If We Burn

"In this remarkably assured and sweeping history of the present, Bevins introduces us to the activists, hackers, punks, martyrs, and the millions of ordinary people whose small acts of bravery spurred the mass protests of the last decade. Bevins's clear-eyed, sympathetic account of the unfulfilled promise of these protests leaves his reader with a bold vision of the future-one in which his book's lessons are used to transform an uprising into a true revolution."-MERVE EMRE, critic for the New Yorker"This is a wondrous work of mystery writing, an effort to solve the riddle: Why has a decade of large-scale rolling revolts produced no revolution, no significant structural reform? I can't think of any journalist other than Bevins who would dare to ask such a question, or be capable of weaving together seemingly discrete global events into a stunning history of now."-GREG GRANDIN, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The End of the Myth"Ambitious, diligently researched, and provocative, If We Burn will transform the way you think. Bevins' detailed, comparative reporting offers a riveting look at the contradictions, unexpected consequences, and lessons of mass protests."-ALEXA HAGERTY, author of Still Life with Bones "This book is phenomenal. A thrilling, blow by blow (and often live on-the-ground) analysis of how the various people-led movements and revolutions over the last decade succeeded or failed. Incalculably useful to anyone who'd like to make substantive, enduring changes to their town, country or even the world. I cannot think of a book that so soberly and forensically analysed the very recent past. If We Burn is about as good as journalism gets." -ROB DELANEY, author of A Heart That Works