Gal Beckerman's Books

The Quiet Before

On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas

By: Gal Beckerman

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The Quiet Before

On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas

By: Gal Beckerman

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • An “elegantly argued and exuberantly narrated” (The New York Times Book Review) look at the building of social movements—from the 1600s to the present—and how current technology is undermining them “A bravura work of scholarship and reporting, featuring amazing individuals and dramatic events from seventeenth-century France to Rome, Moscow, Cairo, and contemporary Minneapolis.”—Louis Menand, author of The Free World We tend to think of revolutions as loud: frustrations and demands shouted in the streets. But the ideas fueling them have traditionally been conceived in much quieter spaces, in the small, secluded corners where a vanguard can whisper among themselves, imagine alternate realities, and deliberate about how to achieve their goals. This extraordinary book is a search for those spaces, over centuries and across continents, and a warning that—in a world dominated by social media—they might soon go extinct. Gal Beckerman, an editor at The New York Times Book Review, takes us back to the seventeenth century, to the correspondence that jump-started the scientific revolution, and then forward through time to examine engines of social change: the petitions that secured the right to vote in 1830s Britain, the zines that gave voice to women’s rage in the early 1990s, and even the messaging apps used by epidemiologists fighting the pandemic in the shadow of an inept administration. In each case, Beckerman shows that our most defining social movements—from decolonization to feminism—were formed in quiet, closed networks that allowed a small group to incubate their ideas before broadcasting them widely. But Facebook and Twitter are replacing these productive, private spaces, to the detriment of activists around the world. Why did the Arab Spring fall apart? Why did Occupy Wall Street never gain traction? Has Black Lives Matter lived up to its full potential? Beckerman reveals what this new social media ecosystem lacks—everything from patience to focus—and offers a recipe for growing radical ideas again. Lyrical and profound, The Quiet Before looks to the past to help us imagine a different future.

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353

Publisher

Crown

Published Date

ISBN 10

152475918X

ISBN 13

9781524759186

When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone

The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry

By: Gal Beckerman

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When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone

The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry

By: Gal Beckerman

The “remarkable” story of the grass-roots movement that freed millions of Jews from the Soviet Union (The Plain Dealer). At the end of World War II, nearly three million Jews were trapped inside the USSR. They lived a paradox—unwanted by a repressive Stalinist state, yet forbidden to leave. When They Come for Us, We’ll Be Gone is the astonishing and inspiring story of their rescue. Journalist Gal Beckerman draws on newly released Soviet government documents as well as hundreds of oral interviews with refuseniks, activists, Zionist “hooligans,” and Congressional staffers. He shows not only how the movement led to a mass exodus in 1989, but also how it shaped the American Jewish community, giving it a renewed sense of spiritual purpose and teaching it to flex its political muscle. Beckerman also makes a convincing case that the effort put human rights at the center of American foreign policy for the very first time, helping to end the Cold War. This “wide-ranging and often moving” book introduces us to all the major players, from the flamboyant Meir Kahane, head of the paramilitary Jewish Defense League, to Soviet refusenik Natan Sharansky, who labored in a Siberian prison camp for over a decade, to Lynn Singer, the small, fiery Long Island housewife who went from organizing local rallies to strong-arming Soviet diplomats (The New Yorker). This “excellent” multigenerational saga, filled with suspense and packed with revelations, provides an essential missing piece of Cold War and Jewish history (The Washington Post).

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Page Count

801

Publisher

HMH

Published Date

ISBN 10

0547504438

ISBN 13

9780547504438

The Quiet Before

On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas

By: Gal Beckerman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Quiet Before

On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas

By: Gal Beckerman

Average ratings

N/A

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

353

Publisher

Crown

Published Date

ISBN 10

152475918X

ISBN 13

9781524759186

When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone

The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry

By: Gal Beckerman

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone

The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry

By: Gal Beckerman

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

801

Publisher

HMH

Published Date

ISBN 10

0547504438

ISBN 13

9780547504438

Book's by Gal Beckerman

The Quiet Before

The Quiet Before

When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone

When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone

The Quiet Before

The Quiet Before

When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone

When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone

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