system. Biden is a sorry counterpoint to the orange idiot. Resistors should work together better. There is no need to wait for November. This book is distributed free. I also see from the list of translations that it has not yet been translated into Tagalog, nor Kapampangan. Sharp even includes a comprehensive system for accurately translating the book into other languages.
haagen_daz's review
3.0
Finally finished this after a several year journey - I first picked this up after reading 'This is An Uprising' after Trump's election. Here are a few things that I, as someone who is not involved in community organizing, was able to take from this (and there would have been much more had I been an organizer!):
- the idea that the power of a leader or a system comes from the people & institutions within it, which I think is often referred to as the 'pillars of support' model
- the idea that nonviolent struggle is often helpful against dictators because dictators are really good at violent struggle, and the larger idea of "pick your battles"
- the importance of a positive strategy - aiming at a new order, instead of just toppling the old one - and then the guts and judgement to stick to it until it doesn't work anymore
There's a lot of more practical advice that I would find helpful if I was building a movement, but so far as I have been participating in activism it has largely been as a metaphorical foot soldier. I did think about some of these things while trying to effect change in my workplace but I found it difficult. Maybe I should have thought harder?
- the idea that the power of a leader or a system comes from the people & institutions within it, which I think is often referred to as the 'pillars of support' model
- the idea that nonviolent struggle is often helpful against dictators because dictators are really good at violent struggle, and the larger idea of "pick your battles"
- the importance of a positive strategy - aiming at a new order, instead of just toppling the old one - and then the guts and judgement to stick to it until it doesn't work anymore
There's a lot of more practical advice that I would find helpful if I was building a movement, but so far as I have been participating in activism it has largely been as a metaphorical foot soldier. I did think about some of these things while trying to effect change in my workplace but I found it difficult. Maybe I should have thought harder?