For those trying to understand the upsurging popular resistance against established authority in 21st century America, Scott McNall’s Cultures of Defiance and Resistance is a "must read" book. He masterfully investigates "the Antis," which are new social movements from the left, right, and center of the ideological spectrum who resist almost any form of cultural, economic, governmental, scientific, and social authority. From anti-vaxxers to Black Lives Matter, or climate change denialists to the Sagebrush Rebellion, his analysis carefully explores how these new groups create identities, build communities, and mobilize resources for their defiant networks of opposition in an era that all too often seems meaningless, oppressive, and exploitative. - Timothy W. Luke, University Distinguished Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityMcNall’s book will be the indispensable resource for Sociology courses in Social Movements, Social Problems, Political Sociology, and more. Students in my Social Movements class read pre-published chapters and found them to be provocative, well-sourced, memorable, and especially useful to their understanding of current and past events and movements. Highly recommended. - Janja Lalich, Ph.D., Professor Emerita of Sociology, Author of Escaping Utopia: Growing Up in a Cult, Getting Out, and Starting OverScott McNall, building on his work on social movements, and well known for his Rapid Climate Change, The Business of Sustainability, and The Problem of Social Inequality, has done it again in Cultures of Defiance and Resistance. Guided by a social movement theoretical framework, McNall provides a cogent analysis of important recent events such as 1999 Seattle WTO protests, Occupy Wall Street, the Tea Party, Black Lives Matter, right-wing movements, and the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. In addition to presenting the key social and historical contexts, he captures a lively ethnography of these events. In the concluding chapter on how to organize I especially liked the practical links to organizations provided, and his analysis of the limits of social media. A compelling and motivating read for sociology and political science courses. - Jeffrey A. Halley, The University of Texas at San AntonioThe current administration would have us believe that all problems facing us are simple and their solutions even simpler. With his book, Cultures of Defiance and Resistance: Social Movements in 21st Century America, Scott G. McNall lays out for us means by which the informed reader can access the complexity of problems facing us. Of equal, and maybe greater importance, McNall addresses the plurality, and often conflicting components, of proposed solutions offered from a wide range of interest groups. He accomplishes this without being didactic—informing, but leaving space for readers to find their own space. - James W. McManus, Professor Emeritus Art History, California State University, ChicoScott McNall has written an important, timely, and innovative book that allows us to understand the social, political, and economic factors that have divided the country and given rise to a range of new movements on both the left and right. He clearly portrays the dynamics of movements driven by anger, anxiety, and fear that serve to enhance peoples’ sense of self-worth and belonging. He also explains what it will take for a progressive movement to succeed in today's political climate. - Kay Schaffer, Dean and Professor Emerita, Oregon State University
