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First-hand accounts of the largest pro-labor mass mobilization in modern American history.

In the spring of 2011, Wisconsinites took to the streets in what became the largest and liveliest labor demonstrations in modern American history. Protesters in the Middle East sent greetings—and pizzas—to the thousands occupying the Capitol building in Madison, and 150,000 demonstrators converged on the city.

In a year that has seen a revival of protest in America, here is a riveting account of the first great wave of grassroots resistance to the corporate restructuring of the Great Recession.

It Started in Wisconsin includes eyewitness reports by striking teachers, students, and others (such as Wisconsin-born musician Tom Morello), as well as essays explaining Wisconsin’s progressive legacy by acclaimed historians. The book lays bare the national corporate campaign that crafted Wisconsin’s anti-union legislation and similar laws across the country, and it conveys the infectious esprit de corps that pervaded the protests with original pictures and comics.

black & white photographs

The first book to explore the Occupy movement in depth, with reportage and analysis.

In the fall of 2011, a small protest camp in downtown Manhattan exploded into a global uprising, sparked in part by the violent overreactions of the police. An unofficial record of this movement, Occupy! combines adrenalin-fueled first-hand accounts of the early days and weeks of Occupy Wall Street with contentious debates and thoughtful reflections, featuring the editors and writers of the celebrated n+1, as well as some of the world’s leading radical thinkers, such as Slavoj Žižek, Angela Davis, and Rebecca Solnit.

The book conveys the intense excitement of those present at the birth of a counterculture, while providing the movement with a serious platform for debating goals, demands, and tactics. Articles address the history of the “horizontalist” structure at OWS; how to keep a live-in going when there is a giant mountain of laundry building up; how very rich the very rich have become; the messages and meaning of the “We are the 99%” tumblr website; occupations in Oakland, Boston, Atlanta, and elsewhere; what happens next; and much more.

Personal stories and 150 photos paint an intimate portrait of protesters as diverse as America itself. From the moving tale of an unsettled Vietnam vet who finally felt welcomed back to his country, to a delightful encounter with high school students who skipped class to support their teachers, these are the faces and stories behind the largest demonstrations to hit Wisconsin in forty years. Share the passion, motivations, and humor of these everyday people who marched in the snow, stood in opposition to their government, and captivated a nation.

In February of 2011, the people of Wisconsin changed the political landscape in America overnight. In response to their governor's move to strip workers of the right to organize, Wisconsinites fought back--occupying their Capitol for days on end and protesting in record numbers throughout the freezing winter. Their bold action inspired progressives across the country, sparking a new conversation on organized labor, direct action, and civil resistance.

We Are Wisconsin provides an up-close view of the struggle, in the words of the grassroots activists, independent journalists, and Wisconsinites who led the fight. Alongside the real-time, fast-paced story of the Capitol occupation told by those on the inside, this collection looks at what happened, what it means, and what comes next.

Contributors include Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, Van Jones, John Nichols, Medea Benjamin, Mike Elk, Andy Kroll, Tony Schultz, Ian Murphy, Allison Kilkenny, Billy Wimsatt, Chris Bowers, and more.