History shows us that the major gains in American life - around civil rights, labor rights, securing women the vote - come not so much from the politicians that haggle over the endgame of reform, but rather social movements from below, who put these issues on the map, and force action around them.

Mark and Paul Engler survey half a century of political progress to explain how rights and freedoms are seized by activists, not granted by politicians, and why claiming the future we want - from climate action to economic equality - requires an understanding of past protest actions, and a renewed commitment to organization, innovation and nonviolent confrontation.

Mark and Paul wrote the new book This is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt Is Shaping the Twenty-First Century from Public Affairs Books.