To undermine something is to weaken its very foundation in order to bring about its eventual collapse.

Underminers is a radical guide to dismantling the industrial machine. The first section of the book deconstructs the Tools of Disconnection—the subtle and seemingly innocuous methods by which we are manipulated into artificial separation from other people and the natural world. These can take many forms, from tangible and intangible rewards for "good" consumer behavior to indoctrination through advertising, media, and compulsory schooling. Once these Tools of Disconnection have been identified, the challenge is to expose their true nature and to provide realistic alternatives to our culture of greed.

Outlining a wide array of unconventional responses, Underminers is a practical, rational, and very human response to the ecological and social catastrophes facing us. By turns shocking, entertaining, inspiring, and empowering, this manual for a subversive revolution shows how ordinary people can become tomorrow's catalysts for change—reconnected to one another and co-creators of a viable future for humanity.

We are the Underminers, and this is our time.

Keith Farnish is a longtime environmental activist and the author of Time's Up! An Uncivilized Solution to a Global Crisis. He has been blogging and writing on environmental and social issues since 2006.