How the Rural Poor Got Power

By Paul D. Wellstone

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0870231391
• ISBN13: 9780870231391
• Release Date: January 1978
• Publisher: Univ of Massachusetts Pr
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.5" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

practical and fun to read

I was almost done reading this book when an outrage took place in our local community. Using the tactics I learned from Wellstone's work with the OBRC I helped to organize opposition instantly. From a few angry people, our action grew. We delegated tasks, used the media to present our case, and signed on lawyers who threatened legal action. And you know what? We won! Unconditionally. There's a lot of practical advice on direct action along with profiles of activists and the challenges they face, and Wellstone is honest in pointing out pitfalls and shortcomings (including his own). When Wellstone died in that plane crash last year, we lost one of our best.

Gives you insight into Wellstone the experimentalist.

This was an excellent book. It offers one of the finest explications of the concept of "organizing" and the process by which the rural poor (or people in general) can be taken from apathy to self-driven activism. Perhaps, the most important lessons for organizers reading this book concern what practices to avoid in establishing your community activist organization - Wellstone goes into great depth in analyzing areas in which his OBRC (Organization for a Better Rice County) failed, just as much as he highlights its notable successes.