Taking On the System: Rules for Radical Change in a Digital Era (Hardcover)

~ Markos Moulitsas Zuniga (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In this primer for activists in the digital age, Zúniga, founder of the influential lefty blog DailyKos, argues that if activists harness new technology such as blogs, podcasting and YouTube, they can bypass the old-world gatekeepers to communicate to the masses in order to bring about political change. Tidily organized into pithy directives, including mobilizing, reinventing the street protest and feeding the backlash, this informative and entertaining book—inspired by Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals—moves easily among the current campaign cycle, pop culture phenomena such as Stephen Colbert and the successes and failures of the progressive movement in America. Zúniga's pragmatic, inclusive tone takes the edge off his sometimes didactic insistence that there's no reason anyone should whine or complain that they are being shut out of the system. It should be noted, however, that the book is targeted directly to other liberals and wastes no time with conciliatory measures toward the right. Anyone in his camp, however, will be rewarded by the read. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Zúniga, popular political blogger (dailykos.com) and reluctant leader of the netroots—those technocratic raiders now seen as a catalyzing political-action force fomenting populist action—gives us a set of tools and strategies for finding and exposing cracks within the social political-media system. With deft narrative ability, he insightfully dissects the hows and whys of many blog-driven political upsets over the past three years, from the unfortunate circuslike atmosphere unfolding around Cindy Sheehan outside of President Bush's ranch in Texas to the senatorial upset of George Allen in Virginia. Zúniga unfolds the nature and extent of netroots persistence, which is indicative of a seemingly new digital citizenship in which those with access to blogs as platforms can potentially expose and open gates to the democratic process. Zúniga's latest is focused more on practical tools and techniques of political action than his earlier Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics (with Jerome Armstrong). This book will be in demand in libraries serving communities with a blogosphere readership.—Jim Hahn, Univ. of Illinois Lib., Urbana
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Celebra Hardcover (August 20, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451225198
• ISBN-13: 978-0451225191
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #200,286 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grassroots Must-Read, August 20, 2008

By	Camptalk (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

For those of us who sometimes take the internet and blogging for granted, "Taking on the System" is a comprehensive reminder of just how influential ordinary people can become as they open a forum for political debate and spur a grassroots movement for participatory democracy. The Dailykos founder outlines the history of blog sites, their successes and failures, and provides advice and tools to help common citizens exert influence and promote societal change. The book is a clearly written, entertaining glimpse into a new and powerful medium, and one every person intending to vote should read.

Sarah McKerrigan, author

42 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book regarding real improvements to the system, August 21, 2008

By	Craig Newmark "craigslist.org founder and cus... (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Like most people, I don't want to be bothered by politics, but this election is a really big deal. It's time to lift the darkness, and this book has practical ideas for grass roots change that's good for all. It helps also to have a few cautionary tales, and to appreciate the heroic role of Stephen Colbert.

Craig

23 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, but overlong, September 16, 2008

By	Michael Callaghan (Jersey City, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

(What's this?)

... VERY overlong. Basically, this is a 5-10 page essay which has been ballooned to fill a book. The message is that using technology and a strong grassroots effort, we the people can take back the media from entrenched interests and affect change. The delivery is 288 pages of related anecdotes and self-congratulatory rhetoric.

My problem is when Zuniga used stories from the music business (I'm in the music business). He cites the last Radiohead album as having been free for download, and the average user paying from $5 - 7 for it as an example of the democratization of media, freed from oppressive corporatism... well, in fact the vast majority of people downloaded it for free, paying nothing. It's an important distinction, and if that's an example of 'power to the people', it bears noting that the people wanted something for nothing. What other stories might be likewise skewed? It made me wonder.

Still, it's a breezy, entertaining read, and there certainly is truth that we the people can bring about reform if (and when) we set our collective minds to it. I'm just not sure it takes so many pages to make that point, or that it can't be better made with better documented, more effective examples. Good blogs do not necessarily make good books, it seems.