The Activist's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for a Modern Revolution

By William Martin

“[An] inspiration.”
— Alice Walker, The New York Times Book Review

Change and anger are in the air. Looking for answers to today’s wrenching challenges, William Martin turns to the Tao Te Ching and finds that while Taoism is known for its quiet, enigmatic wisdom, the Tao can also have the cleansing force of a rushing river.

Through his interpretation of this ancient Chinese text, Martin elucidates revolutionary messages condemning power-seeking and greed. He emphasizes that humans have a “natural virtue” that can help them heal the planet; shows how Taoism’s simplicity can be subversive and its flexibility a potent force; and reassures that “when injustice is the rule, justice always lies in wait.”

Provocative and stirring, Martin’s Tao flows within and through those who ride the waves of anger and frustration and gently guides them to true freedom.


“We have learned the secret of transformation: Injustice feeds our determination. Hate increases our love. Wounds bring forth our healing, and fear uncovers our courage and serenity.”
— from The Activist’s Tao Te Ching

• Language: English
• Publisher: New World Library
• Release date: Apr 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781608683932

William Martin

WILLIAM MARTIN is the New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen novels, an award-winning PBS documentary on the life of George Washington, and a cult-classic horror film, too. In novels like Back Bay, City of Dreams, The Lost Constitution, The Lincoln Letter, and Bound for Gold, he has told stories of the great and the anonymous of American history, and he's taken readers from the deck of the Mayflower to 9/11. His work has earned him many accolades and honors, including the 2005 New England Book Award, the 2015 Samuel Eliot Morison Award, and the 2019 Robert B. Parker Award. He and his wife live near Boston, where he serves on the boards of several cultural and historical institutions, and he has three grown children.

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