Why do some radical ideas make history while others founder? We tend to think of revolutions as loud: frustrations and demands shouted in the streets. But the ideas fuelling them have traditionally been conceived in much quieter spaces, in the small, secluded corners where a vanguard can whisper among themselves, imagine alternate realities, and deliberate over how to get there. This extraordinary book is a search for those spaces, over centuries and across continents, and a warning that they might soon go extinct. Facebook and Twitter are replacing these productive, private spaces with monolithic platforms that are very public and endlessly networked. Lyrical and profound, The Quiet Before looks to the past to help us imagine a different future.