This is the story of one of the last remaining phone booths in New York City. Everyone used it - from ballerinas and girl scouts, zookeepers and birthday clowns, to cellists and even secret agents. The Phone Booth was so beloved that people would sometimes wait in line to use it. Kept clean and polished, the Phone Booth was proud and happy... until the day a businessman strode by and shouted into a shiny silver object, "I'll be there in ten minutes!" Soon everyone was talking into these shiny silver things, and the Phone Booth stood alone - empty and unused and dejected. How the Phone Booth saved the day and united the neighborhood to rally around its revival is the heart of this soulful story. In a world in which objects we love and recognize as part of the integral fabric of our lives are disappearing at a rapid rate, here is a story about the value of the analog, the power of the people's voice, and the care and respect due to those things that have served us well over time.

This nationally-acclaimed book shows how popular movements used nonviolent action to overthrow dictators, obstruct military invaders and secure human rights in country after country, over the past century. Peter Ackerman and Jack DuVall depict how nonviolent sanctions--such as protests, strikes and boycotts--separate brutal regimes from their means of control. They tell inside stories--how Danes outmaneuvered the Nazis, Solidarity defeated Polish communism, and mass action removed a Chilean dictator--and also how nonviolent power is changing the world today, from Burma to Serbia.

In this tour de force, Peter Ackerman, an authority on nonviolent strategy, and Jack DuVall, a veteran writer, show how popular movements used nonviolent action to overthrow dictators, obstruct military invaders and secure human rights in country after country, over the past century. A gripping cavalcade of far-flung locations and history-changing crises, the book depicts how nonviolent sanctions – such as protests, strikes and boycotts – separate brutal regimes from their means of control. It tells inside stories – how Danes outmanoeuvered the Nazis, Solidarity defeated Polish communism, and mass action removed a Chilean dictator – and also how nonviolent power is changing the world today, from Burma to Serbia. Studded with colorful characters – such as Leo Tolstoy and Mohandas Gandhi, Lech Walesa and the mothers of the disappeared in Argentina – the book is a companion to a new feature-length documentary now at film festivals worldwide.

Nonviolent action, well planned and implemented, is shown in this lucid, timely, and compelling work to effect dramatic outcomes against opponents utilizing violence. Ackerman and Kruegler recognize that not all nonviolent efforts meet with success, and they are careful to stress that a nonviolent approach involves great risks as well as opportunities. It is the effectiveness of the strategies employed which will determine whether or not those using nonviolent means can prevail against opponents who rely on violence in pursuit of objectives. Twelve strategic principles are established in this book which serve as a conceptual foundation to enhance the prospects of success in nonviolent campaigns. The authors also develop six twentieth-century examples of nonviolent action from the early Russian Revolution of 1904-1906 through the Solidarity movement in 1980-1981. Each campaign narrative constitutes a fascinating reading experience and illustrates common themes, strategies, and important aspects of behavior on the part of major participants in nonviolent encounters.