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ralowe's review
3.0
read with care. more than any document i've immersed myself in i felt unusually attuned to a minor portion of the rushed splashes of historical detail and a few key affective institutions. l.a. kauffman observes an association with the black bloc and nihilism which i actually didn't notice when it was all unfolding; our read of black bloc when it hit the bay was its militarism, paranoia, ableism and machismo (capacity chauvanism). kauffman brings up this observation then drops it. elsewhere direct action is productive: she speaks glowingly about seattle and act up (kauffman's genealogy is narrow and specific and very close to my own: there's no in-depth treatment about already heavily documented activity with the zapatistas, young lords and civil rights: the weather comes up but nothing about the george jackson brigade). and then occupy and BLM are crammed at the end like protest signs made at the last minute with dry erase markers. this is a brightly-colored historiography of radical political culture from nowhere. all the places we go kauffman is masked-up and absent. did she participate? was she there? your response will be truly dependent on how you value the information provided. does it suit your assumptions? is this heather love's "thin discription"ќ? that thinness may impact the truth value you place on this information. perhaps an interesting project is underway, as kauffman reels out anecdotes while revealing very little of what her position and investment in these stories are. ah, the hassle of archiving. also what are the stakes of the people quoted relative to kauffman? i'm not sure how much is merely a cursory culling of secondary sources, my friends deeg gold and kate raphael are quoted but were never contacted by kauffman. this might all reflect back on the publisher, because the book does feel tightly edited by the specificity of its absences, because verso wants to ride the social media trendiness of direct action. all these factors somehow don't entirely manage to sell the overall production short, but the biggest benefit are for people who want to have tea, but don't discriminate much about where it's from. hopefully there will be more to come.
benjobuks's review
4.0
Provided an incredibly informative perspective on how direct-action has evolved to how we recognize it today (including the legacy of whiteness in post-civil rights activist circles). Highlights the essential rolls of women and BIPOC in providing the framework for successful activism today, even though many of the largest movements were grounded in white-male identity. The main absence is indigenous activism which I would have loved to hear more about. It's a bit dense, but I felt the flow picked up as I got more into the interwoven stories of the different movements.
ifoundtheme's review
A compelling insider history that helped me piece together the legacies of many forms of protest I've experienced
poenaestante's review
4.0
This book was invigorating in a way I did not expect. As a person that has participated in direct action on and off for the last 20 years, it was great to see myself and my peers reflected in this story as part of a legacy of global resistance.
More importantly, it helped me understand the roots of the movements and tactics that I inherited. While I lived the tension between the Bay Area and NYC hip-hop inspired (mostly socialist) POC organizers and the overwhelmingly white anarchists, I didn't know the history and wasn't informed of the efforts my predecessors (like the sisters from Combahee) had made to intervene and confront the white, straight, and male complexion of the many campaigns employing direct action. SO many of the concerns that had long swirled in my mind were validated on the pages of this book.
Direct Action ends on a promising note. With the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, those who have long been pushed to the margins in direct action work are again at the center. However, as we all know, after BLM came Standing Rock and then The Women's March and then antifa and now we are looking at the re-emergence of a global climate justice movement with Extinction Rebellion. Will we just backslide into the old ways or will the new formations be truly intersectional? Only time and struggle will tell. But one thing is evident both from the book and my lived experience: much of the work of transforming the world lies in more rigorous and self-reflective prefiguration. See adrienne maree brown's Emergent Strategy for that ;)
More importantly, it helped me understand the roots of the movements and tactics that I inherited. While I lived the tension between the Bay Area and NYC hip-hop inspired (mostly socialist) POC organizers and the overwhelmingly white anarchists, I didn't know the history and wasn't informed of the efforts my predecessors (like the sisters from Combahee) had made to intervene and confront the white, straight, and male complexion of the many campaigns employing direct action. SO many of the concerns that had long swirled in my mind were validated on the pages of this book.
Direct Action ends on a promising note. With the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, those who have long been pushed to the margins in direct action work are again at the center. However, as we all know, after BLM came Standing Rock and then The Women's March and then antifa and now we are looking at the re-emergence of a global climate justice movement with Extinction Rebellion. Will we just backslide into the old ways or will the new formations be truly intersectional? Only time and struggle will tell. But one thing is evident both from the book and my lived experience: much of the work of transforming the world lies in more rigorous and self-reflective prefiguration. See adrienne maree brown's Emergent Strategy for that ;)
gabells's review
5.0
Main takeaways: The US government is built to resist change. They have been infiltrating groups of protesters across all political and human rights groups for a century to sow distrust and spark internal failures of the organizations before they become too effective at affecting change. Also, white people are more likely to initiate violent/highly disruptive direction action because they are less likely to be as targeted/severely brutalized by police. When white men dominated protest/radical culture, BIPOC individuals were consistently not heard or not even considered/left out, and women were constantly being sexually harassed and assaulted at protest events. The intersectional feminist movements led by BIPOC and queer women that have been growing and organizing since the mid 20th century are the most democratic (all voices heard before plans are made) and relationship-building of the radical movements.
mechankily's review
This book is all about the American left. Which is written in the title. But I didn't want to read any more, because there's more to the world than USA, and I don't want to get used to seeing everything through the lens of the USA.
kimberly28's review
5.0
We have to Stan.
I’m for once not adding this to the must read list, but it’s really interesting. This is a history book, and I for one and I think most people (at least younger people who didn’t live through all this) don’t know about many of the direct actions that have gotten us where we are now. I consider myself pretty up on AIDS protesting, but I didn’t know very much about women’s lib, anti nukes, WTO, and other influential movements since the 60’s, and how all their successes and failures introduced intersectionality and new protest methods that are more common now.
It was published in 2017 and of course this is a topic that will always be changing, but I feel like that’s especially true right now with the movement for black lives. It’s not so old that it doesn’t touch on BLM but I’ll have to put a more up to date and specific BLM book on the lefty list.
I’m for once not adding this to the must read list, but it’s really interesting. This is a history book, and I for one and I think most people (at least younger people who didn’t live through all this) don’t know about many of the direct actions that have gotten us where we are now. I consider myself pretty up on AIDS protesting, but I didn’t know very much about women’s lib, anti nukes, WTO, and other influential movements since the 60’s, and how all their successes and failures introduced intersectionality and new protest methods that are more common now.
It was published in 2017 and of course this is a topic that will always be changing, but I feel like that’s especially true right now with the movement for black lives. It’s not so old that it doesn’t touch on BLM but I’ll have to put a more up to date and specific BLM book on the lefty list.
boithorn's review
5.0
Really stellar history of protest, direct actions, and organizing from the late 60s into the present day. Rather than focusing efforts on tearing down the increasingly futile and local nature of activism that failed to stop the rightward shift in American politics, the book thoughtfully analyzes tactics and strategies in a nearly "objective" way. Triumphs are given equal time with failures, plus the book has numerous examples of radical direct actions that still could be utilized in the here and now.
cosmicllama's review
4.0
A clear well written history of major direct action events within American history since May Day 1971. Kauffman spends a lot of time highlighting the changes movements underwent as they were presented with critiques, and how often racial issues became central to coalition building. While not comprehensive probably in many respects, it does a good job highlighting the most present actions and how they were carried out. Well worth the read if you're unsure of how protests and tactics have changed since the vietnam anti-war protests and why.
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