Overview

An authoritative history of the radical environmental movement in the United States, No Option But Sabotage explores how far activists are willing to go to defend the planet in the face of repression and the escalating climate crisis. After 9/11, the radical environmental movement was considered the number one domestic terror threat by the U.S. government. But by the end of the decade the movement had largely gone silent. What happened? And given the threat from climate, why haven't more radical tactics re-emerged? In No Option But Sabotage, Thomas Zeitzoff traces the origins, rise, fall, and potential rise again of the movement. Using in-depth interviews with past and current activists, as well as experts, Zeitzoff covers the main factions and actors. These include: Earth First! and its early advocacy for ""monkeywrenching;"" the ""Unabomber"" Ted Kaczynski and his years-long anti-technology bombing campaign; the connections between animal liberation, punk, and the emergence of the Earth Liberation Front and its arson campaign; and more recent climate activists and their use of disruptive tactics. Along with providing a comprehensive overview of the movement and its various sub-movements that emerged over time, Zeitzoff also asks the bigger question-given the scope and threat from climate change why haven't activists escalated their tactics? Property destruction, sabotage, and even arson were once regular features of the movement in the 1990s and early 2000s--will activists use them again, or will they stick to non-violence? Will the threat of increasing state repression scare activists, or radicalize them? Not just a history of a major extremist movement, this book tells the story of radical environmentalism and highlights how activists are confronting the dual threats of climate change and repression, and asking themselves how far they are willing to go to protect the planet.

Full Product Details

Author:   Thomas Zeitzoff (Associate Professor, Associate Professor, American University)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 16.40cm , Height: 2.40cm , Length: 24.10cm
Weight:   0.572kg
ISBN:  

9780197796849

ISBN 10:   0197796842
Pages:   288
Publication Date:   18 May 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   To order  

Table of Contents

Preface Chapter 1: Racist Origins of the Radical Environmental Movement, Concerns over Overpopulation, and Birth of Earth First! (1930s-1980s) Chapter 2: Schisms within Earth First! and the Radical Environmental Movement (1980s-1990s) Chapter 3: Punk, Animal Rights, and the Radical Environmental Movement (1970s-1990s Chapter 4:Ted Kaczynski and the Rise of the Earth Liberation Front (1995-2000s) Chapter 5: Repression and Operation Backfire (2001-2010) Chapter 6: Post-repression, Emergence of Climate Justice Movement, Dakota Pipeline Fights, Stop City (2010-2024) Chapter 7: Ecofascism (2010-Present) Chapter 8: Throwing Soup, Defacing Paintings, Disrupting Events (2020-Present) Chapter 9: Where the Movement goes from Here (Present-Future) Notes Index

Reviews

Thomas Zeitzoff has given us a work of breadth and depth. Based on over 100 in person interviews and rigorous scholarship with written sources, No Option But Sabotage reveals his passion about the radical efforts he explores. A first-rate book that transcends its superior methodology.John * John Zerzan, Anarchist writer * A fascinating look at how people deal with the unfolding crisis. Everyone in this fight is making it up as we go along, and the interplay of emotion and effectiveness is always hard to figure out-the more we read about it the better our chances. * Bill McKibben, Author of Here Comes the Sun * No Option But Sabotage asks a vital question: What happened to radical environmentalism in the twenty-first century? It answers that question with a story, one that moves from the public lands and population anxieties of the mid-century to the clearcut forests of the 1980s; the dive bars and punk clubs of the Pacific Northwest; the dangerous intersection of environmentalism and jingoism; a small cabin in the Montana woods; Covid-19 and raw milk advocacy; and finally to the emerging climate movement. In weaving together these moments and subcultures, it sheds as much light on the future as on the past and the present. This is an important and timely work.Keith Makoto Woodhouse, Northwestern University * Keith Makoto Woodhouse, Northwestern University * Zeitzoff writes with urgency, humor, and an alignment of heart and mind. The stories he tells are powerful, inspiring, and hopeful. And his message is clear and resounding: to protect humankind and our planet we need every (peaceful and nonviolent) tool in the toolkit! * David N. Pellow, UC Santa Barbara and author of What is Critical Environmental Justice? and Total Liberation: The Power and Promise of Animal Rights and the Radical Earth Movement *

Author Information

Thomas Zeitzoff is a professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University. His research focuses on political violence, social media, and political psychology. His work has appeared in Science Advances, American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, International Organization, Political Psychology, among other journals and he is the author of Nasty Politics: The Logic of Insults, Threats, and Incitement.

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