What do you think?
Rate this book
Uprising: How Wisconsin Renewed the Politics of Protest, from Madison to Wall Street
On February 11, 2011, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker announced he would strip collective bargaining rights from public employees and teachers. In response, people rose up in mass protest, and Wisconsin became a reference point for a renewal of labor militancy and radical politics. These protests elicited extensive national media coverage, and drew more attention from the general public than any American labor struggle in decades.
John Nichols's Uprising traces the roots of this struggle -- which has faced legislative disappointments, legal challenges, and dramatic electoral twists and turns -- and in the process reveals how Scott Walker rose to national prominence and went on to become a frontrunner in the Republican race for the nomination in 2016. At a time when public services are under assault from corporate privatizers and billionaire political donors, the public repudiation of Walker's efforts (and the shadowy interests like the Koch Brothers behind them) has translated into a broader challenge to corporate America, Wall Street, the far Right, and its media echo chamber.
John Nichols's Uprising traces the roots of this struggle -- which has faced legislative disappointments, legal challenges, and dramatic electoral twists and turns -- and in the process reveals how Scott Walker rose to national prominence and went on to become a frontrunner in the Republican race for the nomination in 2016. At a time when public services are under assault from corporate privatizers and billionaire political donors, the public repudiation of Walker's efforts (and the shadowy interests like the Koch Brothers behind them) has translated into a broader challenge to corporate America, Wall Street, the far Right, and its media echo chamber.
192 pages, Paperback
First published February 14, 2012
11 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
About the author
John Harrison Nichols
20 booksJohn Harrison Nichols (born February 3, 1959) is a liberal and progressive American journalist and author. He is the Executive Editor of The Nation Magazine and Associate Editor of The Capital Times.
He’s the author of several books, including The Death and Life of American Journalism, The Genius of Impeachment and The "S" Word, & Coronavirus Criminals.
He’s the author of several books, including The Death and Life of American Journalism, The Genius of Impeachment and The "S" Word, & Coronavirus Criminals.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Read
July 9, 2020Uprising by John Nichols chronicles the protests that happened in the late Winter in Madison, Wisconsin in response to Gov. Scott Walker's attempts to cut into Union power, specifically collective bargaining. This moment will always hold a place near and dear to my heart, as I was a sophomore in High School during the protests. Many of our teachers left to protest in Madison, and 1300 of our 2000 students walked out of school in protest, which resulted in the school closing for two days. It was the first taste of true power of the people effecting the world directly, and resulted in much of my community based activity in the ensuing years. Besides the personal relevance, the two parts of the book that made me think about my work in CTEP were the sense of history in a place, as well as the ability for low level, grassroots organizing to serve as a counterpunch to corporate interests.
Sense of history is particulary important in Wisconsin. A heavily union state, the city of Milwaukee had a run of Socialist mayors from 1910-1960, and more recently, then Senator Russ Feingold was the only sitting US Senator with an F rating from corporate lobbyists every year he was in office. In the same vein, Minnesota was the site of the Farmer-Labor Party coalescing, and the largest union of Farmers in the country. There is also currently a healthy amount of community organizing in the Twin Cities, and we became the first state to elect a Somali woman to our State legislator. This is all to say that like Wisconsin in 2011, there was a history of solidarity to build on.
The word solidarity, appearing in the book often, became the word I thought about the most in this book and in the world around me while reading it. We have gotten so much better as a culture in recognizing and learning about difference (not perfect, but if we're waiting for perfect, we will be paralyzed because it will never happen). The step I'm interested in seeing how it will happen is having these people of many differences uniting in solidarity, in creating real people power. That was the energy I remember in 2011, where for the first time I stood next to some of the most conservative lifestyle people I knew because their parents belonged to a union. We would have never talked in school, but our common bond created a closeness and understanding we never would have gotten the chance to explore otherwise. Wisconsin stands as a historical moment in solidarity and the coming together of difference in backgrounds and belief. I hope in the future the wider, more accepting nets we've created allow us to create a solidarity based on our understanding.
Sense of history is particulary important in Wisconsin. A heavily union state, the city of Milwaukee had a run of Socialist mayors from 1910-1960, and more recently, then Senator Russ Feingold was the only sitting US Senator with an F rating from corporate lobbyists every year he was in office. In the same vein, Minnesota was the site of the Farmer-Labor Party coalescing, and the largest union of Farmers in the country. There is also currently a healthy amount of community organizing in the Twin Cities, and we became the first state to elect a Somali woman to our State legislator. This is all to say that like Wisconsin in 2011, there was a history of solidarity to build on.
The word solidarity, appearing in the book often, became the word I thought about the most in this book and in the world around me while reading it. We have gotten so much better as a culture in recognizing and learning about difference (not perfect, but if we're waiting for perfect, we will be paralyzed because it will never happen). The step I'm interested in seeing how it will happen is having these people of many differences uniting in solidarity, in creating real people power. That was the energy I remember in 2011, where for the first time I stood next to some of the most conservative lifestyle people I knew because their parents belonged to a union. We would have never talked in school, but our common bond created a closeness and understanding we never would have gotten the chance to explore otherwise. Wisconsin stands as a historical moment in solidarity and the coming together of difference in backgrounds and belief. I hope in the future the wider, more accepting nets we've created allow us to create a solidarity based on our understanding.
July 28, 2020
I'm liberal and very much disliked this. The whole thing is just a mix of bashing Republicans, congratulating the protestors and himself, and repeating talking points. The whole thing could have been done in one chapter.
January 5, 2014
John Nichols has been called by some, the Thomas Paine of our time. This book represents "Common Sense" to our generation.
On page 19, Nichols writes, "It is certainly true that nothing so horrifies today's false constitutionalists as the actual exercise of civil liberties."
In my mind, one word most aptly describes public policy debate in today's American mass media: confusion. John Nichols cuts through the confusion like NOBODY has been able for years. Corporate elitists and propagandists who promote them sell their wares to uneducated people as that government and taxes are the cause for economic pain that has engulfed our great country. NOTHING could be farther from the truth.
Yes, government has played a role. But that role has been powerfully, yet subtly co-opted in what is known as Regulatory Capture.
Nichols' UPRISING cuts through the BS and will inspire intelligent populist activists (many of whom are already active in the Occupy movement) to revive the American Middle Class.
This book is an easy, compelling read. Be ready to organize your community because you will be unable to keep from speaking out.
On page 19, Nichols writes, "It is certainly true that nothing so horrifies today's false constitutionalists as the actual exercise of civil liberties."
In my mind, one word most aptly describes public policy debate in today's American mass media: confusion. John Nichols cuts through the confusion like NOBODY has been able for years. Corporate elitists and propagandists who promote them sell their wares to uneducated people as that government and taxes are the cause for economic pain that has engulfed our great country. NOTHING could be farther from the truth.
Yes, government has played a role. But that role has been powerfully, yet subtly co-opted in what is known as Regulatory Capture.
Nichols' UPRISING cuts through the BS and will inspire intelligent populist activists (many of whom are already active in the Occupy movement) to revive the American Middle Class.
This book is an easy, compelling read. Be ready to organize your community because you will be unable to keep from speaking out.
December 18, 2023
Highly-informative, especially as business interests, anti-union think tanks, and conservative politicians push for anti-union policies similar to Wisconsin's Act 10 in other states across the country. I read this book as Florida lawmakers considered, then passed a law targeting public sector unions in the state, with the usual exceptions (Republican-endorsing cop and firefighter unions).
It's important to have this documentation and this broader context as these fights move across various states, usually backed by or pushed for by similar or even the same interests. The chapter(s) on Wisconsin's Act 10 - the process of its passage - was of the most interest to me at the time I read it, but altogether a great and not-at-all overwhelming account of recent labor history in Wisconsin (with the caveat that this book is now a few years old, but not necessarily dated.)
It's important to have this documentation and this broader context as these fights move across various states, usually backed by or pushed for by similar or even the same interests. The chapter(s) on Wisconsin's Act 10 - the process of its passage - was of the most interest to me at the time I read it, but altogether a great and not-at-all overwhelming account of recent labor history in Wisconsin (with the caveat that this book is now a few years old, but not necessarily dated.)
September 2, 2012
Honestly, I was a little disappointed by this analysis of the Wisconsin uprising of February-March 2011. First, I think this was rushed. Nichols should have waited until after the recall election. I also didn't like how he started the book- my recollection of events is a little different than his - and kept referencing Tom Morello and other celebrities as instigating the protests. The book hit its stride mid-way but really, it preached to the choir and I wished he would have focused more on the other policies Walker proposed that also fueled the anger of so many of us.
I suppose if you didn't really follow what happened, this would be a good primer. I haven't read any other book by Nichols but his writing style doesn't really make me want to read any more.
I suppose if you didn't really follow what happened, this would be a good primer. I haven't read any other book by Nichols but his writing style doesn't really make me want to read any more.
April 22, 2013
Wow made me proud to be a Wisconsonite.
Full of great quotes and some history but mainly focused on a movement of regular people who got fed up and stood up and said no more. This has to end.
A current history event that inspired others around the nation.
Paul Ryan and Scott Walker may have captivated the main news medias,
but the real story covered by alternative media was the people of this state,
who gathered in thousands not for one day but for months.
People from all walks of life, economic levels, rural and urbanites, even political parties, standing in the freezing cold marching and singing and shouting to be heard by those who are supposed to represent them not corporations.
Democracy ends when the people refuse to exercise the power they have in their hands.
Full of great quotes and some history but mainly focused on a movement of regular people who got fed up and stood up and said no more. This has to end.
A current history event that inspired others around the nation.
Paul Ryan and Scott Walker may have captivated the main news medias,
but the real story covered by alternative media was the people of this state,
who gathered in thousands not for one day but for months.
People from all walks of life, economic levels, rural and urbanites, even political parties, standing in the freezing cold marching and singing and shouting to be heard by those who are supposed to represent them not corporations.
Democracy ends when the people refuse to exercise the power they have in their hands.
June 11, 2012
Covers the huge labour and community organising in Wisconsin in 2011, puts it in good historical context, quick and easy to read, lots of inspiring anecdotes and stories from the protests themselves.
It doesn't have heaps of 'meaty political analysis', but plenty of passion/vision for organised labour. I didn't get much out of the chapters on the Constitution/Founders and on the media coverage of Wisconsin.
Was halfway through the book when Walker won the recall election... so kinda felt like the ending was ruinnnnnedddd.
It doesn't have heaps of 'meaty political analysis', but plenty of passion/vision for organised labour. I didn't get much out of the chapters on the Constitution/Founders and on the media coverage of Wisconsin.
Was halfway through the book when Walker won the recall election... so kinda felt like the ending was ruinnnnnedddd.
April 2, 2012
Nichols at his best: a quick read with a wide-ranging historic approach that sets the events in Wisconsin a larger context, esp. as related to James Madison and the First Amendment and Tom Paine. Nothing new here if you've been following John's writings on this since the beginning. All very Nicholsian if you know what I mean. But he always seems to pull it all together better than anyone else on the scene.
June 3, 2012
This is a tiny book by one of the Nation's usual writing staff. It is the story of what happened before Ocuppy Wall Street. I went to school nearby(Iowa) and have many friends in Wisconsin. I also was a union member in my first job so I have a soft spot for union workers. I am a politics junkie and anyone who is will enjoy John's viewpoint of this event which has almost faded from the front pages. Watch the recall election on June 5th.
November 7, 2012
This was another "pep talk" feel of a book. I'd call it a protest sign in book form. Very passionate, just trying to give you the feeling of being there in that moment.
I did expect this, this time. I mostly read it anyway because I just joined a political-oriented book club and am excited to have a group to talk to about what I'm reading.
I wouldn't particularly recommend this book for informational interest. But it gives a: Yay, Wisconsin!
I did expect this, this time. I mostly read it anyway because I just joined a political-oriented book club and am excited to have a group to talk to about what I'm reading.
I wouldn't particularly recommend this book for informational interest. But it gives a: Yay, Wisconsin!
October 27, 2012
Excellent work; very well researched. Having been present at some of the protests (and living in Wisconsin before, during, and after they happened) I think his perspective may be a little off, but given the point of view from which it's written it works.
Also, this is for the Kindle version of the book, which doesn't exist on GoodReads, even after I attempted to add it as an alternate version.
Also, this is for the Kindle version of the book, which doesn't exist on GoodReads, even after I attempted to add it as an alternate version.
May 6, 2012
Uprising is a well-researched, genuinely smart assessment of contemporary Wisconsin politics of protest. It is also a quick, easy read and I recommend it to anyone interested in grass roots politics, history, and the world we live in.
May 24, 2014
One of the best chronicles of Wisconsin's struggles with the oppressive and regressive economic strategies of Governor Scott Walker. A must read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews