"An analysis of the production and consumption of the communications of Make Poverty History, a high profile episode of social movement protest in the UK. The book follows the campaign throughout its lifetime and explores how attitudes towards government and political opportunities influenced the negotiation of communications." (Publisher description)

"[The campaign] 'Make Poverty History' touched the hearts of many, mobilized thousands upon thousands of protesters, and even managed to persuade G8 leaders to address the issue of world poverty. There will be many arguments about its long-term significance and precisely what it achieved, but few can doubt that this movement, which stretched right through 2005, mattered. It mattered because of the issues it addressed, the people it engaged, and the attention it achieved. It also mattered because it was innovative, passionate and fresh. Make Poverty History managed to bring together hundreds of campaigning organizations, to command enormous amounts of public attention, and to combine the talents of celebrities like Bono and political titans such as Nelson Mandela. From the efforts of local activists to the orchestrations of Richard Curtis, from students wearing wrist bands proclaiming their allegiance, to Dawn French and friends transforming a New Year’s Day episode of the good-hearted Vicar of Dibley into a heart-stopping plea for the destitute, Make Poverty History was a constant presence through 2005. Make Poverty History well merits the documentation offered here by Nick Sireau that places it on bookshelves and contributes to the memory of the campaign. However, Nick Sireau doesn’t just offer a historical record. He examines Make Poverty History as a social movement. In recent years there has been a good deal of interest in these manifestations of concern that transcend established boundaries. Environmental campaigners, animal rights activists and feminists of various stripes are each expressive of social movements, where people come together, often in what might appear uneasy coalitions, on an issue that unites them, though it cuts across older forms of solidarity. There is widespread recognition now that traditional political parties are weakening in their abilities to contain people’s lifestyle aspirations and socio-political concerns, that movements need to go beyond party political machines and associated ideologies." (Foreword by Frank Webster)