Reveille for Radicals (Paperback)

~ Saul Alinsky (Author) "THE PEOPLE of America live everywhere from Back Bay Boston to the Bottoms of Kansas City..." (more)
Key Phrases: organized labor movement, native leadership, striking union, People's Organization, Muddy Flats, Red Rowe (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

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: 8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,277 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ALINSKY'S SEMINAL WORK,

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

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.

23 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Absolute nonsense, June 20, 2009

By	M. P. Williams (Clemmons, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Saul Alinsky was "seasoned" with bitterness much as Josef Stalin and Mao before him. Both of these institutional murderers slaughtered their way through history with millions of political "executions" in in the Katyin forest and provincial China. Their desire to control and hate in unbounded. Alinsky, ignoring the dangers of human nature, skips forward like a child in a minefield caring nothing that his "beneficiaries" are being blown to human gore. Half a man at best...the remaining part a beast. A truly evil path, a truly mindless man ignoring history with intent...knowing nothing of the dangers of human nature.

21 of 30 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 (REAL NAME)

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.