How to Be a Dissident

“One way to change the world is to be yourself. This is harder than it sounds. Gal Beckerman, one of our most thoughtful commentators on the soul of politics, appealingly invites us to learn from those more courageous than ourselves. Along the way we learn some history that we should know and find ourselves by the end not only instructed but wiser.”—Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny

“[Beckerman] unpacks dissent as a kind of rough art. His book is both an instruction guide and a primer.”— Los Angeles Times

“An inspiring tour of famous renegades with lessons for the rabble-rousers of today . . . The book’s stories are compellingly rendered, imparting clear and moving lessons or posing interesting moral challenges and ambiguities, especially when coupled with Beckerman’s insightful commentary.”—The New York Times Book Review

“How to Be a Dissident is a book about moral self-inventory. . . . What anchors Beckerman’s book, and ultimately what stays with the reader, is its emotional honesty. . . . He does not flinch from his own dilemmas: whether to send his children to stand with activists at courthouses, how to measure his fear against his values, how to sit with moral nausea rather than push it away. This is writing that trusts the reader to be in the same difficulty. It earns that trust.”— Los Angeles Review of Books

“Urgent, wise, and immensely compelling, Gal Beckerman’s How to Be a Dissident illuminates an inspiring gallery of history’s independent thinkers, their lives both reassurance and exhortation in these challenging times. Everyone should read this book.”—Claire Messud, author of The Emperor’s Children

“A sharp, cogent analysis of what dissidents really do to fight repressive regimes, with essential advice for anyone who wants to join them.”—Anne Applebaum, author of Autocracy, Inc.

“A beautiful, profound book, rich in examples. It helped me to think more clearly, to feel heartened, and to focus on what is most important—all of which feels essential in these times.”—Sarah Bakewell, author of How to Live

“A Rules for Radicals for our time . . . [and] a well-reasoned set of prescriptions for building a better future.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review