Super interesting read on the various protest movements that have occurred here in the States AFTER the period so many look at - the Civil Rights era. With talk on everything from the movements themselves to the "major"political parties & forces who fought against them - "left" and "right", corporate and regular politicos - this is a worthy tome to check out.

I enjoyed that this book took a look at specific movements-- from the environmentalists in the 70's to the more recent Occupy Wall Street--to see how activists have made their voice heard.

The Defiant have left the building

The Defiant divides neatly into two sections. The pre neoliberal era is all about social activism. People take up causes, protest, sit-in, march, form groups and achieve goals. They change rules and attitudes, save others and help everyone. It inspires. It gives hope in this current era of inequality, doubling down on hate and twitter being the newspaper of record. Which, by coincidence, makes up the second part of the book, which is largely devoid of activism, sit-ins, marches and groups achieving social goals.

Dawson Barrett paints a picture of struggle that includes change, modest success, but mostly awareness and engagement in the pre neoliberal era. That the current era is largely devoid of it goes oddly unanalyzed in the book. Its absence is clearly felt as we lose rights and services in all directions, as our leadership takes us down bizarre and clearly unpopular if not totally wrong paths, and optimism for the future has drifted away. There is no direction given on how to revive the spirit, no up and coming leaders, associations, interest groups or causes. The list of sins from Reagan, Clinton, Bush and Trump are simply listed, and there appears to be little in the way of constructive opposition or alternative paths.

The Defiant leaves the reader puzzled.

David Wineberg