Reveille for Radicals [Paperback]

Saul Alinsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 23, 1989

Legendary community organizer Saul Alinsky inspired a generation of activists and politicians with Reveille for Radicals, the original handbook for social change. Alinsky writes both practically and philosophically, never wavering from his belief that the American dream can only be achieved by an active democratic citizenship. First published in 1946 and updated in 1969 with a new introduction and afterword, this classic volume is a bold call to action that still resonates today.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Alinsky is that rarity in American life, a superlative organizer, strategist, and tactician who is also a social philosopher.”
—Charles E. Silberman

“He cannot be bought; he cannot be intimidated; and he breaks all the rules.”
—The Economist (London)

“I consider him to be one of the few really great men of our century.”
—Jacques Maritain

From the Inside Flap

First published in 1946 and updated in 1969 with a new Introduction and Afterword, this volume represents the fullest statement of the political philosophy and practical methodology of one of the most important figures in the history of American radicalism. Like Thomas Paine before him, Saul Alinsky, through the concept and practice of community organizing, was able to embody for his era both the urgency of radical political action and the imperative of rational political discourse. His work and writing bequeathed a new method and style of social change to American communities that will remain a permanent part of the American political landscape.

"Alinsky is that rarity in American life, a superlative organizer, strategist, and tactician who is also a social philosopher."

-- Charles E. Silberman

"He cannot be bought; he cannot be intimidated; and he breaks all the rules."

-- The Economist

(London)

"I consider him to be one of the few really great men of our century."

-- Jacques Maritain

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (October 23, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679721126
• ISBN-13: 978-0679721123
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More 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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ALINSKY'S SEMINAL WORK, April 5, 2003

By 

Denis Benchimol Minev "Amazonia" (Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Reveille for Radicals (Paperback)

This book was Alinsky's first and most impassioned writing. In it, he shows in detail the techniques he employed in putting together much of his activism, which ended up being called the Alinsky doctrine later on.

Overall, I thought this book was great to impassion a reader new to the subject, yet as a guidebook for a new "radical", I thought his later (and less impassioned, though more passionate than 99% of other books) "Rules for Radicals" was much more clear minded. As he writes in the later book, much of Reveille was written during his time in prison, which shows.

Personally, I recommend reading Rules first, and then proceeding to Reveille. The reader will benefit from his clear minded analysis in Rules, to then better understand his arguments and passion in Reveille.

39 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless Words From A Master Organizer, May 23, 2003

By 

Ashley Adams (Roslindale, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Reveille for Radicals (Paperback)

With the vision of an idealist but the experience of a seasoned organizer, Alinsky presents a clear picture of both the unequal America he saw in 1946 and the democracy he believed America could be. He does not stop there, however. He also provides a blueprint for moving from the society of inequalilty and injustice into a land where the poor, powerless and disadvantaged are empowered and our democracy enriched.
That blueprint is this manual for building community-wide power in the form of People's Organizations. It was meant as an inspirational guide to community organizers interested in replicating what Alinksy had done initially in the Back of Yards neighborhood of Chicago and later in other cities across the United States including Buffalo and Kansas City. It has become a timeless text explaining both why and how to organize.
Alinsky draws on his experience as a community organizer to explain the role an organizer can play in the process of building neighborhood power. He also explains with insightful anecdotes what obstacles the organizer and the nacent organization he attempts to construct are likely to face as they take on the powers that be. He is a spellbinding storyteller.
Reveille for Radicals differs from the better known and more popular book that was to follow in the 70s, Rules for Radicals. It is more urgent, less cynical, and less humorous. In that sense it has a purer and more naive tone. But the simpler picture of America he presents is, if anything, clearer and more powerful. It strikes an especially loud chord today -- as the inequalities he addressed in 1946 have grown increasingly stark and apparent.
There are many books about social change and injustice that are more current, but none are more useful today than this one.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Reveille for knowledge, March 23, 2011

By 

Louis Mauriello (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Reveille for Radicals (Paperback)

Interesting read but full of contradictions like man only takes care of what he buys with money he earned himself but we shouldn't give people services as those services weren't things they decided they needed we should instead give them money, cash, so they could buy what they want, even if it turns out that what they want is booze and is something contradictory to the morals and ethics expected from your fellow man.

I liked his siding tactic - initially agree in order to formulate change with acceptance. It is something I have been using as a change management technique since I was a teenager and I only just read this (now in my late 50s).