Beautiful Trouble

Banksy, the Yes Men, Gandhi, Starhawk: the accumulated wisdom of decades of creative protest is now in the hands of the next generation of change-makers, thanks to Beautiful Trouble. Sophisticated enough for veteran activists, accessible enough for newbies, this compact pocket edition of the bestselling Beautiful Trouble is a book that’s both handy and inexpensive. Showcasing the synergies between artistic imagination and shrewd political strategy, this generously illustrated volume can easily be slipped into your pocket as you head out to the streets. This is for everyone who longs for a more beautiful, more just, more livable world – and wants to know how to get there. Includes a new introduction by the editors. Contributors include: Celia Alario • Andy Bichlbaum • Nadine Bloch • L. M. Bogad • Mike Bonnano • Andrew Boyd • Kevin Buckland • Doyle Canning • Samantha Corbin • Stephen Duncombe • Simon Enoch • Janice Fine • Lisa Fithian • Arun Gupta • Sarah Jaffe • John Jordan • Stephen Lerner • Zack Malitz • Nancy L. Mancias • Dave Oswald Mitchell • Tracey Mitchell • Mark Read • Patrick Reinsborough • Joshua Kahn Russell • Nathan Schneider • John Sellers • Matthew Skomarovsky • Jonathan Matthew Smucker • Starhawk • Eric Stoner • Harsha Walia

From Cairo to cyberspace, from Main Street to Wall Street, today's social movements have a creative new edge that’s blurring the boundaries between artist and activist, hacker and dreamer. But the principles that make for successful creative action rarely get hashed out or written down. Until now. Beautiful Trouble brings together ten grassroots groups and dozens of seasoned artists and activists from around the world to distill their best practices into a toolbox for creative action. Among the groups included are Agit-Pop/The Other 98%, Code Pink, The Yes Men/Yes Labs, The Center for Artistic Activism, SmartMeme, Beyond the Choir, Waging Nonviolence, The Ruckus Society, Association of Community Trainers and Nonviolence International. Contributors include Rae Abelea, Phil Aroneanu, Peter Barnes, Jesse Barron, Andy Bichlbaum, Nadine Bloch, Kathryn Blume, L.M. Bogad, Josh Bolotsky, Mike Bonanno, Andrew Boyd, Molly Campbell, Doyle Canning, Chuck Collins, Samantha Corbin, Yutaka Dirks, Steve Duncombe, Mark Engler, Simon Enoch, Jodie Evans, John Ewing, Bryan Farrell, Janice Fine, Lisa Fithian, Cristian Fleming, Elisabeth Ginsberg, Stan Goff, Arun Gupta, Silas Harrebye, Judith Helfand, Daniel Hunter, Sidd Joag, John Jordan, Dmytri Kleiner, Sally Kohn, Steve Lambert, Todd Lester, Zack Malitz, Nancy Mancias, Duncan Meisel, Dave Oswald Mitchell, Tracey Mitchell, George Monbiot, Brad Newsham, Gaby Pacheco, Michael Pineschi, Mark Read, Patrick Reinsborough, Gideon Rosenblatt, Joshua Kahn Russell, Leonidas Martin Saura, Levana Saxon, Maxine Schoefer-Wulf, Nathan Schneider, Kristen Ess Schurr, John Sellers, Sean Sellers/Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Rajni Shah, Brooke Singer, Matt Skomarovsky, Andrew Slack, Phillip Smith, Matthew Smucker, Starhawk, Eric Stoner, Virginia Vitzthum, Harsha Walia and Jefferey Webber. Beautiful Trouble puts the accumulated wisdom of decades of creative protest into the hands of the next generation of change-makers. www.beautifultrouble.org

In the struggle for freedom and justice, organizers and activists have often turned to art, creativity, and humor. In this follow-up to the bestselling Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for Revolution, Beautiful Rising showcases some of the most innovative tactics used in struggles against autocracy and austerity across the Global South. Based on face-to-face jam sessions held in Yangon, Amman, Harare, Dhaka, Kampala, and Oaxaca, Beautiful Rising includes stories of the Ugandan organizers who smuggled two yellow-painted pigs into parliament to protest corruption; the Burmese students' 360-mile-long march against undemocratic and overly centralized education reforms; the Lebanese "honk at parliament" campaign against politicians who had clung to power long after their term had expired; and much more.

A political insider tells us how we can make a difference. A must-read for fans of The Rebel Sell and Naomi Klein’s No Logo. What difference can one person make? If I’m not a famous actor, rock star, or multi-millionaire philanthropist, what do I really have to offer? The notion that the government is open only to a few is a myth. In fact, our political system is incredibly accessible, but the misguided belief that people can only participate through elections is threatening our democracy. Democracy is not only for the well-funded, the entrenched, or the few. If we are interested in seeing actual changes to policy, we need more reformers. Rather than rejecting government, The Art of the Possible demonstrates how working through government can be the most direct route to social progress. Having an impact is possible. It is a matter of knowing how government works and making sure your point of view is presented how and when it counts. During her time with the United Nations and Amnesty International, and as human rights adviser to two federal cabinet ministers, Amanda Sussman was offered a unique bird’s-eye view of government machinations. Through extensive interviews with insiders such as Joe Clark and Jack Layton and outsiders such as Alex Neve (Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada), Sussman offers the most comprehensive step-by-step advice on how and when to make the strongest possible argument for your cause.

What we must see, Martin Luther King once insisted, is that a riot is the language of the unheard. In this new era of global protest and popular revolt, Languages of the Unheard draws on King's insight to address a timely and controversial topic: the ethics and politics of militant resistance. Using vivid examples from the history of militancy including—armed actions by Weatherman and the Red Brigades, the LA Riots, the Zapatista uprising, the Mohawk land defence at Kanesatake, the Black Blocs at summit protests, the occupations of Tahrir Square and Zuccotti Park, the Indigenous occupation of Alcatraz, the Quebec Student Strike, and many more—this book will be of interest to democratic theorists and moral philosophers, and practically useful for protest militants attempting to grapple with the moral ambiguities and political dilemmas unique to their distinctive position.

Beautiful Solutions brings together some of the world's most innovative community leaders to share examples of a new economy under construction. Many of those examples are already happening in your community. Look around. Can you find a credit union? A food cooperative? A community garden? What about a mutual aid project? The chances are that you or someone in your family is already involved in a beautiful solution! While these examples may seem small at first sight, they don't have to be. When they are connected to each other or given the resources they need to grow, the solutions that already exist in our communities can be the starting point for collective transformation. This time of turmoil is also a time of great opportunity. As the cracks in the system get bigger, more and more people are open to ideas that have the power to change everything. Beautiful Solutions is a collaborative project that highlights many interlocking pieces of a complex puzzle. It helps us see where pieces are missing and allows us to get closer to putting the whole thing together. Featuring concrete examples from every area of our economy--from food and finance to energy and education--Beautiful Solutions demonstrates that another, better world is already under construction. This book is not a work of theory or polemic so much as a starting point for practical politics. What sets it apart is the sheer breadth of examples and voices it brings together, all in an accessible, teachable format aimed at emerging activists. Rather than focusing on the debates that so often divide people today, Beautiful Solutions focuses on radical, practical projects that can become part of a global effort that transforms economic and political life at every level. Beautiful Solutions is also part of the broader family of Beautiful Trouble books, online toolkit, trainings and resources--thereby connecting the practice of resistance of the earlier books to visions of the world we are working toward.

Dr. Seuss tackles troubles—bullies, terrain, weather—in the rhyming classic I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew. When our hero stubs his toe, he decides to find a less troublesome place to live. Soon he’s off on a journey “to the City of Solla Sollew, on the banks of the beautiful River Wah-Hoo, where they never have troubles! At least, very few.” However, between his encounters with the Midwinter Jicker and the Perilous Poozer of Pompelmoose Pass, he soon finds out that confronting his problems might actually be easier than running away from them. This Read & Listen edition contains audio narration.

To get the best answer-in business, in life-you have to ask the best possible question. Innovation expert Warren Berger shows that ability is both an art and a science. It may be the most underappreciated tool at our disposal, one we learn to use well in infancy-and then abandon as we grow older. Critical to learning, innovation, success, even to happiness-yet often discouraged in our schools and workplaces-it can unlock new business opportunities and reinvent industries, spark creative insights at many levels, and provide a transformative new outlook on life. It is the ability to question-and to do so deeply, imaginatively, and “beautifully.” In this fascinating exploration of the surprising power of questioning, innovation expert Warren Berger reveals that powerhouse businesses like Google, Nike, and Netflix, as well as hot Silicon Valley startups like Pandora and Airbnb, are fueled by the ability to ask fundamental, game-changing questions. But Berger also shares human stories of people using questioning to solve everyday problems-from “How can I adapt my career in a time of constant change?” to “How can I step back from the daily rush and figure out what really makes me happy?” By showing how to approach questioning with an open, curious mind and a willingness to work through a series of “Why,” “What if,” and “How” queries, Berger offers an inspiring framework of how we can all arrive at better solutions, fresh possibilities, and greater success in business and life.