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boreal_girl's review against another edition
In and out of the library a few times. I found the essays dry, and I didn’t feel they added any insight for me into American political discourse. Maybe they were dated, maybe I just wasn’t in the mood. In the stack of books on my nightstand, I kept passing this one by. Gave up on them.
historyofjess's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.0
This is the second of Solnit's essay collections I've read and I just don't think she's for me. I just don't find her insights to be particularly revelatory. I'm sure these essays could be helpful to some folks, they just mostly felt like things I've already heard or read before (and the Trump-related stuff is definitely extremely well-trod territory). The one essay I found interesting was the story of a Latinx man that had been murdered by police in San Francisco, not because it had anything new to say about police violence, but because it was a story of police violence that I had not heard as much about before.
guinness74's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Solnit's writing is deep, inspiring, and encouraging. It's been easy, over the last decade or so, when these essays were written, to say that things are hopeless or impossible. Most of that coincided with a Trump presidency, the spectre of which looms ungracefully in the near future once again. Solnit is not a Trump fan, nor am I, but it is refreshing to see that there's something beyond the existential dread that pervades within that idea: the proverbial silver lining, if you will. And Solnit is not puffery or light reading by any stretch. I'm a fairly intelligent person and I found myself going back over paragraphs to understand what it was that she was conveying.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence and Police brutality
norasteinkopf's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Immediately had chills when I started reading and almost all throughout the book. Solnit finds ways of phrasing things that makes me think differently about everything, and it feels like my brain is being remoulded in a gentle way. Can’t wait to read her other work, I’m so happy to have discovered her writing and to be able to collect and read as many of her books as possible!