"This book describes the struggle to build on a twenty-five year approach to democratic social change and personal growth known as participatory action-research (PAR). It based on the principle that people have a universal right to participate the production of knowledge that directly affects their lives. The heart of the book is a series of compelling case studies of PAR and attempts to achieve it in such diverse places as Canada, India, Africa, and Latin America. The final chapter analyzes lessons from these case studies and explores the principles and evolvong processes of the PAR methodology in striving to satisfy the need for liberation and recovery of community."--Back cover.