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Customer Reviews from Amazon.com(see Amazon.com Social Change 2.0 review page) Undeniable Genius Isolated from Other Movements,January 4, 2010, Robert D. Steele (Oakton, VA United States) This book is a work of undeniable genius and to that I would add perseverence--the author and his wife Gail Straub have been on the forefront of the personal empowerment movement from the late 1970's onward, and in many ways this book is a capstone work that bridges from the personal to the neighborhood and aspires to--but does not quite attain--the goal of being globally meaningful. I previously enjoyed and reviewed Low Carbon Diet: A 30 Day Program to Lose 5000 Pounds--Be Part of the Global Warming Solution! but this is the book that moves the author into my pantheon of a dozen world-class thinkers on social change. Early on the book grabs me in a Buckminster Fuller sort of way when the author emphasizes that not only do we have to re-invent the world, we have to re-invent the process by which we re-invent the world. Of course Jonas Salk and others have addressed that with Epoch B leadership, but not for mention here. I am totally impressed by the 30 years of hard work at the grass roots level that the author builds on in this book, one of the reasons it is a solid five stars on its own merits. Those are HUGE accomplishments, and severely under-stated because the author does not factor in the "true cost" of the savings, probably closer to $10,000 a person if not vastly more (fuel is actually a million dollars a gallon if you really value the time it took to create the fossil base). I am totally blown away by the practical value, the spiritual energy, and the global POTENTIAL of all that this book addresses. While sustainable design and design of government and community have a long way to go, the author and this book are clearly a touchstone for sustainable communities that "in passing" TURN RESIDENTS INTO NEIGHBORS. The entire book is a handbook for change, and while I do not see a one to one correlation with the Empowerment Workshops that the author leads (search for Empowerment Institute), the book is extremely well-organized with lists of objectives and a regular feedback look and self-awareness pages built-in where the reader can answer questions for themselves to connect directly to the book's message--teachings is the other word that came to mind. As I go through the book a second time to scan my margin notes I give up the idea of trying to summarize the chapters or replicate some of the lists--this is a book intended as a reference tool that must be studied. It is also clear that the time and energy required to implement all that is in this book is HUGE. As much as th book speaks to leveraging influence and optimizing time-energy investments, the bottom line is that changing the world one neighborhood at a time is a major undertaking. Although the book mentions a number of folks I admire (and the list of readings at the end is NOT a complete as a list of all books mentioned in the text) I am slightly disappointed to not see a broader cross-section of social change activists represented--the author clearly connects with Juanita Brown, Michael Dowd, Francis Lappe Moore, and Paul Hawken, but I miss mention of Tom Atlee, Peggy Holman, Jim Rough, Margaret Wheatley, and a number of others, which is why I suggested to Tom Atlee this morning that we consider doing a CONVERGENCE book much as we did with Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace. At Phi Beta Iota, the Public Intelligence Blog, all 1,500+ of my non-fiction reviews can be accessed within 98 categories, including Change & Innovation (109); Civil Society (61); Complexity & Resilience (77); Consciousness & Social IQ (127); Democracy (147); Environment (Solutions) (76); all the way up to Values, Ethics, Sustainable Evolution (142)and Voices Lost (Indigenous, Gender, Poor, Marginalized) (49). As I reflect on this book yet again, a third time, my strongest reservation is that it is still focused on one neighborhood at a time, which is righteous and good, but it does not acknowledge the reality that we live in a two-party tyranny in which all of our institutions have failed (see my book ELECTION 200: Lipstick on the Pig), in which our tax dollars are being used to wage war on the world while enriching Wall Street in the aftermath of the deliberate looting by Wall Street of the public. This book is important--it is not, by any stretch of the imagination, "the" most important thing we can do. I am also troubled by the author's falling prey to Climate Change fraud (see ClimateGate Rolling Update at Phi Beta Iota, the Public Intelligence Blog). There are ten high-level threats to humanity, Environmental Degradation is #3, within the latter Climate Change is at best 10% of the threat, and within Climate Change carbon is at best 10% of the challenge--hence the Carbon Trade market is a scam, an attempt to create phantom wealth, an attempt to scale the same kind of fraud associated with derivatives and sub-prime mortgages. It would be most interesting to see the author re-think this book in relation to the ten high-level threats starting with Poverty. Overall a work of genius, truly profoundly important to our future, but a local step, not a global solution. * * * * * College-level collections strong in social issues debates will welcome this wide-ranging perspective,December 15, 2009 By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) SOCIAL CHANGE 2.0: A BLUEPRINT FOR REINVENTING OUR WORLD begins with the idea that people are the natural starting point for changing the world for the better - that personal responsibility on individual basis begins the process. Chapters go on to explore how to build and reinforce leadership strengths to support social change on a wide level, from adopting a low-carbon diet to changing war options. College-level collections strong in social issues debates will welcome this wide-ranging perspective. * * * * * The Handbook for Yes We Can,November 8, 2009 By John Winter (Kingston, NY United States) What David Gershon writes in Social Change 2.0 will surprise and inspire you. Our current means of changing the world - laws, financial incentives, and social protest, collectively known as Social Change 1.0, while necessary, are not well-suited to solving complex issues like global climate change, intractable poverty, and persistent warfare. We need something more. Social Change 2.0 breaks new ground and if you care at all about how we go about addressing the many issues we face I suggest that you buy it and read it (a few times is best) and then talk about it with your colleagues and friends. This book is that important - and that good. Social Change 2.0 is a manifesto on creating the necessary changes in ourselves and in others to remake our world as we know it can be. The book's heroes are change agents empowering women in Afghanistan, creating hope for reconciliation in Rwanda, and re-building neighborhoods in inner city Philadelphia, among many others. What these heroes have in common, besides boatloads of courage, strength, and fortitude is their mentor, David Gershon, who for the past thirty years, has been learning how individuals, communities, businesses, governments, and non-profit organizations voluntarily create change. Gershon's work is grounded in his belief that people will be inspired to change the world if they feel empowered to do so and their odds for success are increased. Gershon and his wife Gail Straub wrote a minor classic in 1989 called Empowerment: The Art of Creating Your Life As You Want It, which established them as early voices in the personal transformation movement. And their Empowerment Institute, with its thousands of graduates over the years, established them as leaders in this area. But in Social Change 2.0, Gershon breaks out, expanding personal empowerment into community empowerment and dare I say global empowerment. He offers a cohesive methodology, a blueprint he calls it, grounded in lessons learned from his experiences in societal transformation. His many design principles include implementing a transformational social innovation, synergy as the accelerator of social change, and taking a social innovation to scale. This is all excellent stuff. But as a social change practitioner I tend to look for practical tools I can use today. This is where Social Change 2.0 really delivers. Gershon's stories of life in the trenches of societal transformation not only teach and inspire but they provide valuable details about how social change truly happens and why some projects yield long-lasting behavioral change and others fall short. And for those wishing guidance in applying his principles and practices to a social change effort of their own, Gershon includes study questions at the end of each chapter to stimulate thinking. In fact, when I had trouble answering some of his questions I decided to enroll in his empowerment training class in January! Social Change 2.0 is a watershed book that is not only relevant and timely in today's "Yes We Can" era, it is also vital. We are witnesses to the inherent limitations of Social Change 1.0. Times have indeed changed and we need more tools. Thank you David Gershon for sharing your many experiences in social change and myriad encounters with change agents worldwide. Your work is much needed and I expect will be much-valued as we all strive to address the many challenges ahead. John Winter * * * * * Our survival depends on it,November 8, 2009 By C. Badawi (Oakland, CA) This is a how-to guide for those among us who are tired of 1.0 change strategies that focus on fighting against broken systems. Social Change 2.0 offers up a map that calls upon us to create the world in which we long to live. Gershon's principles and vignettes inspire a new sense of what's possible, call us to move past our sense of victimization and hopelessness and actually engage in our world to co-create new ways of living with each other and the planet. Each chapter is accompanied by a series of reflection questions that support the reader in integrating and making relevant the lessons and principles to her/his own social change efforts. I am grateful for this book, and for the body of work it will surely inspire. Humankind is ready for a new blueprint of change-making and social architecture; indeed, our survival depends on it. * * * * * read this book !!,November 3, 2009 By N. Charny (Rhinebeck, NY USA) This is an amazing book that lays out a deeply profound analysis of the most effective strategies for bringing about social change. Premised on the notion that sustainable and scalable social change movements develop from a place of self-empowerment and social innovation, rather than the adversarial premise of social change 1.0, David Gershon brings to vivid life his impressive history of bringing about significant social change from a unitive and empowering perspective. This is not just a narrative about Gershon's accomplishments, however. This book is a practical and important blueprint for translating his lessons learned into information accessible to everyone from the social change theorist to community organizer to the solitary individual taking on some challenging problem. Social Change 2.0 is not a rules for radicals model of incremental and subversive change. Gershon's confidence in human potential shines through and is infectious. If you want to see some change in the world, in your country, in your state, county, community, street block, apartment building, within your home and even just simply within yourself - get this book. It'll be dog-eared and well worn within weeks, and your ability to manifest social change will be that much stronger. * * * * * Inspiring and Practical,November 1, 2009 By S. Shoptaugh Social Change 2.0 is simultaneously inspiring and practical, and a must read for anyone who wants to make a difference in their world. Social Change 2.0 will expand what you believe is possible to achieve and then become your well-worn guide book as you set forth to accomplish your own vision. I highly recommend this book! * * * * * Great book and much needed,October 30, 2009 By Mike Bell (Newcastle, England) This book is a must for anyone practicing or seeking to improve their expertise in social change. The enlightening and fascinating stories that David tells of numerous real examples serve to bring life to the detailed `how to's'. The book is a great `blue print' ranging from social change design principles and empowerment framework and tools, to implementing transformative social innovations and taking them to scale. We need to step up our individual and collective skills to address the complex challenges we face, and in Social Change 2.0, David shares the mastery of his art in a way that serves as a building block for anyone interested in making a real difference. * * * * * Inspiration and Empowerment,October 29, 2009 By P. Goodwin (New York) Gandhi's phrase - "Be the change you want to see in the world" - has always inspired me. Now I've found a book that is a soup-to-nuts guide on how to go about doing it. David Gershon's Social Change 2.0: A Blueprint for Reinventing Our World encapsulates the life work of an extraordinary social activist and innovator in a compellingly readable fashion. David's premise is that transformative change rarely happens from the top down... it's bottom up, and David is a grassroots visionary. This is, quite simply, a one-volume master's degree in yes-we-can social revolution. David sets out the design principles and on-the-ground practices of transformative social change as he's practiced it for 30 years, with cities, government agencies, NGO's and nations around the world. His theories and practice are clearly explained, and interspersed with fascinating, fast-paced stories of activist adventures set in arenas ranging from Portland, Oregon to inner-city Philadelphia to Kabul, Afghanistan. But most important, and most exhilarating, is the fact that David makes a persuasive case that we all, as individuals, have the power and the responsibility to create the broad, systemic changes necessary to save ourselves and our planet. David lays out the challenge, draws a line in the sand, and gives us all the tools to cross it, to turn our castles in the sand into realized visions of the world we'd all choose to live in. Gandhi and Gershon... inspiration and empowerment... this is a blueprint that I want to act on.
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