Dignity and Defiance - by James Shultz & Melissa Draper (Paperback)

About the Book

""Dignity and Defiance" forces the abstract and sanitized theory of globalization to get down and dirty in the real world: in the oil spills, the coca fields, the border crossings, the political massacres. This is the little-known story of a people that has dared to fight back against the most powerful economic forces on the planet, told by writers with the courage to dig relentlessly for the truth and the humility to stand back and let their subjects speak for themselves. Enraging, unsparing, inspiring."--Naomi Klein, author of "The Shock Doctrine"
"These essays illuminate, with consistently careful attention to detail and nuance, just how badly the neoliberal economic regime has served one poor Andean nation. They also suggest, some explicitly, some by implication, what more democratic and humane development might look like."--Bill Finnegan, correspondent, "Leasing the Rain"
"Shultz and Draper have done what they do best: with a soul like a Bolivian, they not only feel and live the Bolivian world, they use their writing to tell stories about the place they have made their home: Bolivia. Those who need proof will find it reading these pages, which capture the experience of Bolivia's challenge to globalization."--Gustavo Guzman, Ambassador of Bolivia to the United States

Book Synopsis

Dignity and Defiance is a powerful, eyewitness account of Bolivia's decade-long rebellion against globalization imposed from abroad. Based on extensive interviews, this story comes alive with first-person accounts of a massive Enron/Shell oil spill from an elderly woman whose livelihood it threatens, of the young people who stood down a former dictator to take back control of their water, and of Bolivia's dramatic and successful challenge to the policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Featuring a substantial introduction, a conclusion, and introductions to each of the chapters, this well-crafted mix of storytelling and analysis is a rich portrait of people calling for global integration to be different than it has been: more fair and more just.

From the Back Cover

"Dignity and Defiance forces the abstract and sanitized theory of globalization to get down and dirty in the real world: in the oil spills, the coca fields, the border crossings, the political massacres. This is the little-known story of a people that has dared to fight back against the most powerful economic forces on the planet, told by writers with the courage to dig relentlessly for the truth and the humility to stand back and let their subjects speak for themselves. Enraging, unsparing, inspiring."--Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine

"These essays illuminate, with consistently careful attention to detail and nuance, just how badly the neoliberal economic regime has served one poor Andean nation. They also suggest, some explicitly, some by implication, what more democratic and humane development might look like."--Bill Finnegan, correspondent, Leasing the Rain

"Shultz and Draper have done what they do best: with a soul like a Bolivian, they not only feel and live the Bolivian world, they use their writing to tell stories about the place they have made their home: Bolivia. Those who need proof will find it reading these pages, which capture the experience of Bolivia's challenge to globalization."--Gustavo Guzmán, Ambassador of Bolivia to the United States

Review Quotes

"For those interested in social justice, the book is well worth a read."--Carolina Saez "Law Society Journal" (4/1/2009 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Jim Shultz is Executive Director and Melissa Crane Draper is Assistant Director of the Democracy Center.