Books Helping Pro-Democracy Voting Activists Be More Effective

Becoming a More Effective Pro-Democracy
& Voting Activist: Books

Roots to Power: A Manual for Grassroots Organizing
By Lee Staples

Publisher/author summary: This thoroughly revised how-to manual presents techniques groups can use to organize successfully. It combines time-tested, universal principles and methods with cutting-edge material addressing new opportunities and challenges. Roots to Power covers basic concepts and best practices and offers step-by-step guidelines on things an organizer needs to know, such as how to formulate strategies, set goals, and recruit participants. More >>

Why We Act: Turning Bystanders into Moral Rebels
By Catherine Sanderson

Publisher/author summary: Why do so few of us intervene when we’re needed, and what would it take to make us step up? Moral courage, it turns out, is not innate. But you can train yourself to stand up for what you believe in, and even small acts can make a big difference. Inspiring and potentially life transforming, Why We Act reveals that while the urge to do nothing is deeply ingrained, even the most hesitant would-be bystander can learn to be a moral rebel. More >>

Our Time Is Now
By Stacey Abrams

Publisher/author summary: A recognized expert on fair voting and civic engagement, Abrams chronicles a chilling account of how the right to vote and the principle of democracy have been and continue to be under attack. It draws on extensive research from national organizations and renowned scholars. Includes concrete solutions and inspiration to stand up for who we are. More >>

How Democracies Die
By Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt

Publisher/author summary: Democracy no longer ends with a bang – in a revolution or military coup – but with a whimper: the slow, steady weakening of critical institutions, such as the judiciary and the press, and the gradual erosion of long-standing political norms. Drawing on a wide range of historical and global examples, from 1930s Europe to contemporary Hungary, Turkey, and Venezuela, the authors show how democracies die – and how ours can be saved. More >>

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
By Timothy Snyder

Publisher/author summary: Today, our political order faces new threats, not unlike the totalitarianism of the twentieth century. We are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. On Tyranny is a call to arms and a guide to resistance, with invaluable ideas for how we can preserve our freedoms in the uncertain years to come. More >>

More on Becoming a More Effective Pro-Democracy & Voting Activist: Books

The Activist's Handbook: Winning Social Change in the 21st Century
By Randy Shaw

Hegemony How-To: A Roadmap for Radicals
By Jonathan Smucker

Make it Happen: A Handbook
By Amika George

Playbook for Progressives: 16 Qualities of the Successful Organizer
By Eric Mann

The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America
By Timothy Snyder

Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals
By Saul Alinsky

This Is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt Is Shaping the Twenty-First Century
By Mark Engler & Paul Engler

Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest
By Zeynep Tufekci

Vote for US: How to Take Back Our Elections and Change the Future of Voting
By Joshua A. Douglas

D.C.
Published: August 2023
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