Taking On the System: Rules for Radical Change in a Digital Era
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'sRules 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.