Activism: A Field Manual for Nonviolent Revolution

Massachusetts political scientist Gene Sharp's "practical writings on nonviolent revolution — most notably From Dictatorship to Democracy (pdf), a 93-page guide to toppling autocrats, available for download in 24 languages — have inspired dissidents around the world, including in Burma, Bosnia, Estonia and Zimbabwe, and now Tunisia and Egypt."

The rest of the story: Shy U.S. Intellectual Created Playbook Used in a Revolution by Sheryl Gay Stolberg (New York Times 2011-02-16).