Now I Know Who My Comrades Are: Voices From The Internet Underground

In her groundbreaking book, Now I Know Who My Comrades Are: Voices from the Internet Underground, Emily Parker, formerly a State Department policy advisor, writer at The Wall Street Journal and editor at The New York Times, provides on-the-ground accounts of how the Internet is transforming lives in China, Cuba, and Russia. It’s a new phenomenon, but one that’s already brought about significant political change. In 2011, ordinary Egyptians, many armed with little more than mobile phones, helped topple a thirty-year-old dictatorship. The book profiles dissidents such as Cuba’s Yoani Sánchez and China's Ai Weiwei, along with lesser-known bloggers and the backstories of Internet activism celebrities. It charts the rise of Russia’s Alexey Navalny from ordinary blogger to one of the greatest threats to Vladimir Putin’s regime. The book introduces an army of bloggers and tweeters—generals and foot soldiers alike—who outsmart censors, launch online campaigns, and refuse to be intimidated by surveillance, sharing stories of how the Internet fosters community and change against authoritarian control.