Includes bibliographical references (p. 189-230) and index.

Why stories matter -- "It was like a fever--" : why people protest -- Strategy as metonymy : why activists choose the strategies they do -- Stories and reasons : why deliberation is only sometimes democratic -- Ways of knowing and stories worth telling : why casting oneself as a victim sometimes hurts the cause -- Remembering Dr. King on the House and Senate floor : why movements have the impacts they do -- Conclusion: folk wisdom and scholarly tales.

Activists and politicians have long recognized the power of a good story to move people to action. In early 1960 four black college students sat down at a whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave. Within a month sit-ins spread to thirty cities in seven states. Student participants told stories of impulsive, spontaneous action--this despite all the planning that had gone into the sit-ins. "It was like a fever," they said. Francesca Polletta's It Was Like a Fever sets out to account for the power of storytelling in mobilizing political and social movements.

Description based on print version record.