Synopses & Reviews
“...A fascinating account of what really happened in Seattle.”—Naomi Klein
“This book is a great read for any activist.”—The Progressive
“If you think it's time we shut down the empire at the heart of the WTO with tactics so effectively used to weaken the WTO, pick up a copy of The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle.”—David Swanson
From dawn to dusk on November 30, 1999, tens of thousands of people shut down the World Trade Organization meeting, facing cops firing tear gas and rubber bullets, the National Guard, and the suspension of civil liberties. An unexpected history was launched from the streets of Seattle, one in which popular power would matter as much as corporate power, in which economics assumed center stage, and people began envisioning who else they could be and what else their economies and societies might look like.
The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle explores how that history itself has become a battleground and how our perception of it shapes today's movements against corporate capitalism and for a better world. David Solnit recounts activist efforts to intervene in the Hollywood star-studded movie, Battle in Seattle, and pulls lessons from a decade ago for today. Rebecca Solnit writes of challenging mainstream misrepresentation of the Seattle protests and reflects on official history and popular power. Core organizer Chris Dixon tells the real story of what happened during those five days in the streets of Seattle.
Profusely illustrated, with a reprint of the original 1999 Direct Action Network's “Call to Action” broadsheet—including key articles by Stephanie Guilloud, Chris Borte, and Chris Dixon—and a powerful introduction from Anuradha Mittal.
David Solnit lived and organized in Seattle in 1999 with the Direct Action Network, which the Art and Revolution Collective he was part of co-initiated. He has been a mass direct action organizer since the early '80s, and in the '90s became a puppeteer and arts organizer. He is the editor of Globalize Liberation: How to Uproot the System and Build a Better World and co-author, with Aimee Allison, of Army of None: Strategies to Counter Military Recruitment, End War and Build a Better World. He currently works as a carpenter in Oakland, California and organizes with Courage to Resist, supporting GI resisters, and with the Mobilization for Climate Justice West.
Rebecca Solnit is an activist, historian and writer who lives in San Francisco. Her twelfth book, A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster, came out this fall. Her previous books include Storming the Gates of Paradise; A Field Guide to Getting Lost; Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities; Wanderlust: A History of Walking; As Eve Said to the Serpent: On Landscape, Gender and Art; and River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West (for which she received a Guggenheim, the National Book Critics Circle Award in criticism, and the Lannan Literary Award). A contributing editor to Harper's, she frequently writes for the political site Tomdispatch.com. She has worked on antinuclear, antiwar, environmental, indigenous land rights and human rights campaigns and movements over the years.
Synopsis
With the World Trade Organization in retreat globally, do we remember the seeds of the anti-capitalist movements that blossomed and, in 1999, brought Seattle to a standstill? This collection confronts the challenges of historical memory. David Solnit recounts the story of his consultation with the
Battle In Seattlefilmmakers and tells how a group of Seattle activists intervened in the Hollywood star-studded docudrama to challenge and change the story. In "How We Organized the Shutdown of the Seattle WTO Meeting,"David dispels damaging movement myths by highlighting the organizing, strategy, and dynamics that sparked the retreat of corporate globalization.
Rebecca Solnit tells of her battle with The New York Times, challenging their repeated misinformation about the Seattle protests-including her written exchanges with the editors-and reflects on how corporate media's twisting of history impacts our future. "Come to Seattle: Call to Action"and key articles from the original broadsheet that went around the world to call for the shutdown of the WTO are reprinted-as are documents, artwork, and photos from Seattle 1999.
David Solnit, a tireless activist, was a key organizer of the shutdown of the WTO in Seattle, and is author of Globalize Liberationand Army of None. He lives in Oakland, California.
Rebecca Solnitis the best-selling author of numerous books, including Rivers and Shadows, Savage Dreams, and Storming the Gates of Paradise. She is a Lannan Literary Award and National Book Critics Circle Award winner, and resides in San Francisco, California.
Synopsis
-...A fascinating account of what really happened in Seattle.---Naomi Klein
-This book is a great read for any activist.---The Progressive
-If you think it's time we shut down the empire at the heart of the WTO with tactics so effectively used to weaken the WTO, pick up a copy of The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle.---David Swanson
From dawn to dusk on November 30, 1999, tens of thousands of people shut down the World Trade Organization meeting, facing cops firing tear gas and rubber bullets, the National Guard, and the suspension of civil liberties. An unexpected history was launched from the streets of Seattle, one in which popular power would matter as much as corporate power, in which economics assumed center stage, and people began envisioning who else they could be and what else their economies and societies might look like.
The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle explores how that history itself has become a battleground and how our perception of it shapes today's movements against corporate capitalism and for a better world. David Solnit recounts activist efforts to intervene in the Hollywood star-studded movie, Battle in Seattle, and pulls lessons from a decade ago for today. Rebecca Solnit writes of challenging mainstream misrepresentation of the Seattle protests and reflects on official history and popular power. Core organizer Chris Dixon tells the real story of what happened during those five days in the streets of Seattle.
Profusely illustrated, with a reprint of the original 1999 Direct Action Network's -Call to Action- broadsheet--including key articles by Stephanie Guilloud, Chris Borte, and Chris Dixon--and a powerful introduction from Anuradha Mittal.
David Solnit lived and organized in Seattle in 1999 with the Direct Action Network, which the Art and Revolution Collective he was part of co-initiated. He has been a mass direct action organizer since the early '80s, and in the '90s became a puppeteer and arts organizer. He is the editor of Globalize Liberation: How to Uproot the System and Build a Better World and co-author, with Aimee Allison, of Army of None: Strategies to Counter Military Recruitment, End War and Build a Better World. He currently works as a carpenter in Oakland, California and organizes with Courage to Resist, supporting GI resisters, and with the Mobilization for Climate Justice West.
Rebecca Solnit is an activist, historian and writer who lives in San Francisco. Her twelfth book, A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster, came out this fall. Her previous books include Storming the Gates of Paradise; A Field Guide to Getting Lost; Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities; Wanderlust: A History of Walking; As Eve Said to the Serpent: On Landscape, Gender and Art; and River of Shadows Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West (for which she received a Guggenheim, the National Book Critics Circle Award in criticism, and the Lannan Literary Award). A contributing editor to Harper's, she frequently writes for the political site Tomdispatch.com. She has worked on antinuclear, antiwar, environmental, indigenous land rights and human rights campaigns and movements over the years.
Synopsis
Before the tear gas settled, the real battle had begun: over whose version of history would triumph.
Synopsis
Nonfiction. Political Science. THE BATTLE OF THE STORY OF THE BATTLE OF SEATTLE is a collection that confronts the challenges of historical memory. David Solnit recounts the story of his consultation with the Battle In Seattle filmmakers and tells how a group of Seattle activists intervened in the Hollywood star-studded docudrama to challenge and change the story. Rebecca Solnit tells of her battle with The New York Times, challenging their repeated misinformation about the Seattle protest, and reflects on how corporate media's twisting of history impacts our future. "Come to Seattle: Call to Action" and key articles from the original broadsheet that went around the world to call for the shutdown of the WTO are reprinted--as are documents, artwork, and photos from Seattle 1999. David Solnit was a key organizer of the shutdown of the WTO in Seattle, and is author of GLOBALIZE LIBERATION and Army of None. Rebecca Solnit is the best-selling author of numerous books, and is a Lannan Literary Award and National Book Critics Circle Award winner.
About the Author
Rebecca Solnit is an award-winning writer, historian, and activist. Her books include A Book of Migrations, Hollow City: The Siege of San Francisco and the Crisis of American Urbanism, River of Shadows, and Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities. She is a columnist for Orion, and a regular contributor to the Nation Institute's Tomdispatch daily newsgram. David Solnit is an organizer active in the global justice movement, including key roles in the '99 Seattle demonstrations and the 2003 shutdown of San Francisco on the dawn of war in Iraq. He is the editor of Globalize Liberation (City Lights, 2003) and co-author of Army of None (Seven Stories, 2007)