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When the Revolution Comes

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What to expect

The outrageous, jaw-dropping true story of the man who took on a corporate giant – and won.

A dedicated and experienced Amazon employee, Chris Smalls had begun to feel frustrated by the inner workings of the retail giant – he kept being passed over for promotion, with little to no explanation. So when his colleagues and friends began falling ill in the Covid pandemic, and with no assurances of safety or even sick leave from the top, he made the only choice left available to him. He staged a walkout with friend Derrick Palmer, eventually finding himself on the picket line without a job.

What began as a demand to keep essential employees safe in a crisis would grow into a movement devoted to achieving dignity and security for the wage worker, triggering a groundswell of organizers at Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, Apple – and across the world. We follow Smalls’s years of sacrifice and economic uncertainty as a father of three, from fighting warehouse managerial politics in an effort to make ends meet, to his ascension as the leader of a new generation’s labour movement.

When the Revolution Comes is the riveting inside story of how a young Black man from Hackensack, NJ with little-to-no resources led a scrappy band of Staten Island warehouse workers in an improbable fight against Amazon to create its first Labor Union. An exposé of life lived in the laboratory of capitalism and a terrifying depiction of what it’s like to be working class in America, this book tells a new, empowering story of what is possible when the overworked, underpaid and disempowered join together, forming a movement born in community.

'In an age of cloud serfdom, Chris Smalls is Prometheus unbound. His book is our instruction manual for cutting Amazon’s knot and reclaiming hope and dignity' YANIS VAROUFAKIS

© Chris Smalls 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

Critics Review

When the Revolution Comes is a modern-day Grapes of Wrath that exposes corporate America’s skulduggery, and its author is a real-life Tom Joad, but “decked out in bright colours and full drip”
Irish Times
Reading this wonderful book, I can hear Chris Smalls's powerful voice as he exposes the abominable exploitation of young workers in the online retail sector. This book provides inspiration and hope for so many who have been ground down by corruption and poverty
Jeremy Corbyn
In every page of this book is a story of incredible personal and political resilience. But even more so the collective power of workers who took on the billionaires - and won
Zack Polanski
In an age of cloud serfdom, Chris Smalls is Prometheus unbound. His book is our instruction manual for cutting Amazon’s knot and reclaiming hope and dignity
Yanis Varoufakis
Jeff Bezos doesn't want you to read this, which is why you should. A true David vs. Goliath story, and one that continues today
Luke Kemp, author of GOLIATH'S CURSE
Chris Smalls eloquently busts the modern myth of the American dream, exposes how billionaires use fear as a form of control and reveals just how fragile their hold can be. An outstanding, galvanising book
Danny Dorling, author of The Next Crisis
With candor and fierce moral clarity, Chris Smalls takes readers behind the scenes of the most consequential labor uprising in modern history—and it’s one hell of a ride. What begins as a gripping personal narrative grows into a blueprint for worker-led resistance, full of stubborn hope and a timely reminder of what ordinary people can achieve, if only we come together.
Jessica Bruder, author of NOMADLAND
When The Revolution Comes is an honest, courageous, painful, and wildly inspiring story of one man's journey to make what seemed impossible, possible. Smalls leaves us with one of the most important lessons of social change—when we refuse to accept injustice, every day, and everywhere, for ourselves and for others, remarkable and transformative change is not only possible, it is inevitable
Alicia Garza author of The Purpose of Power
Chris Smalls has given us one of the best autobiographies in American labor history, revealing with truth and humility the emerging consciousness of a young progressive, then elucidating with care the myriad challenges of a grassroots battle for workers' rights, one that has made him an inspiration to that struggle around the world
Philip Dray author of There is Power in a Union
When the Revolution Comes is, like its author, vibrant and captivating. This highly readable account braids the story of Smalls' rough but lively youth with fresh insights about being working class and Black in America. The party promoter-turned warehouse worker-turned activist’s twisty memoir culminates with his recent labor organizing, which gave him a new sense of meaning. That feeling—of solidarity and power—is then transmitted to the reader. Smalls’ book is a rare combination—a unionist how-to and a rollicking yarn about finding your true self in unexpected places
Alissa Quart author of Squeezed: Why Our Families Can’t Afford America
Author Chris Smalls
Narrator Chris Smalls, Tyrell Harrell
Duration 8 hours and 24 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781405992473
Format Audiobook
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Genre Business ethics and social responsibility, Memoirs, Political activism, Social classes, Trade unions
Collections Summer Holiday Listens
Availability AU, GB, IE

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