"Renegades naturally look for the spaces in our culture that the mainstream has neglected or underserved and camp out there," Alissa Quart writes in Republic of Outsiders, an in-depth, informative and entertaining investigation of the counterculture movements flourishing in the United States. Through research and personal interviews, Quart brings readers into the headquarters of the bipolar, schizophrenic Mad Pride group who argue for "both public and self-acceptance of different minds," the camp of the transgender/transfeminists who look at "how gender biases and clichés limit all of us" and the realm of those supporting, even applauding, the neurodiversity of people on the autism spectrum.
She also delves into the counter-Hollywood amateur film movement and its effect on the film industry, as well as the worlds of independent music labels and vegan and animal rights activists. She rounds out the extensive analysis of the diverse societies in the U.S. with a look at the crafting revolution that hit America after the Great Recession of 2008, the desire of many to eat locally grown food from backyard and urban farms and the power of financial insiders of the Occupy Bank Working Group to push for change in the nation's banking systems. Because of the Internet, these various factions are all able to connect with one another and move beyond the margins of "normal" society and into the mainstream. Quart's strong reporting applauds and supports all these walks of life. --Lee E. Cart, freelance writer and book reviewer