Letters to a Young Activist

by Todd Gitlin

Copyright 2003 by Todd Gitlin All Rights Reserved.

Categories:  Contemporary  Politics

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Description

"Be original. See what happens." So Todd Gitlin advises the young mind burning to take action to right the wrongs of the world but also looking for bearings, understanding, direction, and practical examples. In Letters to a Young Activist, Todd Gitlin looks back at his eventful life, recalling his experience as president of the formidable Students for a Democratic Society in the '60s, contemplating the spirit of activism, and arriving at some principles of action to guide the passion and energy of those wishing to do good. He considers the three complementary motives of duty, love, and adventure, and reflects on the changing nature of idealism and how righteous action requires realistic as well as idealistic thinking. And he looks forward to an uncertain future that is nevertheless full of possibility, a future where patriotism and intelligent skepticism are not mutually exclusive. Gitlin invites the young activist to enter imaginatively into some of the dilemmas, moral and practical, of being a modern citizen--the dilemmas that affect not only the problems of what to think but also the problems of what to love and how to live.

Reviews

"Letters to a Young Activist should evolve into a classic guide for its audience."
— The Philadelphia Inquirer

"The letters are thoughtful essays...and Gitlin concludes with good advice for activists in these uncertain times..."
— Library Journal

"...inspiring and darkly ironic... Good, provocative stuff...."
— Kirkus Reviews

"All sensible advice...applicable not just to the left but to anyone interested in informed, intelligent change."
— Chicago Tribune

Extended Copyright Information

Copyright 2003 by Todd Gitlin

Originally published by Basic Books,
A Member of the Perseus Books Group.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Cover designed by Rick Pracher.

Opening Lines (Experimental)

And in memory of Paul Wellstone, who never quit either.
Let's agree to overlook (maybe even enjoy) the absurdity that joins us: You agree to indulge my lecturing on matters I didn't quite understand until I was older than you, and I make every effort to connect to your passions and objections -- to ...

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