Activism Books

Book review in Palestine Times No.86 August 1998

"This important book deepens our understanding of the influence of contemporary Islamism by providing the first definitive history of the meteoric rise of the mother organization of all modern Islamist movements, the Society of the Muslim Brothers.

Founded in 1928 by a young primary school teacher, Hasan al-Banna, the society rose to become the largest mass movement in modern Egyptian history in less than two decades, clashing with the ruling elite on a wide range of issues.

Brynjar Lia examines the socio-economic and cultural factors which facilitated the movement's expansion and analyses the keys to its success- its organization, internal structure, modes of action and recruitment techniques as well as its ideological and class appeal.

Drawing on a wealth of new sources which include British War Office and Foreign Office files, security files from the Egyptian National Archives and the Society's newspapers and internal publications from the 1930s and early 1940s, this book also makes extensive use of the memories and personal letters of Muslim Brother veterans. The author has spent many years in Egypt interviewing old and younger members of this influential society."

Palestine Times No.86 August 1998

The best known study of Egypt's foremost fundamentalist Islamic movement, Richard Mitchell's Society of the Muslim Brothers (1969), portrayed the organization as a reactionary response to Westernization mounted by those left in its wake. And, indeed, this was the general interpretation of fundamentalist Islam by most writers on the subject before 1990 or so. Now, however, a thoroughly different (and much improved) interpretation rules, one that sees the Muslim Brothers and like movements as a facet of modernization. Their personnel are urbanites dealing with the cutting edge of modern problems; their ideas, methods, and goals all incorporate modern ways; and they show far more willingness to learn from the West than was hitherto realized.

In a very impressive research effort into the early years of the Muslim Brothers, Lia (a Norwegian scholar) relies on new sources and deep knowledge of his subject to show convincingly just how well that movement does fit the new interpretation. He establishes that it organized in ways novel for Egypt and mobilized elements of the population hitherto neglected. But its greatest importance lay in developing an answer to the rampant European ideologies of the 1930s: in this, the Muslim Brothers began "a lasting process of renewal . . . in which religion was related to the modern age and all aspects of modern life." With justification, Lia concludes that the Muslim Brothers' "reinterpretation of Islam will remain the most far-reaching Islamic renewal this century."

Middle East Quarterly, June 1999

Book review in Jerusalem Post

"Lia's book provides a fresh reassessment of the growth of the Muslim Brothers. He does so by drawing on a wealth of recently discovered documents, including the Society's own internal publications from the 1930s and '40s, British intelligence reports and al-Banna's personal letters.

While touching on issues of ideology and anti imperialism, Lia places great emphasis on the Society's structure and its activities within Egypt to explain its early phenomenal growth. Rather than a reaction to modernity, he argues that the Society itself was a modern organization, open to new technologies and ideas. (..)

The violence and radicalism within the organization prove to be among the thorniest issues in the book. While the Muslim Brothers provided the organizational model for today's radical Islamic groups, to some extent they also provided the template of violence. Lia argues that the Society, while calling for an all-Islamic "struggle" on various occasions, was not inherently violent. The Muslim Brothers did have a military wing, the so-called Special Section, but this, he says, was a way to channel the radical energies of the more energetic younger members. This element of violence can be traced back to a split within the Muslim Brothers in 1939. As a reaction to al-Banna's accommodationist political activity, a group calling itself the Society of Our Master Muhammad's Youth split off from the main organization. Throughout the next decades, this group would continue to splinter, creating the network of violent Islamic groups which plagued Egypt today (..) Lia argues that the growing radicalism resulted from government efforts to shut these Islamic groups out of the Egyptian political system. Lacking a legitimate outlet for their energies, he argues, these groups can easily turn to the option of terrorism.

"The Society of the Muslim Brothers in Egypt 1928-1942" is an important contribution to our understanding. If any complaint can be leveled it is at the circumscription of the book's time frame. Lia limits his study from the beginning of the Society until 1942 (..)Numerous issues of interst arose in the Society's history after this period from the involvement of the Muslim Brothers in the 1948 war against Israel to the 1949 assassination of al-Banna and Nasser's eventual outlawing of the Society. A wider study would further consider the development of violence within the Muslim Brothers and its splinter groups and offshots. One can only hope that Lia has plans for a companion volume"

Book review by Shai Tsur in Jerusalem Post December 1998

Hassam al Banna never approved the assassination of Noukrashi Pasha (Egypt's Prime Minister during the life and rein of King Farouk I), it was the military arm of the Movement that decided and carried it out, without Banna's explicit approval.
Banna was as shocked as the King.
Latest interviews with contemporary ex-members of the Brotherhood in Egypt who were close to Banna testified that the `Morshed' - Guider - had never `ruled' as an autocrat; at times he was ruled by his strong-willed military `wing' who had been morbidly suspicious of the Palace/PM intentions towards the Muslim Brotherhood.
Under the urging of Banna who was anxious to have `his men' come to terms with the PM, the attempt was postponed two times. But old antagonisms were so strong (because of the war in Palestine, and the decision made by the PM to purge the Army of all members of the Muslim Brotherhood).
The Palace ordered the assassination of Al Banna in retaliation to the killing of Noukrashi Pasha.

Al-Banna's successor, Hodehbie sought to improve relations with the Palace. A personal touch of friendliness with the King was considered to widen Brotherhood's sphere of influence as a `balancing factor' against the ever-present popular el- Wafd Party. After al Banna, King Farouk I regarded the Brotherhood movement as his own sphere of influence and tried by clever approaches (like to subsidize the financing of their newspaper) to woo them out of any alliances with the Wafd.
While al Banna maxim was `keep friends with the masses', his successor's was `keep friends with the King'

This is a solid work of scholarship, and serves a nice supplement to Mitchell's more expanded work. However, given that the new information handled by B. Lia offers merely a refinement of our understanding of the Brotherhood rather than a radical revision, one is recommended to rather begin with Mitchell-whose book is available in paperback, is more established, and is a fraction of the cost. Contrary to D. Pipes' and others' reviews, Mitchell's work does not portray the Muslim Brotherhood as reactionary. This rhetorical device of point, counter-point does considerable injustice to Mitchell's work.

Standing on its own, this work is well written and easy to follow. Lia is able to delve into the mechanics of the organization on a social and political level in order to reveal just how it reached the amount heights of success that it did. The result is a picture that explains well why it was a model so extensively copied and exported throughout the Muslim world. If there is any comparison to be made to Mitchell's work, this would certainly be the proper feature to focus on. Overall, Lia gives a much more lucid, detailed account of the Muslim Brother as a social organization and makes a convincing case for the organization being the first grass-roots political movement in Egypt with its origins and leadership from the poorer classes [unlike the Wafd]. What is lost, however, is comprehensive picture of the whole-and this due partly to the limited time frame of the study-wherein the Brotherhood's other distinguishing features [e.g., its religiosity, transformation during political persecution, etc.] are obfuscated.

Jo Freeman has authored a multifaceted memoir of her years as an undergraduate campus activist at Berkeley. She entered Cal in the fall of 1961 as a 16 year-old from the San Fernando Valley and graduated in the spring of 1965 after the Free Speech Movement had shaken the Berkeley Administration and energized not only activists but seemingly an entire campus. It is part the story of a teenager growing up quickly, making dumb mistakes and surmounting them. It is part a story of civil rights activism, including the truly difficult decision of whether civil disobedience is justifiable when the conduct one is challenging is not illegal. (Freeman was arrested and tried three times, being convicted twice, and causing a split with her mother.) More importantly this is an insider's acccount of the Free Speech Movement, its politics and personalities. Freeman also strives to take account of the FSM's opponents: the Berkeley Administration, the Regents, the press, and, of course, politicians. It is no easy task to weave so many stories together in a coherent whole, and Freeman has done a fine job of bringing her knowledge as an adult to bear on her actions forty years ago. This is a terrific look at the optimism of the 1960s before Vietnam, summer riots, and drugs intervened to scar the decade.

At Berkeley in the Sixties captures the essence of the FSM. I was a graduate student in Forestry at Berkeley from 1962 to 1965. I was not an activist but I followed many of the activities of the FSM. For me the most dramatic event was Mario Savio, an activist leader, being dragged off the stage by police at the Greek Theater in front of thousands of disbelieving students and faculty. It was high drama at its best. Jo Freeman does a masterful job of detailing the struggle between the students and the establishment. The book is a great read.

As a survivor of the Sixties who is herself doing research for a book on another aspect of that tumultuous decade, I was very impressed with how Freeman was able to combine personal experience with scholarly research. The Free Speech Movement was tremendously important because it was the first wave in the rise to political power of the baby boomer generation (though the term, baby boomer, was itself not in use at the time). The press coverage of the FSM was confusing, and often wildly misleading. The publication for which I was working in the 60s was among the worst of all, I am sure (I have not even re-read its coverage of the FSM in doing my own research on the period, relying exclusively for that subject on the New York Times). Freeman's narrative makes clear to me for the first time what the issues were and how they found expression, especially during the 1964-65 academic year, when developments came to a boil. The early parts of the book move more slowly, and with maybe a bit too much autobiography and incompletely digested historical reseach, but if you hang in there, you will get caught up with the flow
of developments, in all its maddening detail. I can't help feeling that the poor performance of the media to some extent reflected the fact that the Free Speech Movement itself was diverse, with some members more committed to extemist political programmes than others; moreover, the stated ambitions of the movement as a whole shifted as time went on, but all of that is admirably made clear in this book. I wish something could have been done about all the acryonyms Freeman employs, but I don't know what. Although a list of them is provided at the beginning of the book, they are still a bit confusing. I also don't feel that the author has completely resolved the differences between her own outlook in the 60s and her understanding of the situation in retrospect, but she does, I suppose, come as close as any of us are likely to do.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but sadly, I did not. Freeman's writing was extremely dry. She turned what was a series of exciting experiences into drudgery. Freeman got really bogged down in the endless detailing of school policies that added nothing to the overall story being told. For someone who was so pivotal in the Free Speech Movement, I expected a more impassioned account. This was like reading my tax return.

It is the most through and, to my mind,
>most fair-minded treatment of those events and their
>meaning. I speak as a graduate student in English at Berkeley from
>1961 to 1968 (with one year away teaching in the
>South) and I received my degree to become a professor at
>Stanford. The scholarship and intrepid
>note-keeping that Ms. Freeman kept over the years have made those times in the
>'sixties come vividly alive to me. It is not true that if you can remember the 'sixties, you were not there. She was there, recalls it all, and is both fair and accurate.

Marqusee succeeds in putting Cassius Clay's transformation to Muhammah Ali in the rhythms and images of the times. An excellent cultural history.

This is a fascinating book - looking at Ali in a historical, social and political context.

It is not a typical sporting biography - there is very little focus on boxing. This is not even a typical biography - Ali is the central character but there are many digressions - Malcolm X (and Elijah Mohammed), Martin Luther King, Paul Robeson, Jackie Robinson, Bob Dylan and Don King feature heavily. The real focus is on the social & political upheaval of the sixties.

This is also a reclamation project. The Ali who is now an almost universal hero is not the Ali that inspires Mike Marqusee. Marqusee loves the Ali who said "I will not be what you want me to be", the fascinating, flawed man - one of the most controversial, divisive but important men of the 1960s. The man who transcended his nationality and embraced the world, which in turn embraced him back. He wants to remind us what an extraordinary man he was. I think that he succeeds admirably.

This is not a hagiography - it is prepared to look Ali's flaws and contradictions directly in the eye. However, the book is fundamentally very sympathetic to Ali and the whole black power movement of the 1960s, particularly Malcolm X. This is not a problem, as Marqusee's politics never get in the way of the book.

Recommended

This is nothing less than the story of an African American man's struggle to define himself within the context of the 60's US black power movement exploited by a white Englishman. Mike Marqusee brings nothing new to the story of Muhamed Ali other than stilted prose and an uncritical eye. It fails as a book about boxing and is equally weak with respect to Ali's struggle with the white establishment of his day. Marqusee's attempt to embrace Ali's story serves only to water down the true struggle of an entire generation against the evils of institutional racism.

I'm not a boxing fan, but after seeing the recent "Ali" movie, I was inspired to take Mike Marqusee's "Redemption Song" off my bookshelf and read it. I got the book because I heard Marqusee last year in a radio interview about Ali and the Black Power movement of the sixties and I was very interested in the culture and politics that both shaped Ali and was influenced by him.

I found "Redemption Song" a powerful and well written book that gives so much more depth than the new movie. The depth of Marqusee's research and analysis made me realize that the Ali movie would have needed to be a trilogy in order to do justice the champ's life. Ali's defiance of racist draft policies could have been an entire movie in and of itself. While "Ali" movie focuses on Ali's defiance, Marqusee's book provides the context for Ali's anti-war stance. His description and analysis makes the movie's focus a mere footnote to this part of Ali's history. When Ali argued, "Man, I ain't got not quarrel with them Vietcong," he was taking a religious and political stance on a personal, cultural/racial, and class level. He was not only echoing the developing anti-war movement, but giving voice to it, even though he never sought to be a leader within the movement. He was in sync with civil rights activists like John Lewis who complained, "I don't see how President Johnson can send troops to Vietnam...to the Congo...to Africa and can't send troops to Selma, Alabama," [where the civil rights of Black people were systemically and violently denied civil rights on a daily basis.] He was in line with Martin L. King who boldly declared and preached that the war "morally and politically unjust." His refusal to participate in the bombing of thousands of innocent children and women in Vietnam and Cambodia was a part of many anti-war demonstrations in which Stokely Carmicheal described Selective Services as "white people sending black people to make war on yellow people in order to defend land they stole from red people."

Marqusee reminds us most in his book that boxing in this country was linked to issues of race and power representation. Thus, Black boxers and other sports figures like Jackie Robinson were measured, promoted, and criticized by how patriotic they were to the White power structure in this country. They were expected to be like Joe Louis who stood "as a role model--for white America, for the black middle class and for much of the left--by enlisting for military service in World War II," or an anti-communist like Robinson. But Ali becomes a bug in the system. Guided by Black nationalist ideology of the Nation of Islam and Malcolm X specifically, Ali rewrote the script for how Black sports figures were to behave. He proclaimed, "I'm free to be what I want." But as Marqusee points and shows, "he did not invent himself out nothing. In his search for personal freedom he was propelled and guided by a wide array of interacting social forces." This search and influence is the heart of Marqussee's book.

I would imagine there's much that Marqusee leaves out his book. And at times he seems too apologetic about Ali's break with Malcolm X, his relationship with the conservative tide of the Nation of Islam, and the inherent contradictions between his religious convictions and his views about marriage. Marqusee could have also provided specific references for his research. His bibliography is simply not enough.

Despite these criticism, "Redemption Song" is a much needed work to offset efforts to depoliticize Ali's past. Read it before or after you see the movie.

This book isn't so much about Ali as about Black radical politics of the 60's and 70's and the way Ali's public life reflected them. An excellent, thoughtful book that reads more like a monograph than a work of popular non-fiction (cf. David Remnick's "King of the World", a more accessible book with a different focus and scope). If you are interested in the Nation of Islam, the Black Panthers, the Black Power movement and the ways boxing historically has reflected the racial realities of its time, you will find this book engrossing and informative. If you are looking for a conventional "boxing book" (whatever that is), you will be disappointed.

This book was a bit depressing - there is no doubt that what the Chinese did in Tibet was horrendous . . . and depressing. But this book doesn't stop -- its just one horrible thing after another . . . I thought Patrick French's Tibet Tibet gave a better overall feel and balance for what has happened in Tibet over the last 50 years.

I knew VERY LITTLE about what happened to Tibet and the Dalai Lama, until this book. It's a very good read....Please consider buying it and learning about the abuse of human rights in other parts of the world.

China is now the newest trading partner for America. This bookand "In Exile from the Land of Snows" by John Avedon offer agreat deal of understanding tho the nature of the Government ofChina. If you are planning to do business or just buy the "Madein China" Label you should want to understand where much of yourinvestment goes and the horrors that your dollars pay for. This is nota read that will leave you unmoved. You will want to know more...Another Video to see is a chinese and Tibetan language film "Windhorse" Very accurate when compared to the other histories listed above and current news reports out of Tibet. For more on Tibet visit the website of the Tibetan Government in Exile at www.tibet.com or for a beginners introduction to Tibet visit www.tibetanphotoproject.com and then come back and get this book. Reading this book is a worthwhile journey in today's global marketplace.

Genocide. Ecocide. ugly words, but far worse is the actual doing of these atrocities. the book is passionate without being preachy, balanced in trying to stick to the facts without over dramatizing them. its is well written and easily read, convincing and deeply saddening. a must read for anyone desirous of knowing what is going on on The Roof of the World.

realpolitik versus the faith of the Dalai Lama and the people of Tibet. chinese communist with the millenium old chinese racism and serious blindness to all things not-chinese versus poor, buddhist, hill people. Tibet is loosing and may already have lost.

One thing missing from the book is an impassioned and reasonable plead of why the West, European and American people should give a damn about what happens in such a remote, poor, unimportant part of the world. her argument stems only from a call to justice and a call to the unity of humanity. and this is relatively unspoken. it is assumed in her passion for the people and Tibet and justice for there case.

Give me a minute to argue the Tibetan case.
1- you buy Chinese goods, these effectively support the government and allow the rape of this poor country and its people
2-there is a unity of humanity. we in the west are detribalized and owe little loyalty between the level of our families and the national governments.
3-the connectedness of all is real. for instance. ship the tibetan forests to china, silt load in the major rivers in India will be enormously increased. the destruction and flooding there will kill millions and destroy the wealth of another poor nation. this will have great effect on the military and political situation in this volitile region.
4-in is an example of the nature of chinese, communist, secular, expansionist, imperialist power at it rawist, most destructive, murderous.
5-the tibetan people through the Dalai Lama partly, but through their faith have much to teach the world, and they are doing so in actions, with their bodies and lives in a way that shames the materialist West. a very important lesson about what is really important in life.

but after all of this.
justice freedom faith
are more than words. they are deeds.

and this book will help you understand why some people are killing other people in Tibet. today. tomorrow.

I never heard of the term "thamzing", but this book is full of primary sources or accounts of public torture and Chinese communist lies. I cried several times reading this book due to the horrible accounts. There is a real cry, by many of the tortured... why do so many people not believe them?

Progress, by no means is worth any human loss of life.

I am only at the beginning of we are everywhere...it's strength is that it gives many of us hope for working toward something better than neoliberalism and a global enconomic worldview. It also offers something better than a black/white and either/or view. One essay that provides that perspective so well is "The Sweatshop and the Ivory Tower." It sure got me thinking about the need to connect to humanity all over the world. The book sure doesn't present a cynical viewpoint so far anyway, and I need a good shot of that in the midst of U.S. political machinery.We Are Everywhere: The Irresistible Rise of Global Anti-Capitalism

Kudos to the Notes from Nowhere collective for compiling this beautifully illustrated insightful anthology of essays about the global justice movement! Exploring a wide range of struggles (urban squats, communty gardens, independent media, union organizing, anti-war, anti-biotech, etc.) around the world (Argentina, India, Palestine, Mexico, South Africa, the United States, Italy and elsewhere), "We Are Everywhere" is an inspirational mosaic of stories about everday people working for gender equality, racial justice, economic democracy, environmental sustainability and peace. Another informative book from Verso!

first, the first reviewer obviously never read the book. the ideas in it are NOT communist or socialist, but ANARCHIST. a good number of the groups mention in the book are organized in a non hierarchal way.

this is a good account of the rising anti-globalization movement. with the fall of communism (and the "victory" of capitalism") came what was known as the end of history. the ant-globalism movement is bring about the end of the end of history. capitalists thought they had won when communism "fell" but all that happened was it gained a new enemy. the tatics used by the WTO, WB, IMF, and gang of 8 (G8) and multinational corporations have created an enemy multiple times larger then communism ever was; the people of the world.

people are pissed off at global capitalism, it ruins millions of lives all in the name of "progress" the elite are running scared of the people, this can be seen since J18, and N30. they now hold their summits in locations virually inaccessible to the people their policies effect. this book is a great documentation of the movement, and where the world is likely heading.

This is a wonderful little book--well, may be not so little at 500+ pages. It gives a good overview of the more radical end of the global justice movement (aka, the "so-called anti-globalization movement"), with its emphasis on openness to multiple viewpoints; direct, participatory democracy; direct action; etc. It's divided into six sections, each of which starts by an analytical but accessible essay by the collective members--"Emergence: An Irresistable Global Uprising", "Networks: The Ecology of the Movement", "Power: Building it Without Taking it", etc. Each section then follows with a number of brief pieces, interviews with or articles by people involved the global justice movement, from all over the world. If you are depressed about what a mess the world is in, this can provide some inspirational reading. It will also provide a good overview of the radical wing of the global justice movement, as much as one can provide an overview of something so complex. If you don't know much about the radical wing of the global justice movement, reading the analytical essays and some of the reports by activists from the field should give you a good feel for it. I say "should" because apparently one of the previous reviewers came away with the bizarre impression that the radical wing of the global justice movement is dominated by Marxist-Leninists. Marxist-Leninism is, thankfully, (mostly) dead. The writers in this book are inspired by anarchism, libertarian Marxism, Gandhianism, etc. The orientation is towards building radical, grassoots democracy and counter-institutions--not seizing state power; towards dialogue between multiple viewpoints--not silencing those who disagree with you; and a wariness of the trap of armed struggle, even among those who aren't pacifists--not shooting your enemies.

This is the usual socialist happy-talk about improving justice, from each according to his ability, to each according to his need, etc. It is all a fundamental denial of human nature, a belief that mankind is inherently good, that only our social institutions cause corruption, etc. If they think this system is so good, why is the northern part of Korea pitch black at night, while the southern (capitalist) part is lit up like a beacon of freedom? Check the NASA nightime photo composite. It tells all.

These people want to give communism yet another chance, even though it has already killed over 100 million people.

The only reason I gave it one star is that I couldn't choose to give it zero.

Will the lunacy ever stop? There's a sucker born every minute.

What a stupid idea. Small change makes what? .... more small change. Incrementalism is the enemy. When a tsunami is bearing down, shifting the beach chairs a few feet won't do. "Ordinary" people can make huge changes. Just avoid this book and any more of such disempowered thinking.

This is an incredible book for anyone interested in finding ways to better his/her life and the world we live in. The suggestions are attainable/realistic with eye-opening suggestions and information.

I've owned the previous version of this book for over 3 years now and have been eagerly anticipating this new version. This handy guide is inspiring and amazingly practical at the same time. These experts have done the leg work to find out what normal people can do in every aspect of their lives to make a better world. If you are wondering how you can better live out your values in the way you work, spend time with family, care for the environment, involve yoursesf in politics and community, shop, and much more, this book is a must have.

Written by sociology instructors Ellis Jones Ph.D., Ross Haenfler Ph.D. and Brett Johnson Ph.D., The Better World Handbook: Small Changes That Make A Big Difference is a guide for ordinary people to taking steps in their lives that help contribute to big changes for the better worldwide. Chapters cover how to make a difference by choosing the right bank, buying groceries that minimize negative environmental impact, building strong relationships among friends and family, fostering a socially responsible workplace, voting and getting involved in politics, using alternative forms of transportation and reducing driving to use as little gasoline as reasonably possible, how to get involved in an organization espousing a cause one cares about, and much more. Handy quick-reference icons, numerous online resources, extensive notes, a helpful checklist, and an index round out this one-of-a-kind guide to not only improving oneself, but also improving the world at large. Highly recommended.

This is a great reference guide to help us ordinary folks be responsible consumers. The research has been done for us, now all we have to do is use it. Another reviewer called this book stupid, but I very much disagree. Little changes, big changes -- they are all working toward a healthy goal. Buy this book and share it with friends!

Monks uses the science of complexity to examine the nature of organizational change. He posits that enterprises are undergoing a phase transition into a system for creating wealth for owners and society. He sees this corporate restoration process as a natural way to order the elements of corporate governance, increasing accountability to long-term owners. The book draws heavily on the new sciences (complexity science, chaos theory, complex adaptive systems) to shed light on the realities of the corporation. The bottom line in these pages is that corporate power is checked and held accountable, not by government or governance, but by the active involvement of institutional investors-pension funds and the like. The author's optimism is considerable in this regard; one only hopes he is right. There is a lot in this book worthy of your time. Overall, this work offers many unique insights and perspectives. Recommended. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, founder, Stern & Associates, author of Stern's Sourcefinder: The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and Stern's Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder.

As with Robert Monk's other books, "The Emperor's Nightingale" tries to make the case for increased shareholder activism, especially by institutional investors. In his earlier works, Monks typically linked shareholder activism to corporate profitability. His earlier works, however, also touched on a broader social agenda. In "The Emperor's Nightingale," that broader social agenda takes center stage. It is a distinctly left-liberal agenda: corporate law compliance, corporate self-flagellation through mandatory disclosure of allegedly improper conduct, environmental protection, workers' rights, etc.

The trouble is that the root claim - that shareholder activism is a good thing - is both positively and normatively flawed. There is some anecdotal evidence that institutions are becoming more active, using the proxy system to defend their interests and influencing policy through negotiations with management. Yet, there is little concrete evidence that shareholder activism matters. Even the most active institutions devote little effort to monitoring management. They rarely conduct proxy solicitations or put forward shareholder proposals. They do not to try to elect representatives to boards of directors.

U.S. public corporations are characterized by a separation of ownership and control: the firm's nominal owners, the shareholders, exercise virtually no control over either day to day operations or long-term policy. Instead, control is vested in the hands of professional managers, who typically own only a small portion of the firm's shares. This separation has costs, the most significant of which are referred to as agency costs, incurred to prevent shirking by managers. The agency cost model forces one to confront the question: who will monitor the monitors? In any team organization, one must have some ultimate monitor who has sufficient incentives to ensure firm productivity without himself having to be monitored. Institutional investors, in Monks' theory, function as such ultimate monitors. Because they own large blocks, and have an incentive to develop specialized expertise in making and monitoring investments, they could hold management accountable for actions that do not promote shareholder welfare, which should lead to a reduction in agency costs.

The benefits of institutional control, however, may come at too high a cost. There is good evidence that bank control of the securities markets has harmed that Japanese and German economies by impeding the development of new businesses. More importantly, there is a risk that institutional investors will abuse their control by self-dealing and other forms of over-reaching. If management becomes more beholden to the interests of large shareholders, it may become less concerned with the welfare of smaller investors. The U.S. experience with social investing by public pension funds, moreover, suggests that politicization of stockownership will be an economic drag. In general, the greater the extent to which a public pension fund is subject to direct political control, the worse its investment returns.

In my view, moreover, the separation of ownership and control is a highly efficient solution to the decisionmaking problems faced by large corporations. Separating ownership and control by vesting decisionmaking authority in a centralized entity distinct from the shareholders is what makes the large public corporation feasible. To be sure, this separation results in the agency cost problem described above. A narrow focus on agency costs, however, easily can distort one's understanding. Corporate managers operate within a pervasive web of accountability mechanisms that substitute for monitoring by residual claimants. Agency costs, in any event, are the inevitable consequence of vesting discretion in someone other than the residual claimant. We could substantially reduce, if not eliminate, agency costs by eliminating discretion; that we do not do so suggests that discretion has substantial virtues.

The root economic argument against shareholder activism thus becomes apparent. Large-scale institutional involvement in corporate decisionmaking seems likely to disrupt the very mechanism that makes the modern public corporation practicable; namely, the centralization of essentially nonreviewable decisionmaking authority in the board of directors. Given the significant virtues of discretion, one ought not lightly interfere with management or the board's decisionmaking authority in the name of accountability. Preservation of managerial discretion should always be the null hypothesis. The separation of ownership and control mandated by U.S. corporate law has precisely that effect.

Great book. Gives great insight on how to create a system that uses corporations to serve people rather than a system that uses people to serve corporations.

This was a stimulating and thoughtful analysis by someone who has been a successful capitalist with experience in the innermost sanctum of coporate America. It is amusing to see right wing academics (such as one of the reviewers of this book) stretch to condemn this author (a Republican businessman) for his "liberal agenda." Those who retain some sense of intellectual curiosity will find much to reflect upon here. Those who are comitted apologists for the status quo need not bother with this book.

One of the cover reviews of Monks 'Nightingale"' lauds the books as an "intellectual tour de force". While there are certainly high brow aspects to the content (specifically the discussion of corporations as complex adaptive systems), the author's basic premise is simple: shareholders - particularly private pension funds - must force their corporate managers not only to maximize profit, but also to adhere to David Engel's 'triad' of obeying the law, informing the public about the corporations impact on society (both good and bad), and minimizing corporate involvement in politics. Overall, Monks analogy to Hans Christian Andersen's story of the Emporer and the Nightingale is clever and appropriate. I began the book by reading Chapter One (the original story) to my children and saved the rest for contemplation of the growing need for corporate accountability. Who will deny that short-term corporate profit-making is unacceptable capitalism in a world that, as Monks points out, now must insist on "long-term economic value rooted in the social good"?

This book is water for the thirsty, parched soul of an activist. I agree with the positive comments made by other reviewers.

I have one sticking point: Her coverage of burnout. Ms. Rettig admits that she comes from a business background and that some people will not like that perspective. I am one of those. Only on this one issue, but it's a big one for me.

I do not agree, as she says, that the most common cause of burnout is "living a life in conflict with your values and needs." She qualifies her statement by prefacing it with "PERHAPS the most common.." The word "perhaps" means this is her unsupported opinion. I hope that activists who are suffering from burnout will seek and consider other information of a more psychological nature.

The life-values notion absolutely did not resonate with me. Think about an environmental activist who gets overwhelmed and has to quit the cause. Is the person more likely to quit, for example, because he feels no hope that he and those like him will ever be able to stop the butchering of the planet and we are all going to die as a result OR because he is ashamed and confused that he can't find solar housing in his neighborhood or toilet tissue from recycled materials? Hmmm.

Her thesis on burnout can mislead people who are experiencing it and interfere with their finding solutions. Every professional puts their spin on a problem, but pertinent research suggests that activists experience burnout when they become overwhelmed by the enormity of the problems with which they deal. The pain and sorrow seem endless and you just get to the point of emotional and physical fatigue. It's the trying to empty the ocean with a paper cup idea. Embedded in her notes section is a brief mention of compassion fatigue, which she implies is a precursor to burnout. I accept that; some experts consider it synonymous.

Later in the book, she talks about people being hypersensitive, which I found interesting and applicable. A great resource on hypersensitivity is:The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You

Her time and resource management information is really good. A great book if you are losing yourself because of your cause--not taking care of your time, money, and so forth. She provides some interesting assessments and gives important information to get you to look at what you and those around you are focusing on. This is essential information to keep all kinds of resources from being scattered and squandered. Yours and your organization's.

I found that her use of the feminine pronoun interfered with smooth reading of the material. I am not proud of that, and I fully respect and support her decision to do it. If more people did it, it wouldn't do that. Take heed. I found her one page "chapters" humorous. Why call one page of material that is related to the previous or next page another chapter?

We need more books to help activists. We all care about something, and we mustn't lose ourselves as we try to make improvements. We are all activists of one sort or another, and there is much work to do. This is a necessary tool for your arsenal. This book has much to offer in an area where little help is found.

This is an excellent book for anyone involved in the areas of social service, social activism or non-profit work. It is very easy to lose yourself when working for the good of others, and this book helps you keep perspective and sanity in your personal life. I have one for myself, and I have given three to friends who all say it is a lifesaver!

As a fellow activist, author Hillary Rettig knows how grinding and stressful activism can be; those who devote their time and energy (indeed, much of their lives) to correcting the many injustices in the world are subject to stress, exhaustion, and even burnout. Luckily, Ms. Rettig - who is or has been active in a number of progressive issues, including feminism, labor, animal rights, and vegetarianism - is also a business coach. In THE LIFELONG ACTIVIST, she shares some of her insight with fellow activists and do-gooders.

Ms. Rettig aims to help the you, the reader, maximize your effectiveness in your advocacy endeavors (whether in a volunteer or work capacity) by tackling five life areas: your mission, your time, your fears, your relationship with yourself, and your relationship with others. The author takes the approach that you can have a fun, successful, and lengthy activist career - but only if you live a balanced life. While your activism can (indeed, should!) be one aspect of your life that defines you, by no means should it dominate your life. In order to avoid burnout, you must also nurture yourself and your relationships.

In order to help readers strike the appropriate balance - which, it should be noted, differs from person to person - Ms. Rettig leads you through a series of activities to help you clarify and delineate your goals, priorities, and missions. Oftentimes, sacrifices and compromises must be made between these; for example, many activists are torn between material wants and needs and their advocacy work. Ms. Rettig assures us that occasionally choosing to meet one's own wants and needs over those of "the movement" doesn't make us bad activists; rather, by nurturing ourselves, we're also nurturing our creativity, our motivation, and our capacity to effect change - all of which will serve our activism well in the long run. Ms. Rettig also emphasizes the need to focus on one specific cause or area of activism, so that we can develop our talents and actually see the outcomes of our hard work.

Additionally, it's important to recognize and embrace our unique talents. By fostering that which we delight in and excel at, activism becomes less of a chore and more of a joy. For instance, if you loathe public speaking, then representing your organization at a local conference is not the job for you - no matter how much your colleagues press you. Offer instead to help cater the event (if you love cooking) or design the campaign materials (if you're the artsy type). Forcing yourself to take on jobs that you hate will only lead to burnout, especially if it's a constant occurrence.

Of course, this is only a small sampling of the advice offered up in THE LIFELONG ACTIVIST. Among other things, you'll also learn how to: budget your time and money; combat perfectionism, negativism, and hypersensitivity; mentor and be mentored; self-actualize; deal with guilt and anxiety; delegate; and set boundaries. If you're feeling stressed out or anxious in your role as an activist, advocate, or agitator, there's plenty of helpful information to be had in THE LIFELONG ACTIVIST.

- Kelly Garbato

This book was so very important and is very much needed to help you weave your way as a pawn through the incredibly unbelievable way that politics is being played out today, and is destined to be a great classic in assisting and debating a doable schedule in the near future! Ms. Rettig deserves highest honors and everyone who plans to run (or ruin) for politics should read this book!

"The Lifelong Activist" is clearly written and a pleasure to read. But reading it is the easy part. Hillary Rettig, the author, is an animal activist who periodically refers to "companion animals" (the non-hierarchical version of "pets," I suppose), and the book reminds me of having a friendly but persistent snout being wedged into my hand to remind me that it's time to get off the couch and out the door.

The goal towards which the book nudges the reader is not necessarily full-throttle activism, but rather a searching examination of oneself followed by a dedication to whichever level of activism makes sense. Definitely a worthy goal. But by no means simple.

One of the ways in which Rettig helps out the reader is by giving some ideas of potential blocks and how they can be overcome. She aims mostly at target readers who are young, idealistic, and suspicious of anything suggestive of the corporate world. They dream of being consummate activists -- throwing themselves with complete abandon into every cause under the sun -- but feel guilty about their desires for a comfortable personal life. Rettig, by contrast, insists on finding balance between activist work and material needs, and spends about a third of the book promoting marketing concepts for activists as a means for convincing audiences. I can imagine such readers being struck by her insight, and channeling their newfound energy into a more productive approach toward engagement with the world.

Readers who are not as hard to persuade might not find the book as much of a catalyst, however. And a catalyst is clearly what is needed to get a disorganized person organized enough to do the exercises that will take one the rest of the way. Rettig does offer help in that regard: compassion, thought-provoking anecdotes, downloadable charts, exhortations to be playful. The book itself, however, is rather earnest. Those who are used to reading activist blogs may find Rettig's book lacking in snark (humor with an edge). I actually found that a selling point, however. While snark is entertaining, it can ultimately be distracting. And Rettig's book is about acknowledging the limited number of waking hours in a week (112, more or less), writing up a schedule, and then getting to work -- in a healthy way, of course.

If Rettig writes a second edition or sequel, in addition to choosing a more colorful cover (the path winding up the grassy hill is a great image, but why must it be in black and white?), I would like to see her address the central question of WHY to structure one's life around activism -- or not. In this regard, readers are mostly on their own. Of course, Rettig can't answer those questions for her readers, but she could spend some more effort marshalling insights and anecdotes, much as she does in her attempt to convince would-be martyrs that self-denial is not a sustainable strategy. (By the way, I would also hope that her next cover would be more colorful.

Rettig makes frequent appearances in the Boston area, where she lives and works as a life coach. (In fact, tomorrow I'll be going to hear her speak at a local vegetarian restaurant.) She maintains a blog, where she posts short essays, information about her schedule, and clips of interviews. Check out her site if you'd like to learn more. But do it now. You only have so many hours in a week...

And...written by a Texan, too! Every detail of Brown's life is told here, from his humble beginnings to his single-handed start of the Civil War. Worth the 15 hours unabridged.

John Brown's attempt to free slaves by sparking a national uprising through the assault on the Harpers Ferry in October 1859 was a complete and utter failure when measured by how quickly they were thwarted, how many of Brown's men died in the attempt or by execution. Yet, his communications during his trial and from prison galvanized the hardest of abolitionists in the north (including the Transcendentalists such as Emerson and Thoreau) and the secessionists in the south. More than a few people believe it was the reaction to this raid that set events in process that led to the ferocious bloodshed of the Civil War less than eighteen months later.

Was Brown a madman acting in a crazed spasm or emotion? That judgment has changed radically in the near century and a half since his execution. Immediately afterward, the largest popular reaction was negative because it was lawless and was an assault on the Federal Government. Some of the most extreme abolitionists did hold him up as a kind of messianic figure. When I was in high school, he was regarded as someone hardly worth mentioning. He was clearly crazed and criminal to boot. In the past decade several books and documentaries have taken another look and come to a much more favorable view of Brown. Some even see him much as the Transcendentalists talked about him right after he was hanged.

Evan Carton focuses more on the life of Brown and only gets into the societal issues in a couple of places. He does a fine job in keeping the life Brown lived front and center rather than letting it stand for whatever his supporters or detractors would have it be. Carton trusts the reader enough to let him decide for himself. This is quite important for the modern reader who likely knows little about Brown because of the issues his life raises for our own time. Is a private choice to violence ever justified? Certainly slavery was a great evil. Was Brown justified? Would or could slavery have been eradicated in the United States as it was elsewhere in the European Empires without war?

If you answer that slavery was so evil that Brown was justified how do you say that someone who is trying to prevent millions of abortions is wrong? Or someone who wants to retain affirmative action? Or whatever else drives their personal conscience to extreme action? If you say that Brown was not justified, how do you avoid the guilt of slavery? Weren't the millions of souls in bondage worth fighting for? Should they have been left as chattel property for another decade or two or another century until things could work themselves out?

I guess my own view is a cheat on the question. I do not condone private violence and believe that those who blow up abortion clinics or violently attack Federal installations actually help their opponents more than their cause. Brown was so fervent and articulate that his passion moved a great many people. If he had stepped forward more as a Frederick Douglass and engaged in demonstrations he would have probably accomplished more. But you can justly come to different conclusions than mine.

Brown was a man of great integrity to the point of rigidity. As a businessman his personal sense of what was right led him to drive customers away. He wouldn't sell leather until it was cured to his level of satisfaction even if the customer wanted it as it was. When he was selling wool, his own classifications mattered more to him than what his customers wanted to buy and what those he was an agent for wanted to sell. When he and his family were caught up in the Kansas War, he was clearly justified in protecting those who opposed letting the Missourian slave advocates run roughshod over the territorial government. The Missourians committed many atrocities and Brown was the man who taught the victims that they could stand up to their oppressors. Still, attacking and murdering people in the homes and hacking them to death with a sword still shocks us.

Brown was not an unfeeling man dispensing justice as if he were God. He was a man of deep passion who also knew pain and personal loss. Many of his children died in infancy or youth. He knew poverty and want. There is a tremendously moving scene when Brown is found flat on his Dianthe's, his first wife, grave crying in agony. And his last visit with his second wife especially when she has to leave him is also quite moving. Brown did what he did because he knew (that personal conviction problem again) that he was on God's work and was doing what God wanted him to do. And this despite the deep personal loss the mission brought him.

I recommend this book because I like the way Carton focuses on the life and leaves most of the commentary to you and because Brown's life raises issues that resonate in our time. The author does get in to the larger national issues in chapter 10 and in the aftermath of the execution in chapter thirteen. In the epilogue he shares a few of his own views that you might or might not accept. I also recommend it because one can never know too much about the Civil War and its origins. It was a cataclysm whose shockwaves still resonate underneath almost everything in our present national life.

There are some very good pictures in the book, but the one flaw I hope they correct in a subsequent edition is to provide a listing of the illustrations and their page numbers. Now you see them mixed in the text as you read, but if you want to find them later it becomes somewhat of a hunting game.

A balanced biography of a complex man, "Patriotic Treason", is both scholarly and involving. A rich, anecdote-laden text, it easily moves between chronicling the life of abolitionist John Brown and describing the larger tapestry of American life in the 1850s.

The book is chockful of dramatic scenes and thematic discussions, including- as pointed out in the other Amazon reviews of this book- the question of whether it's acceptable and perhaps even a moral obligation to sometimes break the law in favor of a greater good. Mr. Carton covers the question well, quoting leading figures of the time who address that very question in response to Mr. Brown's well-publicized actions.

The book is sobering at times, and not just for the expected reasons (like being reminded again of how terribly slaves were treated or how much widespread support there was for slavery in this supposed land of liberty). No, what I found surprising is that among whites who didn't like slavery and even among outright abolitionists, there was very little use or affection for blacks. Most just wanted them deported or resettled somewhere else, where they wouldn't compete for American jobs or mingle with the more "refined" white race.

John Brown, on the other hand, actively befriended blacks all his life, had them over to his house for dinner with his family (unprecedented!), humbly solicited advice from his black friends on a variety of matters, and regularly interacted with blacks in all kinds of other "normal" ways. For John Brown, abolition wasn't just the right answer to an academic question or a detached moral opinion that had little to do with one's daily life. John Brown lived his anti-slavery views because he lived side by side with blacks every day. Whatever excesses Mr. Brown may or may not have undertaken later when he put his anti-slavery views into action, that fact scored points with me.

If you check out my other Amazon reviews, you'll see that I don't read a lot of biographies or memoirs, but every now and then I dive into one. I'm really glad "Patriotic Treason" grabbed my attention. It illuminates a shameful part of U.S. history and again debunks the tired mantra among many that we need to return to the values of our historical past. No, many of those "values" should stay in the past where they belong. It was a dark, evil time in many ways, and John Brown played a huge part in helping this country move beyond it.

This is the first book that I've read about John Brown and I'm glad that I waited. Brown's story is a simply amazing one and Carton is the master of every detail. He writes very well, is excellent at telling a story, and, most significantly for me, he is well-versed in the historical period. He has deep knowledge about pre-Civil-War politics, intellectual life and social relations. And he integrates what he knows brilliantly into John Brown's story. Brown emerges as more than the leader of the raid at Harper's Ferry; in this book we come to understand his Christianity, his early life, his family, his values and most particularly his relations with black people, which were perhaps without precedent in America. The book is very moving, though quietly so: Carton doesn't shy away from being critical of John Brown, but eventually his esteem for Brown comes through and it's tough not to be sympathetic. The book was a great pleasure and I felt that I learned a lot from it about race relations past--and present, too.

This is an excellent, thoroughly researched and referenced book by Evan Carton which is also a very gripping read. Even though the outcome is known, the book is hard to put down. But while the style is nearly novelistic, it is solidly factual. I read this book because I wanted to understand if the usual myths about Brown were correct - if he was indeed a madman. Carton shows him to be a deeply religious and principled man, and one whose reasoning was consistent with his values and with his understanding of the enormous injustice of slavery in nineteenth century America. Brown was an extremely effective fighter against the murderous "border ruffians" from Missouri who attempted to terrrorize free state settlers in Kansas. These Missourian slaveholders and their agents drove free-soil settlers away, burning and looting their settlements such as Lawrence, Kansas, fixing elections, and occasionally killing free-soil setlers, and bragging to "shoot, burn, and hang" abolitionsts, not believing the abolitionists or the free soil settlers(who often weren't abolitionists) would dare to fight back. Initially, they didn't. Brown did, with a very small force, and the reader may find his actions quite shocking. On some occasions his small force routed or captured gangs of the border ruffians who outnumbered them substantially. Brown's desire to accelerate the end of slavery, which he clearly saw as a odious blotch on the ideals which founded his country, led him eventually to more decisive action. Carton provides a clarification for his thought processes through his letters, meetings with sponsors and other associates, and the recollections of survivors after the raid on Harpers Ferry, and convinces that Brown's reasoning was sound, although it certainly was radical. Both before and after the raid, Carton shows us the Brown was confident of the positive effects of the raid even if it were a military failure. Ultimately, it was the notion of the slaveholders that they could indefinitely extend their profitable institution that proved to be madness.

The first time you read the Autobiagraphy of Abbie Hoffman you will find it laugh out loud funny. The second time you read it you will start to notice how much of the advertising around us is based upon premises found in this book.

The "monkey warfare" techniques outlined in this book have become a near manifesto for viral marketers and those involved in marketing from an "outside the box" perspective. The third and forth reads will start to uncover not only how to create images that support your premise but how to disseminate those messages through the "free media" in order to expand your marketing budget 3 fold while gaining goodwill, acceptance and understanding for your cause.

While on the surface a great read about a great American the fact of the matter is that in both his Autobiography and "Revolution for the hell of it" Abbie teaches the methods behind his madness and shows the reader how to be a more effective communicator on all levels.

Sometimes humor is stronger than chains, and new ideas are always better communicated with a smile than a smack.

After seeing 'Steal this movie', I had no choice but to learn more about this incredibly crazy man. This book is amazing...it made me laugh out loud, think, ponder the idea of getting out there and causing a ruckus in the name of freedom. His writing flows...like old friends reminicing about their life changing experiences. What an insane, beautiful man. I can only hope that there will be more like him to come...our country needs a good jousting in the ribs!

I came of age in the late 80s and the first time I heard of Abbie Hoffman was in a Rolling Stone article on the 20th anniversary of Woodstock. According to David Fricke, Hoffman was clubbed with a guitar by the Who's Pete Townshed after the former took the mike during the lenthty "Tommy" medley and spouted some obscenities in the crowd, saying that Woodstock was a "bunch of s--t while John Sinclair rots in prison." I next encountered this character when I read about the Chicago 7 trials, when Hoffman and his co-defendants made a mockery of the trial (and what gleeful mockery it was!) and the judge who was handling that controversial case.

This book reveals much about who this sixties firebrand was, what drove him to do what he did, how the US government responded to sixties radicals like him (with hammer and tongs), and why he would eventually choose the life of an outlaw. Sadly, it also provides some valuable insights on why Hoffman would eventually take his own life. To his credit at least, he never became what he hated, something that cannot be said for the rest of his generation.

All I can say is my ABBIE HOFFMAN book collection continues to grow since I first read THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ABBIE HOFFMAN. I can only wonder what ABBIE would be doing in todays times if he was still with us. Once you read this book, I will gurantee you will see the UNITED STATES of AMERICA as the two sided nation that it truly is. (PIG NATION) Damn ABBIE could come up with the greatest of catch phrases, and did he ever leave many for the world to think about. This book will suck you in and keep you reading till the end. And I bet you'll make time to read it many more times again. I cannot think of anyone who I would truly call an amazing person as I do ABBIE HOFFMAN. The book collection and movies about ABBIE will wake you, shake you, and encourage all those who read that we as individuals allow the injustices to rain upon us. But ABBIE leaves you with the power to want to stand up and grab your soapbox and head to the nearest corner. Awesome stuff! Enjoy the book and get ready to get pumped up as you read..

Inspirational, funny, moving. A time machine to a place called the 60's. This will open eyes and minds, give new awareness. Not for the shallow or ignorant.