An inspiring series of profiles of activists and rabble rousers ... Compellingly rendered, imparting clear and moving lessons or posing interesting moral challenges and ambiguities, especially when coupled with Beckerman’s insightful commentary. Yet some characters and accounts are more prickly or ambiguous than others ... Rousing ... Beckerman shows how to sound the moral alarm, which is an important first step. What comes next — the steps required to forge durable coalitions and win specific democratic reforms — is harder and on this front Beckerman is more conflicted.
Despite his grim subject matter, Beckerman’s iridescent prose captivates, and he sagely aligns historical episodes to our present sense of emergency ... Beckerman’s fortunate readers will likely emerge feeling far less lonely and impotent.
