Taking a Stand

The “brave and lucid” story of how the human rights movement transformed the world, from a leading activist and former torture victim (Lawrence Weschler, author of Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder).

Juan Méndez has experienced human rights abuse firsthand. As a result of his work with political prisoners in the late 1970s, the Argentinian military dictatorship arrested, tortured, and held him for more than a year. During that time, Amnesty International adopted him as a “Prisoner of Conscience.” After his release, he moved to the United States and continued his lifelong fight for the rights of others, and the lessons he has gleaned over the decades can help us with our current struggles. Here, he sets forth an authoritative and incisive examination of torture, detention, exile, armed conflict, and genocide, whose urgency is even greater in the wake of America’s recent disastrous policies. Méndez offers a new strategy for holding governments accountable for their actions, providing an essential blueprint for different human rights groups to be able to work together to effect change.

“A man who knows whereof he speaks makes painfully clear the meaning of the abstract term ‘human rights’ . . . A fact-filled well-researched analysis.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Juan Méndez is a true leader of the human rights movement. In Taking a Stand he presents us with his extraordinary experience and distills it into words of wisdom.” —Salil Shetty, Secretary General, Amnesty International

“Weaves together history, analysis, and autobiography to create a compelling narrative of many of the battles for rights in which he has been a leader.” —Aryeh Neier, President, Open Society Institute