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Aug 09, 2007

Megan rated it:

There are definite aspects of Alinsky's book that are getting a little outdated. It's interesting to read the final chapters, and see his hope for what essentially has become the responsible investment movement - a large part of which is students on campuses getting their schools to divest from companies involved in business with unethical political regimes - and to know the limits of that movement, and its failure to cause 'a middle class revolution' like the one he envisions. But then, his hop More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Feb 17, 2008

Malcolm rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 27, 2009

Laura rated it:

Ah, for the simpler days of radicalism, when you could get your college friends together for an impromptu rally, and no one had an excuse why they couldn't come.

That's not really what this book is about, but, having been written in 1971, it did inspire in me a bit of nostalgia for the kind of activism that was widespread then and is now alive and well only in places like San Francisco.

Alinsky is not anywhere near that idealistic. He was a down-and-dirty--and extremely e More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 26, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

I read Alinsky for the first time in graduate school, and pulled his books off the shelf again upon hearing that Barack Obama studied and was influenced by Alinsky in his days as a community organizer.

The book is as good as I remembered, and freshened upon re-reading by the ability to apply some of the discussion to Obama's campaign and early days in office. Alinsky was an organizer--a passionate pragmatist with a sense of humor, willing to compromise at any turn or use any means by More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Apr 05, 2009

Erin rated it:

I am rating it a "really liked it" from the approach of it was interesting...not that I really liked all of the information. I will have a more complete review posted soon.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 05, 2009

Stephen rated it:

The first time I read this book was when I was sixteen. Since then, I have given away and replaced the book several times. Alinsky, who was active in both Chicago (where I lived for over ten years) and Rochester, NY (where I grew up and live now), was a terrific community organizer. The language is a little dated - definitely sexist by today's definitions - but it's a great reminder to those of us who get discouraged about fighting on unlevel playing fields. The playing fields have never bee More...

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Mar 08, 2009

Brian rated it:

Saul Alinsky presents those of us who talk about change without acting on it with an uncomfortable challenge: you are either actively opposing the establishment or you are siding with it. This challenge struck home with me and inspired me to invest more effort into connecting to local activists and engaging in direct action.

On the other hand, I found Alinsky's discussion of ends and means rather troubling. Alinsky tends to judge actions solely by their ends, and is so certain of the More...

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Jun 08, 2011

John added it

If there was one book that should be assigned as required reading to political science majors, this is the book. Whether you agree with the late Saul Alinsky's radical views and social outrage, you have to commend him for his pragmatism. He is a quintessential provocateur, a guy who can make things happen and deliver results. His methods are irreverent, imaginative and even hilarious. On one page, you can feel his outrage against an alleged social injustice and, on the next page, start laugh More...

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Jul 12, 2010

Della rated it:

This is a book that I didn't want to read, but knew that I ought to read. During the 2008 presidential campaign, people were talking about it so much that one got the sense that maybe it wasn't necessary to read it--you already knew what was in it. But that's always a mistake. It's always better to go to the source. And actually, although the people on the talk radio stations that I listened to were taking about it a lot, people in mainstream media probably weren't talking about it enough, or el More...

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Mar 27, 2011

John rated it:

Machiavelli for the left. It seems pretty instructive about how to successfully do community organizing, from forming the organization to keeping it together and getting things done. Some of the things Alinsky recommended seemed pretty cynical, but on reflection they indicate what actually works in practice. This is very useful if you are an opportunist trying to win rather than somebody who seeks compromise. Oddly, and maybe for this reason, the book is pretty popular with the tea-party crow More...

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Aug 01, 2011

Dachokie rated it:

Explains a Lot of Things ..., May 22, 2010

The purpose for my reading this book was self-educational and an effort to be open-minded about the broad political spectrum that exists today. I found Alinsky's book to be enlightening, thought-provoking, interesting and very relevant. In fact, I strongly feel that "Rules for Radicals" provides a great deal of insight to the current state of political discourse in United States. However, after reading the book, I found myself wonde More...

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Dec 09, 2008

Lisa rated it:

In an amazing start to his book, Alinsky acknowledges "the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom--Lucifer." While I wouldn't put Alinsky in the same category as Lucifer, it does make me wonder why he would put radicals in the same category. I guess he has his reasons, and certainly those bomb throwers (Alinsky speaks against) belong to Lucifer.
Parts of the book were pretty slow (the first h More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 20, 2011

Steve rated it:

I'm told this is Barack Hussein Obama's favorite book. Hillary Rodham did her thesis on Alinsky.

I guess this just goes to show what I should have known all along: I just can't be as smart as Barack and Hillary.

Oh, if only I could get a feel for what it's like to walk around being smart all day! Then I could understand this book, with its flat-out self-contradictions, its fatalism ("man is a bit of dust lit aflame for a passing moment"), its crazy rants (the entire f More...

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Feb 02, 2011

Bill rated it:

This is a "classic" in the field of social action. Alinsky does a great job of explaining how this world works, and how to be successful in organizing and leading social change. I would not recommend his tactics, as a Christian, but I think Christians can learn a few things from his work.

I point especially to his chapter on means and ends...in revolutions past, ends have always been used to justify means. Alinsky even points to Christians, on multiple occasions, demonstr More...

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Apr 20, 2009

Rebecca rated it:

Quotes:
On mens vs ends, Alinsky says, the answer lies in this ends and these particular means.
"He who fears corruption fears life"
"In the politics of human life, consistency is not a virtue"
"Ethics are determined by whether one is losing or winning"

La Rouchefoucauld: We all have strength enough to endure the misfortunes of others.
Goethe: "Conscience is the virtue of observers and not of agents of action." The pa More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 11, 2010

Emily rated it:

Hmmmm...What I learned from this book....Well, in a crazy sort of way, I could see how this book could persuade you to fight the Man. IF you came of age in the late '60s or early '70s. Alinsky is nuts and I could see him drawing people in with his personality. He uses the same tactics as the "first radical" (Lucifer) with the two truths and a lie arguing style. As we know--very hard to fight against. It seems so right. Overall, however, it was so dated as to be almost cheesy. I can ima More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 26, 2011

Eric rated it:

The author starts out by dedicating the book to the original radical and rebel... the devil. That's a pretty good indication of the rest of the book, basically the ends justifies the means no matter how deceitful and malicious, stifle opposition with lies etc.

There is some good accounts of how Alinsky lied and the tactics that he and his party used to stifle debate, so it is good to know these things. Also documents his exploits and exploitations of poor neighborhoods in order to gain More...

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Jun 27, 2010

David rated it:

Alinsky's classic about organizing in America is a fascinating work which is in many ways timeless. I found it inspiring and it definitely got me thinking about the often overlooked possibilities for creativity within collective action. In our modern era of letter-writing campaigns, call-in campaigns, and even protests, we can forget that "realistic radicals" have a much broader arsenal of rhetoric and media-grabbing actions (that can be more effective and more fun for their cadres t More...

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Jun 27, 2007

Missy rated it:

This is just one of those books that people who are young and on fire should read. It is inspiring and thought provoking if not a little contreversial at times- especially when it was published I imagine.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 13, 2010

Natalie rated it:

I've been meaning to get around to Alinsky for years, and am so glad I finally borrowed a copy of this book from a friend.

The thing I appreciate most about this book is that he is so practical. I often get impatient with philosophical/ethical discourses about right and wrong and actions and consequences. The fact of the matter is, people are motivated by self-interest, and if you want to bring about a successful movement for justice, you have to appeal to that.

I think i More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 27, 2010

Wermod rated it:

There is plenty here for activists of any stripe. Both the author and the tactics described are very Jewish, in the sense that they come from the political Left and evince the mixture of aggression, deviousness, and chutzpah that one associates with Jews, or at least this particular class of Jews. All the same, and perhaps because the book is completely cynical and realistic about humans and their motives, the lessons contained in Alinski's account of his exploits as an organiser and the prescri More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 11, 2009

Petra rated it:

This was the first book I read for my first job out of college. I was in WAY over my head. However, this boook reminded why I was even there.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 11, 2010

Cwn_annwn_13 rated it:

Alinsky was the left side of a two headed system approved Jewish Hydra operation out of Chicago. On one side you had Strausser who spawned the Neo-Con cabal that ruled the white house from 2000-2008. On the other side you had Alinsky who either influenced or in some cases out and out mentored people like Hilary Clinton, Cesar Chavez, Barry Satoro Obama, Bill Ayers, etc, etc. So their little globalist Marxist operation was quite succesful no doubt.

Alinsky for all his notoriety for ra More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 02, 2010

Angel rated it:

I did not rate this higher because there were moments when I found myself struggling with some of Alinsky's ideas. A part of me wondered what Alinsky would have made of the current political climate. Would he still recommend some of the ideas and rules he promoted? Would he have become more radical? Lost hope given that it is extremely difficult to keep hope in this current political environment in the U.S.? I guess as a reader I struggled because sometimes I thought he was too optimistic.
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Jul 28, 2009

Maggie rated it:

I must start my review by saying that I am not a fan of politics. In fact, it's on my "hate" list. So, reading a book about politics is the last thing I want to do. Nevertheless, I soldiered on and read most of this book. I can't say I enjoyed the experience. However, Alinsky definitely had some valuable things to say. The problem was that he's very cynical so that has to be taken into account. Also, as one of my book club members said, frequently he's a jerk and makes that appa More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 19, 2008

Clayton is currently reading it

In the pre-election mudslinging, a conservative critique of Barack Obama was to admonish him as a "simple community organizer." [as if that's anything but a compliment?] It would seem apropos to look back on the life and philosophy of Alinsky as we enter what certainly will be a new democratic epoch. What did Alinsky say back in 1971 that remains relevant today? From what I can tell so far, a great deal. After teaching Alinky style organizing through a number of case studies approache More...

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Oct 19, 2009

Llew rated it:

Essential reading for understanding political discourse. A Political Science 101 for organizers but also a meta-narrative on communication and social interaction. He covers the most basic principles that are lost to the apolitical world of today with ideas like "egos and compromising are necessary for any sort of progress".

The references to the language of the sixties is a bit outdated, but it definitely gives a better impression of the 60s - that the popularity of radicali More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 12, 2009

Cheyenna rated it:

alinsky's book is timeless. his discussion of how change happens, the education of an organizer, and principles for tactics couldn't be more apt for young folks today than it was when published in the 1960s. the later chapters on responsible investment, and a middle class revolution, are helpful in that they describe a vision that is still available to activists even if we can see today how it has been co-opted and what the limits may be. it is not a manual, but rather a philosophy and framewor More...

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Jan 27, 2009

Heath rated it:

some great insights, but also some sloppy arguments.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 31, 2012

Jeff rated it:

Thank you Newt Gingrich! I figured if you hated it and called Alinsky a communist, that it was probably a good book. Point taken. Not only is Alinsky a thorough, pragmatic thinker and an inspiring reformer, but his ideas are decidedly not radical. Someone who calls for change within the system is a reformer, not a radical. Someone who calls a reformer a radical is a propagandist. But thank you Newt for your name-dropping-tea-party-pandering-propaganda. I never would have picked up Alinsky withou More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

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