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How to Be a Dissident
An invigorating guide to fighting back—part philosophy, part history, and part manual for living with integrity in an age of conformity and authoritarian drift
How do we push back in a world where political leaders wield fear and intimidation? Where digital technology dehumanizes and flattens us? We need role models, and in this engaging book, acclaimed writer Gal Beckerman goes looking for them. Drawing on the stories of dissidents from around the globe and across time, from Socrates to Ai Weiwei, and thinkers like Hannah Arendt and Iris Murdoch, Beckerman reveals the defining characteristics these extraordinary figures share, a set of attributes and practices for anyone navigating the pressures of modern tyranny.
Structured around ten qualities—among them, Be Pessimistic, Be Funny, Be Reckless, and Be Immortal—this illuminating, surprising book blends intellectual history, biography, and cultural criticism. It charts a dissident’s journey from the solitary moment of recognizing the truth, through the risks of speaking it, to the legacy that can outlast a life. What makes dissidents tick? And how might we change when we encounter them?
Urgent and inspiring, Beckerman’s book shows that dissidence is a human capacity we can all cultivate, a refusal to betray one’s inner voice, no matter the cost. In a polarized America and a world sliding toward authoritarianism, we need dissidents—not only the jailed and martyred, but also those of us who face small daily compromises of conscience. How to Be a Dissident lights the way.
How do we push back in a world where political leaders wield fear and intimidation? Where digital technology dehumanizes and flattens us? We need role models, and in this engaging book, acclaimed writer Gal Beckerman goes looking for them. Drawing on the stories of dissidents from around the globe and across time, from Socrates to Ai Weiwei, and thinkers like Hannah Arendt and Iris Murdoch, Beckerman reveals the defining characteristics these extraordinary figures share, a set of attributes and practices for anyone navigating the pressures of modern tyranny.
Structured around ten qualities—among them, Be Pessimistic, Be Funny, Be Reckless, and Be Immortal—this illuminating, surprising book blends intellectual history, biography, and cultural criticism. It charts a dissident’s journey from the solitary moment of recognizing the truth, through the risks of speaking it, to the legacy that can outlast a life. What makes dissidents tick? And how might we change when we encounter them?
Urgent and inspiring, Beckerman’s book shows that dissidence is a human capacity we can all cultivate, a refusal to betray one’s inner voice, no matter the cost. In a polarized America and a world sliding toward authoritarianism, we need dissidents—not only the jailed and martyred, but also those of us who face small daily compromises of conscience. How to Be a Dissident lights the way.
194 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 21, 2026
About the author
Gal Beckerman
10 books58 followersGal Beckerman is a writer and editor at The New York Times Book Review and a regular contributor to the New Republic and the Wall Street Journal. He has a PhD in media studies from Columbia University and is the author of the award-winning When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone, which was named a best book of the year by the New Yorker and the Washington Post. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 29, 2026
Perhaps the actual title is how to be a better human by examining the example of dissidents. A deeply humane, beautifully written meditation on the shared struggle of life and building a better world.
April 27, 2026
Pessimism is not fatalism. Fatalism is the belief that things will always necessarily be worse. Pessimism is the belief that things will probably get worse. Within that ‘probably,’ it opens up space for action.
I found a Substack immediately after finishing that takes Beckerman’s stance on how optimism can undermine urgency and enable passivity/cause us to wait for someone else to solve world problems. Recommend.
I found a Substack immediately after finishing that takes Beckerman’s stance on how optimism can undermine urgency and enable passivity/cause us to wait for someone else to solve world problems. Recommend.
April 20, 2026
How to Be a Dissident is a book about philosophy, finding your moral compass, and ultimately a reminder of all the people who have been fighting fascism across the centuries.
It’s structured around ten principles, not unlike the eight limbs of yogic practice or the Ten Commandments, ideals and philosophies to live by. Each principle is brought to life through the stories of dissident artists, agitators, ordinary people, protesters, and philosophers. Beckerman writes about people you may recognize and many you may never have heard of.
With the world feeling so precarious right now, there is comfort in encountering stories of resistance spanning two thousand years. This book offers a way to sit with yourself and define your morals. As Beckerman writes “Dissidents are taking seriously, and applying great imagination, to the task of being human.”
Thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for the eArc.
It’s structured around ten principles, not unlike the eight limbs of yogic practice or the Ten Commandments, ideals and philosophies to live by. Each principle is brought to life through the stories of dissident artists, agitators, ordinary people, protesters, and philosophers. Beckerman writes about people you may recognize and many you may never have heard of.
With the world feeling so precarious right now, there is comfort in encountering stories of resistance spanning two thousand years. This book offers a way to sit with yourself and define your morals. As Beckerman writes “Dissidents are taking seriously, and applying great imagination, to the task of being human.”
Thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for the eArc.
May 19, 2026
How to Be a Dissident
by Gal Beckerman
Thank you to Crown Publishing for the gifted copy 💛
⭐ 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This ended up being much more thoughtful and philosophical than I expected. Despite the title, it is not really a step-by-step “how to” guide. It feels more like a meditation on integrity, courage, resistance, and what it means to stay human in systems that pressure people toward silence and conformity.
What I appreciated most was how Beckerman strips away the myth of the dissident as some fearless superhero figure. The people discussed here are often anxious, isolated, flawed, funny, uncertain, and deeply human. The book argues that dissent is not usually one giant dramatic act, but a series of small choices not to betray yourself.
The structure around the ten qualities worked surprisingly well for me. “Be Pessimistic” especially stood out. The distinction between pessimism and fatalism felt important and oddly comforting in a difficult way. The book constantly pushes readers to sit with uncomfortable questions instead of avoiding them.
I also really liked the mix of philosophy, history, memoir-like reflection, and political analysis. From Socrates to Ai Weiwei to Hannah Arendt, the book creates this long thread of people wrestling with truth, power, fear, and morality across centuries.
What I Loved
• Thoughtful and deeply humane writing
• The focus on ordinary people making difficult choices
• Fascinating historical and philosophical connections
• Encourages self-reflection rather than easy answers
What Didn’t Fully Work for Me
• Less practical than the title suggests
• At times it felt more focused on individual morality than collective action
• Some sections became a little dense philosophically
Overall, How to Be a Dissident feels especially relevant right now. It is less about grand rebellion and more about protecting your ability to think honestly, question openly, and refuse to abandon your conscience even in small everyday moments. Quietly powerful and worth sitting with. 📚✨
by Gal Beckerman
Thank you to Crown Publishing for the gifted copy 💛
⭐ 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This ended up being much more thoughtful and philosophical than I expected. Despite the title, it is not really a step-by-step “how to” guide. It feels more like a meditation on integrity, courage, resistance, and what it means to stay human in systems that pressure people toward silence and conformity.
What I appreciated most was how Beckerman strips away the myth of the dissident as some fearless superhero figure. The people discussed here are often anxious, isolated, flawed, funny, uncertain, and deeply human. The book argues that dissent is not usually one giant dramatic act, but a series of small choices not to betray yourself.
The structure around the ten qualities worked surprisingly well for me. “Be Pessimistic” especially stood out. The distinction between pessimism and fatalism felt important and oddly comforting in a difficult way. The book constantly pushes readers to sit with uncomfortable questions instead of avoiding them.
I also really liked the mix of philosophy, history, memoir-like reflection, and political analysis. From Socrates to Ai Weiwei to Hannah Arendt, the book creates this long thread of people wrestling with truth, power, fear, and morality across centuries.
What I Loved
• Thoughtful and deeply humane writing
• The focus on ordinary people making difficult choices
• Fascinating historical and philosophical connections
• Encourages self-reflection rather than easy answers
What Didn’t Fully Work for Me
• Less practical than the title suggests
• At times it felt more focused on individual morality than collective action
• Some sections became a little dense philosophically
Overall, How to Be a Dissident feels especially relevant right now. It is less about grand rebellion and more about protecting your ability to think honestly, question openly, and refuse to abandon your conscience even in small everyday moments. Quietly powerful and worth sitting with. 📚✨
April 28, 2026
I don't really write reviews, but this book felt very different to the types of non-fiction I usually read, and I thought maybe I should try to say what I felt while reading this.
This isn’t really a “how to” book, despite the title. It’s not trying to teach you how to be brave. It’s trying to make you uncomfortable in the best way possible.
The core idea is simple but hits harder the more you sit with it. Dissidence doesn’t start with big, dramatic acts, but when the gap between what you believe and what you’re willing to say becomes too big to ignore.
What Beckerman does really well is strip away the mythology around dissidents. These aren’t heroic, larger-than-life figures. They’re anxious, inconsistent, sometimes funny, often alone. They hesitate. They’re normal. And they're all incredibly amazing. That’s what makes the book land. It forces you to realize that the difference isn’t some rare kind of courage, but a series of small decisions about when to stop going along with things you know are false.
The “qualities” structure (be pessimistic, be funny, be reckless, etc.) works better than it sounds. It ends up feeling less like a checklist and more like different ways of holding onto your sense of reality when it would be easier to let it slip.
If I had one critique, it’s that the book is very focused on the individual. It’s about that private moment of refusing to lie. That’s powerful, but it doesn’t fully answer what happens next or how that turns into collective change. Still, that feels almost intentional. The book isn’t about changing the world. It’s about whether you can live with yourself and how to be better about making uncomfortable choices and asking uncomfortable questions, even to yourself, in a world that allows avoidance of that and sometimes even punishes it. And that’s a much harder question than it sounds.
This isn’t really a “how to” book, despite the title. It’s not trying to teach you how to be brave. It’s trying to make you uncomfortable in the best way possible.
The core idea is simple but hits harder the more you sit with it. Dissidence doesn’t start with big, dramatic acts, but when the gap between what you believe and what you’re willing to say becomes too big to ignore.
What Beckerman does really well is strip away the mythology around dissidents. These aren’t heroic, larger-than-life figures. They’re anxious, inconsistent, sometimes funny, often alone. They hesitate. They’re normal. And they're all incredibly amazing. That’s what makes the book land. It forces you to realize that the difference isn’t some rare kind of courage, but a series of small decisions about when to stop going along with things you know are false.
The “qualities” structure (be pessimistic, be funny, be reckless, etc.) works better than it sounds. It ends up feeling less like a checklist and more like different ways of holding onto your sense of reality when it would be easier to let it slip.
If I had one critique, it’s that the book is very focused on the individual. It’s about that private moment of refusing to lie. That’s powerful, but it doesn’t fully answer what happens next or how that turns into collective change. Still, that feels almost intentional. The book isn’t about changing the world. It’s about whether you can live with yourself and how to be better about making uncomfortable choices and asking uncomfortable questions, even to yourself, in a world that allows avoidance of that and sometimes even punishes it. And that’s a much harder question than it sounds.
May 6, 2026
I was really taken by this book because it put into words things I had pondered about for a long time concerning how people react when asked to conform to something that goes against their conscience with potentially serious consequences if they don’t. It examines various individuals, well known and not, who are ultimately compelled by their moral commitment to humanity to act accordingly despite demands for their conformity. Their stories are fascinating and inspiring. The author’s discussions and reflections throughout the book gave me much to think about, and I appreciated his guidance about living as an individual in the current moment.
May 4, 2026
The stories are interesting. The writing is good.
The book is just terribly out of touch. You can tell that the author lives in a bubble where everyone is hive minded.
There is also hyperbole like "The America I am writing from finds itself facing the threat of an authoritarian form of government for the first time in its history." Hmmm. I can think of 4 or 5 times, two before our government had even solidified. Our current problems date back to more distant problems. Not recognizing that is what leads to the extremism that divides us now. It also guarentees that the root of the problem will not be uprooted.
#Goodreadsgiveaways
The book is just terribly out of touch. You can tell that the author lives in a bubble where everyone is hive minded.
There is also hyperbole like "The America I am writing from finds itself facing the threat of an authoritarian form of government for the first time in its history." Hmmm. I can think of 4 or 5 times, two before our government had even solidified. Our current problems date back to more distant problems. Not recognizing that is what leads to the extremism that divides us now. It also guarentees that the root of the problem will not be uprooted.
#Goodreadsgiveaways
May 18, 2026
Loved it. A heartening, thoughtful look not just at what it means to be a dissident and stand up against oppression of many stripes, but really at how to be a good person and nourish your interior life. Thought-provoking, inspiring examples from history that I loved learning about, including some figures that you think you know, but that Gal dissects.
May 8, 2026
incredible
An incredible book. I just finished and am about to start again from the beginning. It’s not a difficult book to read , and it’s not a long book, but is filled with stories about remarkable people, and encourages me to examine my own life more fully.
An incredible book. I just finished and am about to start again from the beginning. It’s not a difficult book to read , and it’s not a long book, but is filled with stories about remarkable people, and encourages me to examine my own life more fully.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Timely and so needed. A masterpiece of a guide and reflection in historical dissidents to make us feel less alone.
May 1, 2026
This book wasn't for me. Struggled to engage and connect. I can see how history buffs would enjoy this, I just thought by the title that this book would have gone another way.
May 2, 2026
This book is amazing! It really inspired me to to feel more empowered in the world that we’re living in!
May 19, 2026
Review soon...
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews