We are living through a tidal wave of protests and activism in America. These movements sometimes seem to spring from nowhere, but beneath them all is a deeper river of social change work known as organizing.

Author of the celebrated A History of American in Ten Strikes (a Kirkus Reviews best book of 2018), Erik Loomis uncovers a rich and revealing history by turning to stories about key organizers throughout America’s past. In twenty short biographies, Organizing America shows how one movement has influenced another over time—and how the movement leaders’ personal histories influenced them toward changing the world. A chronological story with a vast sweep, Organizing America considers a cross section of social justice activists across time, race, gender, and movement, examining lives as varied as Benjamin Lay, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Eugene V. Debs, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Bob Moses, Saul Alinsky, Yuri Kochiyama, Harvey Milk, Alicia Garza, Bill McKibben, and many more. The result is a history of the United States viewed through some of its most important changemakers.

With an introduction that explains what organizing is and how collective action works, Loomis sets a tone that is both practical and historical—providing context and inspiration for anyone seeking to step into the work of social change in America.