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All the Power: Revolution Without Illusion
Mark Andersen has been D.C.’s leading grassroots political activist/organizer for the past 20 years. Here, he offers guidance for young activists and also shatters the illusions that underpin much “radical” political activity.
Mark Andersen is the co-author of Dance of Two Decades of Punk in the Nation’s Capital (Akashic, 2003). He is outreach coordinator for Emmaus Services for the Aging, an advocacy group that assists inner-city seniors in Washington, D.C. He remains active with Positive Force D.C., Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive, Women’s Advocates to Terminate Sexism (WATTS), as well as with the parish council and justice & service committee of St. Aloysius Catholic Church. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Mark Andersen is the co-author of Dance of Two Decades of Punk in the Nation’s Capital (Akashic, 2003). He is outreach coordinator for Emmaus Services for the Aging, an advocacy group that assists inner-city seniors in Washington, D.C. He remains active with Positive Force D.C., Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive, Women’s Advocates to Terminate Sexism (WATTS), as well as with the parish council and justice & service committee of St. Aloysius Catholic Church. He lives in Washington, D.C.
- GenresPolitics
250 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2004
3 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Mark Andersen
4 books20 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Mark Andersen is a punk rock activist and author who lives in Washington D.C.. He was born and raised in rural Montana, and moved to Washington D.C. in 1984 to attend graduate school at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Andersen co-founded of the punk activist organization Positive Force D.C. in 1985. He is the director of the We Are Family Group, a division of Washington, DC's Northwest Settlement house. In 2006, Andersen founded "We are Family" a senior outreach network of Northwest Settlement House. "We Are Family" serves seniors in the Shaw, North Capitol Street and Columbia Heights neighborhoods of Washington, DC. They aspire to bring advocacy, services, organizing, and companionship into the homes of the elderly, while helping to build friendships across boundaries like race, class, religion, age, culture, and sexual orientation.
He is the author of two books, Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capitol (2001) and All The Power: Revolution Without Illusion (2004).
Mark Andersen is a punk rock activist and author who lives in Washington D.C.. He was born and raised in rural Montana, and moved to Washington D.C. in 1984 to attend graduate school at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Andersen co-founded of the punk activist organization Positive Force D.C. in 1985. He is the director of the We Are Family Group, a division of Washington, DC's Northwest Settlement house. In 2006, Andersen founded "We are Family" a senior outreach network of Northwest Settlement House. "We Are Family" serves seniors in the Shaw, North Capitol Street and Columbia Heights neighborhoods of Washington, DC. They aspire to bring advocacy, services, organizing, and companionship into the homes of the elderly, while helping to build friendships across boundaries like race, class, religion, age, culture, and sexual orientation.
He is the author of two books, Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capitol (2001) and All The Power: Revolution Without Illusion (2004).
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 19, 2010
This book would probably have gotten more stars if I was younger and/or had any sort of affinity with the punk scene. This is a thoughtful and thought-provoking commentary on radical action in the United States in the past few decades. While I think the audience Andersen is reaching out to is more idealistic and purist than myself, and some of his conclusions come off as kind of smarmy, I appreciated his overall message that we must be very critical (while not crippling ourselves) of the organizing, activities, and lifestyles we engage in as radicals and how that relates to society in general.
One of my only issues with this book was its treatment of the Weather Underground and the question of violence as a means of radical struggle. Andersen prefaces his discussion about violence with the thesis that "the fundamental question is what will work in practical terms". He then examines the tactics and actions of the Weathermen and the Weather Underground (battles with police, going underground, the botched military club bombing, and a series of clandestine bombings of other facilities). While I think his critique of the WUO is valuable for radicals today, he goes further and tends towards chiding them for what they did and seems to point out their actions as obviously wrongheaded. Monday morning quarterbacking weakens his arguments and does not help the author make his point.
Overall a solid book.
One of my only issues with this book was its treatment of the Weather Underground and the question of violence as a means of radical struggle. Andersen prefaces his discussion about violence with the thesis that "the fundamental question is what will work in practical terms". He then examines the tactics and actions of the Weathermen and the Weather Underground (battles with police, going underground, the botched military club bombing, and a series of clandestine bombings of other facilities). While I think his critique of the WUO is valuable for radicals today, he goes further and tends towards chiding them for what they did and seems to point out their actions as obviously wrongheaded. Monday morning quarterbacking weakens his arguments and does not help the author make his point.
Overall a solid book.
June 15, 2007
A very thoughtful analysis of both how and why punks and radicals do what they do and how they go about doing it. Then Mark posses the hardest question: Are they going about it the right way?
That Mark Anderson clearly knows his shit becomes clear as he shows intimiate knowledge of both the music and culture of radicals (like the fate of Bad Brains and what to draw from that) and theories from the more heavyweight intellectuals (quotes from Audre Lorde and bell hooks are not uncommon). But this is not an academic piece. Personal experiences are analyzed as well as historical moments.
This is easily the most coherent and thoughtful discussion I've read on the contempory radical movement/culture. I recommend it to anybody who has either heard Bad Religion or The Clash or to anybody who simply wants to change the world and is under the age of thirty.
That Mark Anderson clearly knows his shit becomes clear as he shows intimiate knowledge of both the music and culture of radicals (like the fate of Bad Brains and what to draw from that) and theories from the more heavyweight intellectuals (quotes from Audre Lorde and bell hooks are not uncommon). But this is not an academic piece. Personal experiences are analyzed as well as historical moments.
This is easily the most coherent and thoughtful discussion I've read on the contempory radical movement/culture. I recommend it to anybody who has either heard Bad Religion or The Clash or to anybody who simply wants to change the world and is under the age of thirty.
September 1, 2007
this is one of the best common-sense insights into our many problems and potentials i have ever read. the prose is a bit awkward at times (only adds to the charm?) and the political theory is probably likewise to serious academics, but i found it completely honest and hard-working toward a sincere and admirable goal.
June 15, 2007
hey he's my boss, right? :)
July 30, 2017
read this now
March 30, 2012
A book that has caused me to keep coming back to some of the ideas expressed by author Mark Andersen. well worth reading.
January 10, 2015
Give this book to your young political punk friends.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews