Rules for Radicals (Paperback)

by Saul Alinsky (Author) "WHAT FOLLOWS IS for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be..." (more)
Key Phrases: proxy tactic, tactic proxy, creative fishing, New York, Eastman Kodak, The Purpose (more...)

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

Product Description
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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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (October 23, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679721134
• ISBN-13: 978-0679721130
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #316 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #1 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > History
  #1 in	Books > Nonfiction > Politics > Ideologies > Radical Thought
  #1 in	Books > Nonfiction > Current Events > Civil Rights & Liberties

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to the Spoiled Brat Revolution, January 26, 2009

By	Philly Phool - See all my reviews

That's right, Mr. Alinsky has perfected the art of stomping your feet until you get your way. At least that appears to be his method. It explains a lot of the 'spoiled brat' revolutions we see today. I am not saying that there are not any causes without substance. Just a lot that seem to follow the same recipe. You know, the victim mentality that surrounds us continuously and the idea that the rest of us are somehow complicit in someone else's woes.

Enough of that. There are two chapters that comprise the meat of this book: 'In the Beginning' and 'Tactics'. The chapter on 'Communications' is somewhat worthy as well. The rest is just a semantic argument that justifies the authors excesses. We ponder important questions like 'Does the end justify the means'? Could you believe: of course it does if your the one involved in the means! There is even a chapter on disseminating the meaning of certain words like 'power', 'compromise', and 'conflict'. He even quotes Nietzsche and his 'Tartuffery of words'. Talk about semantics!

But all is not lost. The book is actually quite informative and fun to read. You might even fancy yourself standing up to authority and saying 'No Mr. Mayor, We're not going to take it anymore'. And rules! Yes there are rules! Like my favorite: 'making the enemy live up to their own rules'. That one never gets tiring and is the source of endless amusement for those of us 'in the know'. In fact his list of rules is one of the most useful parts of the book. And knowing them can help those having to deal with people like Mr. Alinsky.

The bottom line is that the authors methods can be very useful although there is no guarantee that someone using them will do so for the common good. At one point as I read the book I saw myself rating it a 1 star and then at another, a 5 star. I settled on a compromise at 3 stars. Mr. Alinsky would be proud. Welcome to the revolution!

47 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding Obama, March 12, 2009

By	PMS "Shamus" (Left Coast) - See all my reviews

Having grown up in the sixties, remembering and participating in school sit-ins I was eager to reacquaint my self with a long lost name from the past. Saul D. Alinsky has been in the news again over the past year because of the campaign of Barak Obama the Chicago community organizer, turned politician.

This book, "Rules for Radicals" is must reading for anyone who desires insight into what is ahead for this country. There are several sections of the book, which after you read them, you think isn't that just what happened, or oh that's why he did this. The book is a collection of ideas, situations and anecdotes spun into an easygoing yarn of the life of a community organizer. An organizer helps the have-nots get what the haves have, and then he goes and helps the have-not's get what the haves have and then ... well you get the idea.

A must read for the curious and politically inclined.

63 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real eye-opener, November 16, 2008

By	J. Fickes "Political Junkie" (Long Island, New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is a must read for all to understand radicalism and how their goals are achieved. This book was essentially the blueprint for the Obama campaign. Saul Alinsky and his views are admired by both Obama and Hillary Clinton.