Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities Paperback – March 15, 2016

This book is an inspiring and motivating intellectual journey into the progress of human action. It is filled with fascinating history and dense with wisdom, deeply thoughtful, and so hopeful that I find myself reaching for it when I go to bed at night and wake up in the morning. When I become I filled with dread about modern dysfunctions, or the enduring cost of sexism and racism, I pick up this book for comfort and solace, but also compelling motivation. I'm sorry that the The New Yorker and other literary magazines ignored Rebecca Solnit and many other talented women, of all races, for many years. The space they are opening up is too often occupied by the privileged children of people like Christopher Hitchens, who might have less to say than people who have forged their own paths. When these outlets truly open up, we will have access to the wisdom and insights of Solnit and many others sooner, and more often. I'm only sorry that I did not discover the brilliance of Solnit years ago, when this book was published. But like many literary classics, it is every bit as relevant today, and even more important.

Loved this book for the honest examination of activism, and our human need to confront the truth. We must change, yet we (humans) struggle with understanding how to do so, while facing daily devastation & challenges. Yet, there is reason for hope & we must not let our despair hold us hostage. Even though this book is now several years old, there are frightening few differences today in the progress we’ve accomplished & too many additional setback’s foreshadowed.

It's easy for political activists to overlook their own victories. Activists are driven by a bold, transformative vision of change. That vision is indispensable and is the fuel of progress, but it can also encourage activists to adopt a narrative whereby organizers defeat evil and their positive vision of the future comes into existence. But the world is far too ambiguous and chaotic for that narrative; viewing change in those terms leads activists to see their work as resulting only in defeat, which causes burnout and cynicism while discouraging new people from joining a movement. Change is never easy to see and progress never moves on a clear linear path.Solnit outlines a different vision of change, one which is unpredictable, chaotic, improvisational. Total defeats lead to revolutions generations later; technologies produced by militaries become the engine of peace; supposedly lost causes are resumed; a speech to a nearly empty audience sparks a movement. These aren't just idle theories, Solnit provides real-world examples. Solnit interrogates the ambiguities and forgotten histories of movements and finds thousands of victories; some that only changed one person's life, some that overthrew dictators -- but all victories. It's our obligation to find and celebrate these forgotten victories in order to remind ourselves of our collective power to change the world and inoculate ourselves against the despair and cynicism that would lead us to willingly forfeit the collective power that all of human history clearly shows we possess.Solnit's history of activist victories is driven by a theory of hope as a discipline, not a foreign object one does or does not possess. Hope requires action and practice; action requires a belief that the world can be changed; believing that the world can be changed requires a knowledge and respect of history. The chaotic (ridiculous?) nature of the world makes it impossible to ever know the full impact of our actions; believing that actions driven by love can improve the world requires a leap of faith; all of human history indicates that that faith is the only engine of change and that it actively imposes new realities on the world, even if we can't fully predict or understand what those realities will be. That gaping unknown between action and impact is the 'dark' Solnit refers to; darkness like a womb, not depression. Changing the world requires giving up the idea that we'll understand what that change looks like. Absurd? Well... What did the dark look like to an abolitionist resisting slavery in 1814; a woman demanding equal political rights in 1790; an environmentalist opposing new pipelines in 2017?In these catastrophic times with the rise of the far-right, the corporate takeover of our government and media, the existential threat of climate change, and growing wealth inequality, despair and cynicism are easy. Every day corporate power aims to demobilize and alienate us further. Hope has never been a more vital and powerful discipline. Hope is a radical choice; a choice necessary to overcome the crises facing our planet. Solnit reminds us that choosing to practice hope isn't delusional or naive, it's a rational (though difficult) choice that has always been integral to progress. Hope is a choice that burdens us with responsibilities, responsibilities that enrich our lives. Hope requires action. Let's act.

If you have any interest in writing, in the personal essay, in beautiful sentences, in thoughtful observations -- then you can't avoid Rebecca Solnit.She has created a genre all of her own, something very few writers can even dream of doing. It just isn't possible to write better than she does.She has made me fall in love with her mind. Her books reach deep into my world, turn things around, and make me see things differently. They make me different. Again, it's the very highest work that writing can ever do. I will always read anything she writes. The "subject" doesn't matter.She shows, with an almost magical eloquence that also remains natural and easy-flowing (organic), what writing is for, and just how much it can actually do. And she just gets better. She makes the world a better place.

I'm a Boomer , who embraced 60's ideals and activism. I've helped when,and how I could, to achieve changes I felt would improve our world. I got environmentalism from my parents , and have lived as much as a " steward of the Earth " as I could. The rise of plastics , disposables , and other habits that are not healthy or sustainable disturbed me. The global rise of Fundamentalism ( especially in the US as it seems to also turn away from many ideals fundamental to Christianity) I knew would lead to problems. Anyway , even with progress on some issues I found myself seeing the obstacles more than the advances. This book was published before the Trump term ( Much more subject matter!) ,so the despair and sense of the asylum inmates taking over isn't mentioned .Reading this book has helped restore my perspective. Change is the only constant. Current circumstances will change. We must continue to work on what is important with open minds , hearts , and fluidity for what might achieve some progress. Little steps are OK , although climate really needs some huge steps to save us.Thank you for writing this book. I will be rereading it every time the dark thoughts creep in.

Read this book. Solnit reminds us who we are.And she does this with beautifully crafted story telling.A must read for anyone who wants to make this world a better place .

Rebecca Solnit never ceases to amaze me. Although this book was written during the Bush administration, there is much that applies now.I was unconvinced early on in this book, thinking (as I do a lot lately), that while I'm certainly not on the right, I have a hard time identifying with the left. That the left seems to be caught in a past that seems utterly unrealistic.But she turned me around. And the turning point was when she was talking about the marches against the Iraq war on in February 2003. I marched in London with thousands of other people. And I watched, in dismay as the voices of millions of people the world over were ignored, as our governments marched headlong into disaster, as thousands and thousands of people died. As that happened, my belief that anything I could do would make a difference died with them.Once Obama was elected, I was hopeful, but I stopped paying attention. I stopped trying to make any kind of difference. I incorrectly assumed that I was no longer needed. I expected (much like the Nobel Prize committee) that Obama would do it all.Solnit seeks out and offers us example after example that there is hope; hope that people can change the world for the better. Not by gaining power, not by gaining the highest office in the land or by being the most powerful person in the world. But by doing what has succeeded again and again: changing the world by changing minds. This is everything I loved about "Pandora's Box and the Volunteer Police Force." in Men Explain Things to Me.She also argues that in order to act, you do need to be a part of "the left." In fact, at one point, she quotes Naomi Klien:"At the moment, anti-corporate street activists are ringed by would-be leaders, anxious to enlist them as foot soldiers for their particular cause. It is to this young movement's credit that it has as yet fended off all of these agendas and has rejected everyone's generously donated manifestos."This brought a smile to my face. It is exactly these would-be leaders with their one true way that has often put me off trying to act. What Solnit seems to be saying is that it is those who act outside of these prepackaged ideologies who are likely to have a meaningful impact.The standout essay in this book was "Viagra for Caribou", in which Solnit sets out a vision of the world presided over—not by an all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful God—but by Coyote, the Native American trickster. She paints a world in the making, a world that is always changing, always adapting. She finds hope in the unpredictability of this world:"Coyote asks us to trust in the basic eccentricity of the world, its sense of humor, and its resilience. The moral worldview believes that the good is accomplished through virtue, but sometimes army bases become de facto wildlife preserves, sometimes virtue falls on its face."Much of the latter half of the book brought a smile to my face.If you, like me, have been trying to find a way to act, to help bring about a better world, but struggling with how to go about this. This book is for you. It may not have the exact answers you're looking for, but it will give you everything you need to go find those answers for yourself.

this was seriously one of the most inspiring, uplifting, but also not overly complicated books i ever read. i really needed to read this at this time, i recommend it almost daily to weekly to friends and strangers. if you are not sure if to read or not - READ THIS BOOK!<3

This book has been a relevation. A balanced and non centric view on how society can change for better. It's about learning that it's always early to go home!

Her Field Guide to Getting Lost is I've realised turning into a permanent companion for me so I was keen to read this; worth the purchase price for the above mentioned chapter alone. RS is a clear voice in a murky world. Thank you.