Concerned citizens, leaders and members of community organizations, and policy wonks of all kinds may find Civic Revolutionaries an inspiring and practical guide to making a difference in their regional community. The authors, Douglas Henton, John Melville, and Kim Walesh are principals in a planning consultancy, and authors of Grassroots Leaders for a New Economy (Jossey-Bass 1997). They dedicate this book to John W. Gardner, noted author, activist, reformer, educational innovator, and president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York from 1955-65. They worked with Gardner on the establishment of the Alliance for Regional Stewardship, and much of the book uses Gardner's writings as inspiration.

 Civic Revolutionaries devotes each of the first six chapters to the examination of a set of competing values in tension:

• Individual and Community — the tension between the values of individual freedom and liberty and community duty and responsibility;
• Trust and Accountability — the tension between the values of implicit trust and explicit forms of accountability in civic life;
• Economy and Society — the tension between the values of economic prosperity and societal stability and progress;
• People and Place — the tension between the advancement of people and the vitality of places;
• Change and Continuity — the tension between the potential benefits of change and the comfort of continuity;
• Idealism and Pragmatism — the tension between the inspiration of idealism and the action of pragmatism.

Each chapter follows a common pattern, opening with an historical review, using the founders of the "American Experiment" and their explorations of the values in tension. The historical background is followed by an explanation of the challenges presented today, illustrated with contemporary case studies from across the United States. These studies provide lessons learned and descriptions of how they can be used by regional leaders to discover the truths; decide on a direction; and drive toward change. Each chapter ends with a brief listing of what "success looks like" when working with the values under examination.

The seventh and final chapter, "The Rise of the New Civic Revolutionaries: Answering the Call to Stewardship," summarizes the lessons learned from history and current examples and discusses what the authors claim is a new grassroots movement underway across the country. They present the changes they believe will be necessary in order to establish a new social compact, and end the book with a call to action to modern-day civic revolutionaries.

Civic Revolutionaries is an ambitious book. It covers three hundred years of American history while striving to be a useful tool for leaders today. Its sources, ranging from the Federalist Papers to John W. Gardner to today's civic leaders, are impeccable. If community change is your goal, this book may be a lesson and an inspiration.