12 Rules for Strife

by Jeff Sparrow, Sam Wallman

Overview

This is a handbook for change. Because we all know ways in which life could be better. And it can be better. We can make it better.

We don’t need to wait for a leader or savior. We don’t need to limit ourselves to comments and clicks. In this stunningly original comic-book tour of a serious topic, Jeff Sparrow and Sam Wallman explore 12 powerful ideas distilled from the history of struggle for better lives, better working conditions, and a better world. They show how solidarity can be built across growing divisions—without compromising our values.

‘Strife’ is just another word for making yourself heard. In fun, short, shareable chapters, 12 Rules for Strife shows how together we can change everything.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781957363738
Publisher:	Scribe Publications Pty Ltd
Publication date:	05/01/2024
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.38(d)

About the Author

Jeff Sparrow is a writer, editor, broadcaster, and Walkley Award–winning journalist. He is a columnist for The Guardian Australia, a former Breakfaster at Melbourne’s 3RRR, and a past editor of Overland literary journal. His most recent books are Fascists Among Us: Online Hate and the Christchurch Massacre; Trigger Warnings: Political Correctness and the Rise of the Right; and No Way But This: In Search of Paul Robeson. He lectures at the Centre for Advancing Journalism at The University of Melbourne.

Sam Wallman is a comics journalist and cartoonist based in Melbourne, Australia. His drawings have been published in The Guardian, The New York Times, The Age, the ABC, and SBS.

Editorial Reviews

Combining the distilled wisdom of socialist writer Jeff Sparrow and the graphic ingenuity of comic artist Sam Wallman, 12 Rules for Strife is a handbook for changing everything … Wallman continues the mind-expanding style demonstrated in his previous book Our Members Be Unlimited. Each page bursts forth with breaking walls, connecting ribbons and masses of people combining as one. So much is communicated with relatively few words.”
—Andrew Chuter, Green Left

“This impressively succinct guide to political struggle would make an excellent primer for anyone interested in understanding much of what is happening around the world right now … Wallman’s use of punchy colors and intricate illustration adds dynamic energy to Sparrow’s distillation of political theory.”
—Sian Cain, The Guardian

“12 Rules for Strife might be economical in its telling, but its stirring imagery and hopeful idealism make for a rich experience — one sure to inspire others to assume the mantle of practical activism.”
—Nathan Smith, The Saturday Paper

“A great deal of effort has obviously gone into conceptualizing this book regarding what rules to select and formulate and how these might be treated visually. The result is that the text and illustrations merge creatively, the two becoming one in a seamless unity. The end product is more than a book; it is a significant work of political art.”
—Rowan Cahill, Recorder

Praise for Our Members Be Unlimited:

“Activist and comics journalist Wallman debuts with a convincing, transfixing graphic history of the impact and future potential of unions … This is a dynamic, persuasive look at labor power.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Wallman achieves what many on the left struggle with: he makes history, theory, and organizing practice accessible and fun to read about.”
—Matthew Noe, Booklist

“Our Members Be Unlimited helps us realize that, when we build union solidarity in the workplace, our efforts go beyond wages and conditions—rekindling the old spirit of collectivism is how we build a better future for humanity.”
—Jacobin

Praise for Crimes Against Nature:

“Sparrow tells these stories with the lucidity and animation of a true crime podcast … He is fearless too in his criticism of progressives who write off their fellow citizens as uncaring and complicit.”
—The Saturday Paper

“This urgent, incisive work [shows] how industrialization, in the hands of the wealthy and powerful, drove a wedge between ordinary people and the natural world.”
—The Sydney Morning Herald

“[E]xquisitely argued.”
—Thomas Klikauer, Marx & Philosophy

From the Publisher