This primers tells the "have-nots" how they can organize to achieve real political power for the practice of true democracy.
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About the Author
Saul Alinsky was born in Chicago in 1909 and educated first in the streets of that city and then in its university. Graduate work at the University of Chicago in criminology introduced him to the Al Capone gang, and later to Joliet State Prison, where he studied prison life. He founded what is known today as the Alinsky ideology and Alinsky concepts of mass organization for power. His work in organizing the poor to fight for their rights as citizens has been internationally recognized. In the late 1930s he organized the Back of the Yards area in Chicago (the neighborhood made famous in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle). Subsequently, through the Industrial Areas Foundation which he began in 1940, Mr. Alinsky and his staff helped to organize communities not only in Chicago but throughout the country. He later turned his attentions to the middle class, creating a training institute for organizers. He died in 1972.
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First Sentence
WHAT FOLLOWS IS for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
WHAT FOLLOWS IS for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By karmar22
Format:Paperback
Bought as a text for my Uni course - very inspiring. Not deep but useful and thought-provoking - highly recommend for anyone interested in community action.
By B. Gill
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Saul Alinsky's book is a classic for activists who want to know how to challenge power by using unconventional methods. Not only is this book full of ideas but there is a good description of who organisers are and in which circumstances they are effective.
8 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This book is a real firecracker! Although this was written in 1971, Alinsky has written a book which is still deeply relevant and inspirational in this day and age.
The main thrust of the book is to provide a framework and some basic rules for 'radicals' to achieve social justice within American democratic structures. The aim is to spread wealth and equality more evenly throughout society, Alinsky very much saw himself on the side of the 'have-nots' or the 'have-a-little-want-a-little-mores' in order to ensure that the 'haves' gave them a better deal.
The book is certainly not without its own theories of how to effect real and lasting change, but more importantly provides examples of work that Alinsky was involved in which utilised his methods of community development. Whilst it is true to say that Alinsky perhaps 'talked up' the changes that he achieved, there are still a number of excellent examples of the methods he used to make local government sit up and listen to what local groups were demanding. Alinsky believed very much in the power of humour and laughter as tactical weapons that people could use in order to achieve their ends, as he himself said, "If you have power, then parade it so your enemy can see it, if you have numbers, but no power then make a noise so that your enemy can hear you, if you have no power and no numbers...then make a stink"
Bearing in mind the results of the 2001 election and the fact that 64% of 18-25 year olds decided not to vote there is clearly a need to bring politics ' back home' and make it something that people feel passionate about...This book just might give a few pointers of where to start...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
turnips
turnips
a bleeding big feild of loverly luscious turnips good for me good for you and all the animals too TURNIPS !
a bleeding big feild of loverly luscious turnips good for me good for you and all the animals too TURNIPS !
Published 2 months ago by Lawrence King
1.0 out of 5 stars
know thy enemy
The book is a historical curiosity. Alinsky was a mentor to the Obama generation of left-wing radicals. Read more
Published 6 months ago by advokat
5.0 out of 5 stars
Radicals make their own rules...
Alinsky was a radical in every sense of the word - activist, rabble-rouser and would-be world-changer. Read more
Published on 11 Sep 2010 by Matt Wilson
3.0 out of 5 stars
A throwback from long ago, but somewhat curious
I'd say it's a throwback from 60s (if not 40s.) The book is full of terminology and general attitude, that I found rather annoying. Is it leftist? Hmmm .... Read more
Published on 30 Aug 1999
4.0 out of 5 stars
Prince and Pauper Alinsky captures a moment with true ease
Like the Prince, Rules for Radicals sets a course for action that emphasizes the extreme to draw attention to the point. Read more
Published on 10 Aug 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
Smashing the status quo!
Mr. Alinsky captures the outrage organizers have with the status quo. 'Why organize?' is the central question that permeates throughout this book, and Mr. Read more
Published on 30 Dec 1998
5.0 out of 5 stars
Required reading for any community or labor organizer.
Its hard to find a subject that organizers of social change face that isn't in this brief book. Alinksy is not an academic writer, instead his writing comes out of years of... Read more
Published on 21 Sep 1998
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tools for Change
Excellent appraisal of the difficulties in changing social relationships. Much broader application than one would suppose from a fire-brand radical of the sixties.
Published on 3 May 1997
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