A stirring look at nonviolent activism, from American suffragists to Civil Rights to the Climate Change Movement.
Todd Hasak-Lowy’s We Are Power brings to light the incredible individuals who have used nonviolent activism to change the world. The book explores questions such as what is nonviolent resistance and how does it work? In an age when armies are stronger than ever before, when guns seem to be everywhere, how can people confront their adversaries without resorting to violence themselves?
Through key international movements as well as people such as Gandhi, Alice Paul, Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez, and Václav Havel, this book discusses the components of nonviolent resistance. It answers the question “Why nonviolence?” by showing how nonviolent movements have succeeded again and again in a variety of ways, in all sorts of places, and always in the face of overwhelming odds. The book includes endnotes, a bibliography, and an index.
“Nonviolence may have been the greatest invention of the twentieth century, more important than nuclear fission or genetic coding. It offers us the chance to build a working twenty-first century, and since young people will have to lead that fight, this book is a crucial gift!” —Bill McKibben, climate activist and author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?
Includes black-and-white photographs
Praise
"Nonviolence may have been the greatest invention of the twentieth century, more important than nuclear fission or genetic coding. It offers us the chance to build a working twenty-first century, and since young people will have to lead that fight, this book is a crucial gift!"Bill McKibben, climate activist and author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?
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"I'm so glad this book exists! From the opening pages where we meet Gandhi, to the closing with Greta Thunburg, and in between with Alice Paul, Martin Luther King, Vaclav Havel, Ceasar Chavez, and others, it is beautifully written, informative, and so moving. Readers young and older will be inspired to rise up peacefully, to act, to change the world--to save the world."Deborah Heiligman, author of Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of 'The Children'
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"It’s a book that grants that kids have brains, that they can understand complexity, and that in a world where everything seems very gloom and doom, it is possible to make things better. And to be frank, that’s the kind of message we’re all in dire need of right this very second."A Fuse #8 Production
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**STARRED REVIEW**Booklist
"Hasak-Lowy's writing gives life to both the people and issues involved, taking time to explain historical backgrounds and the ways the lessons from one movement affected future ones."
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**STARRED REVIEW**School Library Journal
"Highly recommended for its outstanding treatment of the history of social justice. A good resource for student activists."
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**STARRED REVIEW**School Library Connection
"There has never been a time when a book is more relevant than this one."
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“A striking and very timely conclusion highlights teenage Greta Thunberg’s bold challenge to fight global climate change.”Publishers Weekly
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"This excellent, timely overview will open eyes and deserves a wide readership."Kirkus
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". . .Readers will gain new appreciation for how nonviolent methods, often inspired by other movements for justice, led to victories."Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
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