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Rules for Revolutionaries: How Big Organizing Can Change Everything
Lessons from the groundbreaking grassroots campaign that helped launch a new political revolution
Rules for Revolutionaries is a bold challenge to the political establishment and the “rules” that govern campaign strategy.
It tells the story of a breakthrough experiment conducted on the fringes of the Bernie Sanders presidential A technology-driven team empowered volunteers to build and manage the infrastructure to make seventy-five million calls, launch eight million text messages, and hold more than one-hundred thousand public meetings—in an effort to put Bernie Sanders’s insurgent campaign over the top.
Bond and Exley, digital iconoclasts who have been reshaping the way politics is practiced in America for two decades, have identified twenty-two rules of “Big Organizing” that can be used to drive social change movements of any kind. And they tell the inside story of one of the most amazing grassroots political campaigns ever run.
Fast-paced, provocative, and profound, Rules for Revolutionaries stands as a liberating challenge to the low expectations and small thinking that dominates too many advocacy, non-profit, and campaigning organizations—and points the way forward to a future where political revolution is truly possible.
Rules for Revolutionaries is a bold challenge to the political establishment and the “rules” that govern campaign strategy.
It tells the story of a breakthrough experiment conducted on the fringes of the Bernie Sanders presidential A technology-driven team empowered volunteers to build and manage the infrastructure to make seventy-five million calls, launch eight million text messages, and hold more than one-hundred thousand public meetings—in an effort to put Bernie Sanders’s insurgent campaign over the top.
Bond and Exley, digital iconoclasts who have been reshaping the way politics is practiced in America for two decades, have identified twenty-two rules of “Big Organizing” that can be used to drive social change movements of any kind. And they tell the inside story of one of the most amazing grassroots political campaigns ever run.
Fast-paced, provocative, and profound, Rules for Revolutionaries stands as a liberating challenge to the low expectations and small thinking that dominates too many advocacy, non-profit, and campaigning organizations—and points the way forward to a future where political revolution is truly possible.
227 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 18, 2016
168 people are currently reading
1825 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
May 28, 2017
I give this 3 stars from my own perspective of organizing, not necessarily the book itself.
The book goes into interesting depth around what was tried and the risks taken in the Bernie campaign. It's exciting to hear about what it looks like to trust the people on the ground.
Where I take away stars is in the glorification of sacrifice for the campaign. There are a lot of statements like "we only gave 2 hours notice for calls because really you want the people who are more available" or "we wanted people who were willing to travel around the state on their own dime" that frustrate me as someone who works to increase voter participation in low income areas. Who are this people who can respond to a conference call invite by email 2 hours before? Probably not low-wage workers, parents who have to deal with child care, etc. These people can be incredibly powerful, and so im not thrilled there's a "how-to" book that so clearly doesn't consider the many voices that will be part of the revolution.
The book goes into interesting depth around what was tried and the risks taken in the Bernie campaign. It's exciting to hear about what it looks like to trust the people on the ground.
Where I take away stars is in the glorification of sacrifice for the campaign. There are a lot of statements like "we only gave 2 hours notice for calls because really you want the people who are more available" or "we wanted people who were willing to travel around the state on their own dime" that frustrate me as someone who works to increase voter participation in low income areas. Who are this people who can respond to a conference call invite by email 2 hours before? Probably not low-wage workers, parents who have to deal with child care, etc. These people can be incredibly powerful, and so im not thrilled there's a "how-to" book that so clearly doesn't consider the many voices that will be part of the revolution.
January 31, 2018
Really interesting book about organizing political campaigns. It's at times too nuts and bolty if you're not in the middle of a campaign now. It's also a bit condescending at times to anyone who wasn't woke enough to vote Sanders during the primary. But in all, it's useful and I think probably right about what it takes to win elections.
February 6, 2017
Running through this book is a whiny jeremiad about why Bernie Sanders should have won because he had this great system of empowering volunteers so he should have won why didn't he win its not fair!
But if you can overcome that tone, the book really is a very good handbook about how you can set up a Bernie-like organization, in which volunteers are empowered to organize other volunteers into teams controlled from above, but working at a grass roots level.
But if you can overcome that tone, the book really is a very good handbook about how you can set up a Bernie-like organization, in which volunteers are empowered to organize other volunteers into teams controlled from above, but working at a grass roots level.
January 2, 2018
A friend sent this to me to read on my laptop (yuck) so I felt like I had to plod through all of it in case there was anything useful for an upcoming campaign. There was not.
It is repetitive. It could have been a useful magazine article for the amount of good information. A lot of it is how they found so-and-so to do this wonderful part they were perfectly equipped for and later some of them were put on staff, not in any way helpful.
It is repetitive. It could have been a useful magazine article for the amount of good information. A lot of it is how they found so-and-so to do this wonderful part they were perfectly equipped for and later some of them were put on staff, not in any way helpful.
October 23, 2017
I grabbed this book at the library after a "how teens can become politically active" meeting. I was hoping to have some solid tips for how to run a campaign and get work done, however most of these tips were fairly basic and I already knew most of them. I ended up just reading the headers but I would definitely recommend this to a future presidential candidate.
May 21, 2017
This is a fascinating inside look at one aspect of the Bernie Sanders run for the Democratic nomination for President. It doesn't pretend to analyse the whole campaign strategy, simply focussing on the part of the campaign that the authors were part of - the attempt to recruit and use the energy of the thousands of volunteers who responded to Bernie Sander's candidacy.
The authors show how their volunteer engagement was built, often making it up as they took each step, often in response to the next challenge.
The book is refreshing, as it doesn't try to contrast and criticise the other campaigning techniques used by the alternative candidates on either left or right. Rather the book offers an reflection on what grassroots organising can offer a mainstream campaign. As they suggest, next time hopefully a candidate considering a run for the nomination will learn these lessons and implement them at an earlier stage, and maybe get further.
But the book has a larger context than just the Sanders campaign. It suggests 22 'rules' any campaign seeking to harness volunteer support can apply. It is a useful contribution to the toolbox any community organiser should have. The penultimate chapter reflects on the various social media and open source software apps and tools that they used, but as Zack Exley notes, by the time the next campaign starts the tools will have developed and there will be new combinations to try.
Although set within the specific constraints of a presidential nomination campaign, the interesting challenge for the authors and readers, is how these rules will translate into different settings. How successfully they can be used in non-US politics is also of interest. While crowdfunding is a growing means of raising money for U.K. political campaigns, some of the wider lessons of volunteer engagement are still to be tried.
The authors show how their volunteer engagement was built, often making it up as they took each step, often in response to the next challenge.
The book is refreshing, as it doesn't try to contrast and criticise the other campaigning techniques used by the alternative candidates on either left or right. Rather the book offers an reflection on what grassroots organising can offer a mainstream campaign. As they suggest, next time hopefully a candidate considering a run for the nomination will learn these lessons and implement them at an earlier stage, and maybe get further.
But the book has a larger context than just the Sanders campaign. It suggests 22 'rules' any campaign seeking to harness volunteer support can apply. It is a useful contribution to the toolbox any community organiser should have. The penultimate chapter reflects on the various social media and open source software apps and tools that they used, but as Zack Exley notes, by the time the next campaign starts the tools will have developed and there will be new combinations to try.
Although set within the specific constraints of a presidential nomination campaign, the interesting challenge for the authors and readers, is how these rules will translate into different settings. How successfully they can be used in non-US politics is also of interest. While crowdfunding is a growing means of raising money for U.K. political campaigns, some of the wider lessons of volunteer engagement are still to be tried.
November 19, 2021
My three positives and a negative because the world needs more positivity:
+ interesting behind-the-scenes insights into the Bernie Sanders campaign (even though the authors specifically said the book would not be focused on his run)
+ I loved the idea that change is possible and will invariably come from grassroots activists like those mentioned throughout the book
+ the book gives some practical tips on how to run a campaign, some ideas that should be included in political social change, and even managerial leading practices. There was even a chapter shout-out to nurses and how awesome they are
- that said, the fact that the book covers the gambit of a how-to and a recap is it's biggest negative for me. One of my book clubbers summarized it best - the book was clumsy. A bit all over the place
+ interesting behind-the-scenes insights into the Bernie Sanders campaign (even though the authors specifically said the book would not be focused on his run)
+ I loved the idea that change is possible and will invariably come from grassroots activists like those mentioned throughout the book
+ the book gives some practical tips on how to run a campaign, some ideas that should be included in political social change, and even managerial leading practices. There was even a chapter shout-out to nurses and how awesome they are
- that said, the fact that the book covers the gambit of a how-to and a recap is it's biggest negative for me. One of my book clubbers summarized it best - the book was clumsy. A bit all over the place
August 6, 2025
funktioniert gut als case study zur bernie-kampagne 2016 mit einigen wirklich spannenden insights und learning, funktioniert weniger gut als tatsächliches regelbuch, vor allem nicht für revolutionen (ein bisschen absurd, eine präsidentschaftskampagne als revolution zu bezeichnen und manchmal wirklich fast peinlich, wie viel sie sich auf ihr organizing einbilden (aber who am i to judge)). im endeffekt auf jeden Fall einige spannende denkanstöße mitgenommen, aber nicht die erhoffte richtungsweisende erkenntnis in a time like this…
March 7, 2019
The same rules that apply to creating a revolution that are presented in this book can be applied to doing anything big: getting a PhD, raising a family, running a business, writing a book—you get the idea. Good “how to” on scaling a political campaign no matter your ideology. Recommend!
April 22, 2017
A thoroughly enjoyable read. For anyone that is curious about the inner workings of political campaigns or even worse anyone who is thinking about getting involved in a political campaign; this book is a must read.
October 7, 2024
not exactly what i needed to read rn but will hopefully have useful nuggets when i do need it
August 19, 2025
Easy read and some interesting stories and details for organizing
December 31, 2020
An amazing and inspiring book that I loved more for the stories from the 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign than the actual rules. Nevertheless, a must read for political people, who (aim to) organise.
March 17, 2023
I can see why many people recommend this bookand I'm glad for more context, but I'm not sure it's anything special
Read
March 2, 2017Written by Bernie campaign staffers, parts of this book were great for jumping on an activist plane and building it while we were flying it. Volunteer organizations are a different beast in many ways from a for-profit corporation, and while there are similarities, it was helpful to explore how new technology can pull a grassroots, geographically dispersed effort together. I'm sure I'll return to this one in the future.
February 15, 2019
I thought this was pretty good. I tried to be charitable with the Bernie stuff because I don't really buy the idea that it was revolutionary or radical or all that. The book is clearly written from a perspective that sees sweeping in large numbers of volunteers into that project to do voter contact and so on as a high point of politics. But it was pretty interesting to see how they thought about these problems and I could skim the parts I didn't care about. The organizers clearly thought in a statistical way, trying to approximate good outcomes at each stage instead of perfection and trying to create certain loops of actions to maximize results. People who don't like that sort of campaigning still have to admit that it's how things usually happen in electoral politics, and how organizers see them. Like you're just one voter ID file that says you're annoying or something, you're not that important in the grand scheme of things. That's humbling and good.
December 15, 2016
Bond and Exley have relevant suggestions for organizing and a great deal of experience to learn from. However, many of the chapters were unnecessarily long and repetitive or went into overly technical stories with plenty of name-dropping. For instance, I didn't actually need to know about the web-based dialers used for calling voters. The entire book probably would have been more effective if it was made more concise. The essential points could have been expressed clearly in 50 or so pages (and disseminated more effectively). Still, the points the authors made about organizing are valid.
February 9, 2017
An interesting read, but much more of a post mortem on Bernie's volunteer-driven field efforts than a roadmap for future organizing. The authors seem to discount the enthusiasm that existed for Bernie as something we will see in other campaigns, and I'm not so sure that will be the case. More about harnessing enthusiasm for maximum impact than creating enthusiasm, which is so often a bigger challenge.
August 13, 2019
Insightful book for everyone interested in the rise of Bernie Sanders, and everyone willing to learn how to use technologies (and especially a volunteer organization) to build a movement. At times too much 'marketeer' talk (lot's of repetition of the same message: volunteers are important). This is not an analytical book, but a book wanting to convince people (on the left) to organize a movement where 'normal' people play a crucial role.
March 4, 2017
Ahhh I loved this book. So many thoughts and ideas and feelings and questions. Can't wait to get back to work on Monday to start sharing these rules and figuring out how we can implement these ideas! Very grateful that they took the time to write this down and turn it around so quickly. Inspiring stuff.
April 18, 2018
This is for my Read Harder 2018 Challenge Task #14 - A book of social science. This is book 3 for this category.
This is a fantastic guide to organizing on a grand and chaotic scale. I hope that revolutions and campaigns will take it and use it.
This is a fantastic guide to organizing on a grand and chaotic scale. I hope that revolutions and campaigns will take it and use it.
February 17, 2017
An aggravating waste of time, what is instructive & useful would have fit into 5 or 6 pages. What is engaging & amusing was entirely omitted. This is a self-serving work of functionaries on the make. I hope they're better campaign staffers than they are writers.
May 10, 2017
The book lays out an effective strategy and set of rules to organize, but it was heavy on Bernie anecdotes. It seemed to chronicle the Bernie campaign and go less on helpful techniques for organizing.
March 30, 2017
They really should have waited until they had finished grieving Bernie Sanders losing the nomination. He's mentioned on every page, about how great and perfect everything he and his campaign did. It gets obnoxious, and undermines their premise that big organizing works.
April 29, 2019
To be fair, I mostly skimmed this. Certainly has good information for folks trying to organize. Also feels a bit like a forty year old man reliving the glory days of quarterbacking his high school football team.
September 5, 2019
Volunteers are good. Eat your own dogfood. People with political experience can't be revolutionaries.
Not a terrible book, but not all that insightful either. Very little time is spent on actual tactics most people could use for organizing.
Not a terrible book, but not all that insightful either. Very little time is spent on actual tactics most people could use for organizing.
December 15, 2016
Brilliant
A brilliant reflection and analysis with clear and concise ideas for building upon the Bernie campaign successes. Moving and inspirational.
A brilliant reflection and analysis with clear and concise ideas for building upon the Bernie campaign successes. Moving and inspirational.
March 14, 2017
Alright book. Some helpful suggestions. Could have been half as long.
September 14, 2017
I don't do a lot of this style of organizing anymore, but for those who do, this has some critical lessons about how to build and empower political coalitions.
January 3, 2021
Ett måste för alla politiskt aktiva eller intresserade att läsa
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews