One Week to Change the World - by Dw Gibson (Paperback)

About the Book

"One week in late 1999, more than 50,000 people converged on Seattle. Their goal: to shut down the World Trade Organization conference and send a message that working-class people would not quietly accept the runaway economic globalization that threatened their livelihoods. Though their mission succeeded, it was not without blowback. Violent confrontations between police and protestors resulted in hundreds of arrests and millions of dollars in property damage. But the images of tear gas and smashed windows that flashed across TVs and newspapers were not an accurate representation of what actually happened that week"--

Book Synopsis

The definitive history of Seattle's 1999 World Trade Organization protests, featuring over 100 original interviews and timed to the event's twenty-fifth anniversary.

One week in late 1999, more than 50,000 people converged on Seattle. Their goal: to shut down the World Trade Organization conference and send a message that working-class people would not quietly accept the runaway economic globalization that threatened their livelihoods. Though their mission succeeded, it was not without blowback. Violent confrontations between police and protestors resulted in hundreds of arrests and millions of dollars in property damage. But the images of tear gas and smashed windows that flashed across TVs and newspapers were not an accurate representation of what actually happened that week.

In the oral history One Week to Change the World, award-winning journalist DW Gibson pieces together a complex and compelling account of what really went down in Seattle, immersing you in the angst that defined the end of a millennium, complete with fight clubs and Y2K doomsday scenarios. In more than 100 original interviews with protestors, police, politicians, anarchists, artists, activists, union members, and many others, Gibson reconstructs the events in gripping detail; documents its antecedents and aftermath; and shows how so many of its themes remain just as pressing today, including the vitalness and difficulty of grassroots activism, the aspirations and limitations of globalization, the militarization of policing, the sensationalism of the media, and the undeniable power of the people.

Timed to the 25th anniversary of the protests, this book is a page-turning drama, an essential history, and a practical handbook for how to make one's voice heard.

Review Quotes

"Reads like a political thriller." --Chandler Dandrige, Jacobin

"Put aside what you know about the 'Battle of Seattle' and pick up this exciting, myth-busting account. Essential for activists and organizers."
--Malcolm Harris, author of Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World

"This jigsaw puzzle of voices brings to life this turning point in the consolidation of world capital and the players who saw it coming. DW Gibson draws on an unpredcitably wide range of personalities and perspectives to capture the events and illuminate their meaning."
--Sarah Schulman, author of the Lambda Literary Award winner Let the Record Show: A Political History of Act Up New York, 1987-1993

"A readable, provocative study of globalism and anti-globalism in conflict."
--Kirkus Reviews