The Democracy Center On-Line
Volume 43 - March 30, 2002
ANNOUNCING!
THE DEMOCRACY OWNERS' MANUAL
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO CHANGING THE WORLD
(including free advocacy materials on-line)
New from The Democracy Center and Rutgers University Press
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Jim Shultz's manual shows how you can practice democracy
and participate in power while enjoying the experiences with your fellow
activists.
-Ralph Nader
Jim Shultz's book is a wonderful first step for anyone
who wants to be effective at protecting the environment, or fighting
for economic and social justice.
-Carl Pope, executive director,
Sierra Club
For parents and others who want to make a difference,
The Democracy Owner's Manual lights the way.
-Carol Ruley, past vice president,
National PTA
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Dear Readers,
It is with great pleasure that The Democracy Center announces the publication of its new comprehensive guide to citizen advocacy - "The Democracy Owners' Manual - A Practical Guide to Changing the World". Writing and publishing this book has been our primary project for three years. It is what the advocates we have trained, worldwide, have been asking for, for many years.
"The Democracy Owners' Manual", published by Rutgers University Press, is really two books in one. First, it covers the most basic debates that citizen advocates face - taxes and budgets, environmental protection, health reform, civil rights and more - offering readers a solid analysis and a preview of the arguments on both sides. Second, the book is a hands-on guide to the tools of citizen activism - strategy development, organizing, coalition building, lobbying, using the Internet and more - illustrated with dozens of real stories of advocacy in action.
"The Democracy Owners' Manual" is based on more than twenty years of leading advocacy campaigns and training activists, working with many of you who read this newsletter and with you directly in mind. Immigrants fighting for their rights, parents working to improve local schools, international activists challenging the injustices of globalization, advocates for health reform, environmentalists taking on big polluters - this book was written for you and in it you will find many of your own stories. The book is also a one-of-a-kind text, for university courses in political science, public health, urban studies, environmental studies, public administration, and other fields, based on my own teaching at San Francisco State University.
PREVIEW OR ORDER THE BOOK - PLUS FREE ADVOCACY MATERIALS
Please preview the book today at The Democracy Center's homepage. Here, in addition to a direct link to order the book on-line (at a special 20% discount for Democracy Center readers), you will also find a new set of free advocacy training materials and newsletter inserts which we just developed to accompany the book, and also a set of university curricula modules on policy and advocacy:
For those interested you can also read a new review of the book published last week in the Sacramento Bee:
http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/1936336p-2080977c.html
BOOK SIGNING EVENTS I will be coming to the U.S. for three book signing events for "The Democracy Owners' Manual". Please come!
* Washington, DC: Saturday, April 27th 6pm Politics and Prose Bookstore, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW [C-SPAN has contacted us about taping this event, if so we'll let you know when to watch.]
* San Francisco: June - details to be announced.
* Sacramento: June - details to be announced.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Please help spread the word and help us make the book a success. Here's how:
1) Buy the book!
2) Forward this announcement on to others who might be interested and post it with any list-serves that might be appropriate.
3) Consider writing a review of the book for a local newspaper, newsletter or on-line at Amazon.com.
4) Organizations and funders, consider buying multiple copies of the book to share with your members or grantees (quantity discounts available).
5) Pass this announcement on to college instructors who might be interested in using the book in their courses.
We hope that "The Democracy Owner's Manual" becomes a widely-used tool for progressive advocates for many years to come. Thank you for your help to make that happen. Happy reading,
Jim Shultz
The Democracy Center
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THE DEMOCRACY CENTER ON-LINE is an electronic publication of The Democracy Center, distributed on an occasional basis to more than 1800 nonprofit organizations, policy makers, journalists and others, throughout the US and worldwide. Please consider forwarding it along to those who might be interested. People can request to be added to the distribution list by sending an e-mail note to mailto: info@democracyctr.org. Newspapers and periodicals interested in reprinting or excerpting material in the newsletter should contact The Democracy Center at "info@democracyctr.org". Suggestions and comments are welcome. Past issues are available on The Democracy Center Web site.
THE DEMOCRACY CENTER
SAN FRANCISCO: P.O. Box 22157 San Francisco, CA 94122
BOLIVIA:
Casilla 5283, Cochabamba, Bolivia
TEL: (415) 564-4767
FAX: (978) 383-1269
WEB: http://www.democracyctr.org
E-MAIL: info@democracyctr.org