How to Be a Dissident
A Philosophy, a History, a Guide
Published on 4. June 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
208 pages
978-0-00-880647-7 (ISBN)
Description
'Invites us to learn from those more courageous than ourselves' TIMOTHY SNYDER
'Inspiring ... insightful'
NEW YORK TIMES
'This book reminded me how to be brave' RENI EDDO-LODGE
An invigorating guide to fighting back - part philosophy, part history and part how-to guide for living with integrity in an age of authoritarian drift.
How do we push back in a world where political leaders wield fear and where social media misinforms? We need role models to show us how, and here, acclaimed writer Gal Beckerman goes looking for them.
Drawing on the stories of dissidents from around the globe and across time, from Socrates to Ai Weiwei, and Hannah Arendt to Iris Murdoch, Beckerman reveals the defining characteristics these extraordinary figures share and how they might equip anyone navigating the pressures of modern tyranny.
Structured around ten qualities - among them, Be Pessimistic, Be Funny, Be Reckless and Be Immortal - this illuminating book charts a dissident's journey from the solitary moment of recognising the truth, through the risks of speaking it and on to the last impact they can have.
Urgent and inspiring, Beckerman shows us that dissidence is a human capacity that we can all cultivate: a refusal to betray one's inner voice, no matter how great the forces around us. How to Be a Dissident lights the way.
'Profound ... feels essential in these times' SARAH BAKEWELL, author of How To Live
'The book everyone needs NOW!' DANIEL KEHLMANN, author of The Director
'Urgent, wise, and immensely compelling ... Everyone should read this book' CLAIRE MESSUD, author of The Emperor's Children
'A sharp, cogent analysis of what dissidents really do to fight repressive regimes' ANNE APPLEBAUM, author of Autocracy, Inc.
'Inspiring ... insightful'
NEW YORK TIMES
'This book reminded me how to be brave' RENI EDDO-LODGE
An invigorating guide to fighting back - part philosophy, part history and part how-to guide for living with integrity in an age of authoritarian drift.
How do we push back in a world where political leaders wield fear and where social media misinforms? We need role models to show us how, and here, acclaimed writer Gal Beckerman goes looking for them.
Drawing on the stories of dissidents from around the globe and across time, from Socrates to Ai Weiwei, and Hannah Arendt to Iris Murdoch, Beckerman reveals the defining characteristics these extraordinary figures share and how they might equip anyone navigating the pressures of modern tyranny.
Structured around ten qualities - among them, Be Pessimistic, Be Funny, Be Reckless and Be Immortal - this illuminating book charts a dissident's journey from the solitary moment of recognising the truth, through the risks of speaking it and on to the last impact they can have.
Urgent and inspiring, Beckerman shows us that dissidence is a human capacity that we can all cultivate: a refusal to betray one's inner voice, no matter how great the forces around us. How to Be a Dissident lights the way.
'Profound ... feels essential in these times' SARAH BAKEWELL, author of How To Live
'The book everyone needs NOW!' DANIEL KEHLMANN, author of The Director
'Urgent, wise, and immensely compelling ... Everyone should read this book' CLAIRE MESSUD, author of The Emperor's Children
'A sharp, cogent analysis of what dissidents really do to fight repressive regimes' ANNE APPLEBAUM, author of Autocracy, Inc.
Reviews / Votes
Praise for How to be a Dissident: 'An inspiring tour of famous renegades with lessons for the rabble-rousers of today ... The book's stories are compellingly rendered, imparting clear and moving lessons or posing interesting moral challenges and ambiguities, especially when coupled with Beckerman's insightful commentary' New York Times Book Review 'This book reminded me how to be brave. Through galvanising storytelling, it shows how change so often begins with people who act with courage and conscience before they know what their actions will set in motion' Reni Eddo-Lodge, author of Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race 'One way to change the world is to be yourself. This is harder than it sounds. Gal Beckerman, one of our most thoughtful commentators on the soul of politics, appealingly invites us to learn from those more courageous than ourselves' Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny 'A beautiful, profound book, rich in examples. It helped me to think more clearly, to feel heartened, and to focus on what is most important - all of which feels essential in these times' Sarah Bakewell, author of How to Live 'A sharp, cogent analysis of what dissidents really do to fight repressive regimes, with essential advice for anyone who wants to join them' Anne Applebaum, author of Autocracy, Inc. 'The book everyone needs NOW!' Daniel Kehlmann, author of The Director '[Beckerman] unpacks dissent as a kind of rough art. His book is both an instruction guide and a prime' Los Angeles Times 'Urgent, wise, and immensely compelling ... illuminates an inspiring gallery of history's independent thinkers, their lives both reassurance and exhortation in these challenging times. Everyone should read this book' Claire Messud, author of The Emperor's ChildrenMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
With flaps
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
198 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-880647-7 (9780008806477)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Gal Beckerman is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas, a New York Times notable book, and When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry, which won the Sami Rohr Prize. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many other publications. He has a PhD from Columbia University and lives in Brooklyn, New York.