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knitswithbeer's review against another edition
3.0
I really wanted to love this book.
It's a little dated, being pre-Trump.
I do agree that there is a politics of hope and that we need to dare to dream.
It's a little dated, being pre-Trump.
I do agree that there is a politics of hope and that we need to dare to dream.
breenmachine's review against another edition
2.0
The first 4 chapters really tugged on my heart strings and made me love hope. However, after that it all went downhill. It was a nice reminder of how the world has changed since this book was written, but it didn't instill a lot of hope in my after Chapter 5. It also became monotonous to read and lost my interest, especially in the "Millennium" chapters.
It was interesting to read about the Bush/Gore election in this book - because it sounds eerily like today's political climate - and I was too young at the time to fully comprehend it.
Quotes:
"If there is one thing we can draw from where we are now and where we were then, it is that the unimaginable is ordinary, that the way forward is almost never a straight line you can glance down but a convoluted path of surprises, gifts, and afflictions you prepare for by accepting your blind spots as well as your intuitions."
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” -Martin Luther King Jr.
"Havel said then, The kind of hope I often think about (especially in situations that are particularly hopeless, such as prison) I understand above all as a state of mind, not a state of the world. Either we have hope within us or we don’t; it is a dimension of the soul; it’s not essentially dependent
on some particular observation of the world or estimate of the situation. Hope is not prognostication. It is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart; it transcends the world that is immediately experienced, and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but, rather, an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed."
"Despair demands less of us, it’s more predictable, and in a sad way safer. Authentic hope requires clarity— seeing the troubles in this world—and imagination, seeing what might lie beyond these situations that are perhaps not inevitable and immutable."
"Hope is not a door, but a sense that there might be a door at some point, some way out of the problems of the present moment even before that way is found or followed."
It was interesting to read about the Bush/Gore election in this book - because it sounds eerily like today's political climate - and I was too young at the time to fully comprehend it.
Quotes:
"If there is one thing we can draw from where we are now and where we were then, it is that the unimaginable is ordinary, that the way forward is almost never a straight line you can glance down but a convoluted path of surprises, gifts, and afflictions you prepare for by accepting your blind spots as well as your intuitions."
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” -Martin Luther King Jr.
"Havel said then, The kind of hope I often think about (especially in situations that are particularly hopeless, such as prison) I understand above all as a state of mind, not a state of the world. Either we have hope within us or we don’t; it is a dimension of the soul; it’s not essentially dependent
on some particular observation of the world or estimate of the situation. Hope is not prognostication. It is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart; it transcends the world that is immediately experienced, and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but, rather, an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed."
"Despair demands less of us, it’s more predictable, and in a sad way safer. Authentic hope requires clarity— seeing the troubles in this world—and imagination, seeing what might lie beyond these situations that are perhaps not inevitable and immutable."
"Hope is not a door, but a sense that there might be a door at some point, some way out of the problems of the present moment even before that way is found or followed."
hannawilloch's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
3.5
ennakkoon's review against another edition
4.5
The book is a refreshing counterbalance to the general atmosphere of despair and hopelessness at large in the internet sphere of leftist politics. Remembering and using little wins to keep yourself going, seeing opportunity in the unknowability of future, engaging in actual action. Solnit stays practical and useful even when writing about immaterial things and champions a flexible variety of tactics and new revolutionary ways of seeing the world, not only pointing out that there's hope to be found but also creating some herself. It's easier to believe that there is a future worth fighting for after reading this.
One thought that kept coming up as I was reading was that the book will soon the 20 years old. How much of its hope is still applicable, realistic, especially concerning the climate? A depressing thought. These days the book requires adaptation, as the some of the grounds for hope Solnit brings forward in this book have lost some of their potency through changes in culture and time. The reader then has the responsibility of finding their own grounds for hope, some more recent wins, moments of collective power and change. That is not necessarily a negative.
Edit: looking back, the relevance of this text keeps proving itself. The practicality of its politics and focus on longevity is hugely helpful as a frame of thinking when hope is running low.
One thought that kept coming up as I was reading was that the book will soon the 20 years old. How much of its hope is still applicable, realistic, especially concerning the climate? A depressing thought. These days the book requires adaptation, as the some of the grounds for hope Solnit brings forward in this book have lost some of their potency through changes in culture and time. The reader then has the responsibility of finding their own grounds for hope, some more recent wins, moments of collective power and change. That is not necessarily a negative.
Edit: looking back, the relevance of this text keeps proving itself. The practicality of its politics and focus on longevity is hugely helpful as a frame of thinking when hope is running low.
banandrew's review against another edition
5.0
Rebecca Solnit's "Hope in the Dark" is inspirational. She retells stories of tragedy, stories of community, and stories of activism that encourage you to see the world for what it can be, what we should fight for it to be.
matildaeg's review against another edition
5.0
insightful and prescient examination of the role of hope in activism and how to balance celebrating victories whilst appreciating that the work is never done. really enjoyed Solnit's look at a handful of the progressive successes of the last century as well as her ideas for going forward. I feel galvanized
callitus's review against another edition
3.0
This book indeed gave me some hope.
But knowing how this book described events in early 00's, and was taking hope from times of Obama's presidency, we can only think about certain naiveté in this way of thinking.
Nevertheless, I deliberately choose being naive over being in constant state of despair
But knowing how this book described events in early 00's, and was taking hope from times of Obama's presidency, we can only think about certain naiveté in this way of thinking.
Nevertheless, I deliberately choose being naive over being in constant state of despair