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keight's review against another edition
4.0
Necessary post-election reading. Rebecca Solnit wrote this book at the start of the Iraq War in 2003 so "hope" has a pre-Obama context here. While the context has evolved, much of what she says about activism and the long road of change still applies. There is some territory here that Solnit has trod at other times in her writing, as when she expands on a sentence from Virginia Woolf's journal: "The future is dark, which is the best thing the future can be, I think" — a moment she also explored in Men Explain Things to Me, which was in turn adapted for a New Yorker essay, "Woolf’s Darkness: Embracing the Inexplicable"... Read more on my booklog
reed333's review against another edition
5.0
In this year of despair (2017- no kidding- it has been tough!), this book was helpful in altering my perspective & staying evidence based- which I very much appreciated. Ther3 are many good & relevant points made.
bootman's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic book, and Rebecca Solnit is an excellent writer, but the style of the book just isn’t for me. I’m sure 90% of the people interested in social and political change would love this book, so definitely get a copy if you fall into that category. My only issue is that I’m just not a fan of books that are stories about people and history, so that’s a personal thing. Rebecca does an excellent job discussing how activists have managed to maintain hope and fight for change, which is extremely inspiring. It’s a much-needed book, but it’s just not my personal style of book I like to read.
celbelrai's review against another edition
Eh, discontinuing after a couple chapters. First, it's a bit much to understand her points as they relate to the Bush era of my childhood. Secondly, it has struck one note repeatedly: hope is not optimism so much as a realistic understanding that the future has not occurred yet.
jesseb's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
2.5
no thoughts head empty
megthegrand's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book, especially ideas about change being incremental and rarely straightforward, but would have liked if the author offered more possible solutions and outcomes.