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Tools for Radical Democracy: How to Organize for Power in Your Community

If the title of Joan Minieri and Paul Getsos' book: Tools for Radical Democracy, sounds a little like Alinksy's Rules for Radicals to you, then you're probably someone who will want this book. Like Alinsky's classic text, this book is a practical manual on community organizing, updated for the 21st century. The book's chapters include: recruiting consituents, involving members, developing leaders, identifying issues, researching politics, developing strategies, planning campaigns, running actions, forging partnerships, and movement building. With a thousand books out there that frame capacity building as purely about the organization, it's refreshing to see a book that focuses downward - at the community level - and outward - at social movements. In a network centric world, those are the two levels at which we need to focus and this is an ideal book to help us do so. Posted: 9/4/07; 8:45:53 AM #

Beautiful Code: Leading Programmers Explain How They Think

I recall my early days in college, when I was first exposed to two disciplines: community organizing and computer programming. I was always attracted to the aesthetics in both and felt that beauty had something to teach us about effectiveness. Not the superficial prettiness of gorgeous (but unread) pamphlets or fancy (but unused) interfaces. Rather, I was interested in deeper beauty, in elegance. I find that this is an interest shared far more often by programmers than by organizers. Andy Oram and Greg Wilson have edited a remarkable book entitled Beautiful Code, with contributions from thirty-three of the most outstanding programmers of our time. Most of the essays don't require deep knowledge of particular programming languages, and don't be put off by the actual code sprinkled throughout the text. Collectively, the authors explore how and why beauty matters in the context of computing. It's mind boggling how relevant the insights are to other fields. They explore things like: the power of fractal sensibilities, elegance and simplicity, reframing as a means of discovering deeper patterns, how deep beauty inspires trust and creates understanding, and the nature of flow. One of the most powerful lessons I took away from this book is the difference between a collection of hacks and beautiful code. We live in a time when everyone wants quick tips and hacks, but a big pile of these does not constitute a strategy. An interest in beauty in all our fields of practice will help us unify our work and give it a power it couldn't otherwise have. Posted: 9/4/07; 8:31:16 AM #

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