Leni Zumas's writing crackles. Her books are sharp, bleak, funny, and possibly dangerous. When her collection of short stories, Farewell Navigator,...
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Not only is this book about extraordinary communities that arise in disaster but itself is an extraordinary appeal for the power inherent in ordinary people who connect as communities helping one another after a disaster. In this well-researched, well-documented, and well-considered book, the author provides substantial historical evidence that beloved communities, or utopian-like communities built on altruism, often emerge after disasters, both natural and human-made. Solnit also provides the philosophical and psychological explanations for these behaviors, as well as for the antithetical behaviors of mistrust and suppression, often found in public authorities. The book is engrossing, energizing, and hopeful. It also explains a great deal about what actually happened during Katrina and 9/11 and why it happened. A must read.
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A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster by Rebecca Solnit
san francisco reader , December 29, 2009
Not only is this book about extraordinary communities that arise in disaster but itself is an extraordinary appeal for the power inherent in ordinary people who connect as communities helping one another after a disaster. In this well-researched, well-documented, and well-considered book, the author provides substantial historical evidence that beloved communities, or utopian-like communities built on altruism, often emerge after disasters, both natural and human-made. Solnit also provides the philosophical and psychological explanations for these behaviors, as well as for the antithetical behaviors of mistrust and suppression, often found in public authorities. The book is engrossing, energizing, and hopeful. It also explains a great deal about what actually happened during Katrina and 9/11 and why it happened. A must read.(3 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)