In Watchdogs and Gadflies, Tim Falconer gladly reveals his personal bias: In a climate of increasing corporate control, dwindling public resources, and environmental devastation, there is no room for passive spectators. Falconer wants everyone to go out and play ball, and to promote the game, he’s produced what could be called the 2001 Program for the Canadian Activist League.

In casual and thankfully unacademic prose, Falconer takes the reader along on his cross-country tour to interview activists working on issues from poverty and homelessness to health-care and globalization. Those profiled include Toronto’s Gar Mahood, the executive director of the Non-Smoker’s Rights Association, and Mary Gorman, who, for her successes on issues environmental, has garnered a reputation as Nova Scotia’s own Erin Brokovich. Falconer mostly focuses on the opinions, strategies, and learned lessons of these veteran activists, while providing the reader with a good look at their diverse game plans. For some it’s about effective press releases and public education; for others, political lobbying and legal challenges.

Then there’s the business of adopting an issue and presenting it to the public. Should a campaign aim for the ear of the government, or the belly of the corporation? To play or not to play up to the mainstream media? And what if your group is branded as “left-wing nuts” (the term Ralph Klein used to demonize his critics against proposed plans to deregulate health-care)?

Left out of the mix is the credit due to all those “marginal” activists who labour daily in relative obscurity. It’s primarily the mainstream movement builders and shakers who are represented here, with little mention of the worker bees or little pests. Still, this well-written, informative investigation of activist efforts in this country has the potential to inspire many to take a fresh look at their position in the field, left or right, and to play some serious ball.