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Reviews tagging 'Rape'
A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster by Rebecca Solnit
3 reviews
tanya_b's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
5.0
The most hopeful book I've read this year.
Despite what the movies and media tell us, humans tend to behave wonderfully toward each other in the worst situations.
This book contains stories from those who have survived the worst situations most of us can imagine: hurricanes, bombardments, earthquakes, terrorist attacks. Some stories are heartbreaking, but others contain more joy and love for strangers than most of us would believe possible. Provided they are not in positions of power or privilege (these people often behave abhorrently to maintain their relative positions), humans tend to rise to the occasion in disaster situations. In a large scale emergency you're far more likely to be assisted by your neighbours, and in the aftermath you may have the opportunity to work together and make your community/country a better place.
"Everyday life in most places is a disaster that disruptions sometimes give us a chance to change."
Despite what the movies and media tell us, humans tend to behave wonderfully toward each other in the worst situations.
This book contains stories from those who have survived the worst situations most of us can imagine: hurricanes, bombardments, earthquakes, terrorist attacks. Some stories are heartbreaking, but others contain more joy and love for strangers than most of us would believe possible. Provided they are not in positions of power or privilege (these people often behave abhorrently to maintain their relative positions), humans tend to rise to the occasion in disaster situations. In a large scale emergency you're far more likely to be assisted by your neighbours, and in the aftermath you may have the opportunity to work together and make your community/country a better place.
"Everyday life in most places is a disaster that disruptions sometimes give us a chance to change."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Racism, War, and Murder
Moderate: Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Rape
hexe_19's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
erica_palmisano's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Upends the popular conceptions of how people and institutions respond to disasters – both natural and human – and provides lots of details about five disasters from historians and social scientists to support its claims. While I generally appreciated the detail and thoughtfulness of the writing, I felt sometimes like the writing looped back on itself a bit more than I liked. I had to work to keep the argument's main points in mind while ever-expanding details threatened to make that difficult. Perhaps that was my issue – I was rushing to finish reading for a book club deadline. Still, a worthy read with lots to chew on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Rape and Police brutality
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