DPOP Bookclub

In celebration of the Obama Library opening this month, we are reading Groundbreakers: How Obama's 2.2 Million Volunteers Transformed Campaigning in America by Elizabeth McKenna and Hahrie Han.

This book does a deep dive into what worked about harnessing the power of volunteers from canvassers to local organizers, which is something that would be great to learn from right now!

You can buy a copy of the book here. Our library does not offer this book, so DPOP will have several copies on hand to borrow. Please contact us at dpop@donharmon.org or (708)386-0090 to request a copy.

About the book

Elizabeth McKenna and Hahrie Han argue that the legacy of Obama for America extends beyond big data and micro-targeting; it also reinvigorated and expanded traditional models of field campaigning. Groundbreakers makes the case that the Obama campaign altered traditional ground games by adopting the principles and practices of community organizing. Drawing on in-depth interviews with OFA field staff and volunteers, this book also argues that a key achievement of the OFA's field organizing was its transformative effect on those who were a part of it. Obama the candidate might have inspired volunteers to join the campaign, but it was the fulfilling relationships that volunteers had with other people--and their deep belief that their work mattered for the work of democracy--that kept them active. 

Groundbreakers documents how the Obama campaign has inspired a new way of running field campaigns, with lessons for national and international political and civic movements.