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How to Be a Dissident by Gal Beckerman

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How to Be a Dissident

Author
Gal Beckerman
Narrator
Gal Beckerman
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Publish Date
21 April 2026
Run Time
4 hours 59 minutes
Format
Audiobook
Genre
Pressure groups, protest movements and non-violent action, Social and political philosophy, Political activism / Political engagement, Biography: philosophy and social sciences, Collected biographies, Political structures / systems: autocracy, totalitarianism and dictatorship, Disinformation and misinformation

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What to expect

‘Invites us to learn from those more courageous than ourselves’ TIMOTHY SNYDER

‘Profound … feels essential in these times’ SARAH BAKEWELL

‘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.

‘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.

Critics Review

  • 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
See more reviews
  • ‘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 Children

User Reviews

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Details
Author
Gal Beckerman
Narrator
Gal Beckerman
Duration
4 hours 59 minutes
Release Date
21 April 2026
ISBN
9780008806507
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Genre
Pressure groups, protest movements and non-violent action, Social and political philosophy, Political activism / Political engagement, Biography: philosophy and social sciences, Collected biographies, Political structures / systems: autocracy, totalitarianism and dictatorship, Disinformation and misinformation

Synopsis

‘Invites us to learn from those more courageous than ourselves’ TIMOTHY SNYDER ‘Profound … feels essential in these times’ SARAH BAKEWELL ‘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. ‘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.

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