A Paradise Built In Hell

The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster

Rebecca Solnit

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English

Penguin USA
31 August 2010

Society & Social Sciences; Social impact of disasters; Social services & welfare, criminology; Aid & relief programmes; Social, group or collective psychology

"""A landmark book that gives impassioned challenge to the social meaning of disasters"" (The New York Times Book Review) from the author of the memoirRecollections of My Nonexistence

""Solnit argues that disasters are opportunities as well as oppressions, each one a summons to rediscover the powerful engagement and joy of genuine altruism, civic life, grassroots community, and meaningful work.""-San Francisco Chronicle

Chosen as a Best Book of the Year by the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New Yorker, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, and Chicago Tribune

The most startling thing about disasters, according to award-winning author Rebecca Solnit, is not merely that so many people rise to the occasion, but that they do so with joy. That joy reveals an ordinarily unmet yearning for community, purposefulness, and meaningful work that disaster often provides. A Paradise Built in Hell is an investigation of the moments of altruism, resourcefulness, and generosity that arise amid disaster's grief and disruption and considers their implications for everyday life. It points to a new vision of what society could become-one that is less authoritarian and fearful, more collaborative and local.

A New York Times Notable Book

Chosen as a Best Book of the Year by the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New Yorker, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, and Chicago Tribune

""A landmark book that gives impassioned challenge to the social meaning of disasters"" -The New York Times Book Review

""Solnit argues that disasters are opportunities as well as oppressions, each one a summons to rediscover the powerful engagement and joy of genuine altruism, civic life, grassroots community, and meaningful work."" -San Francisco Chronicle

A stirring investigation into what happens in the aftermath of disaster, from the author of Orwell's Roses

The most startling thing about disasters, according to award-winning author Rebecca Solnit, is not merely that so many people rise to the occasion, but that they do so with joy. That joy reveals an ordinarily unmet yearning for community, purposefulness, and meaningful work that disaster often provides. A Paradise Built in Hell is an investigation of the moments of altruism, resourcefulness, and generosity that arise amid disaster's grief and disruption and considers their implications for everyday life. It points to a new vision of what society could become-one that is less authoritarian and fearful, more collaborative and local."

By: Rebecca Solnit
Imprint: Penguin USA
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 213mm, Width: 137mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 304g
ISBN: 9780143118077
ISBN 10: 0143118072
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 31 August 2010
Recommended Age: From 18 years
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Rebecca Solnit is the author of numerous books, including Hope in the Dark, River of Shadows- Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West, Wanderlust- A History of Walking, and As Eve Said to the Serpent- On Landscape, Gender, and Art, which was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism. In 2003, she received the prestigious Lannan Literary Award.

Reviews for A Paradise Built In Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster

Thought-provoking . . . captivating and compelling . . . there's a hopeful, optimistic, even contagious quality to this superb book. --Los Angeles Times In her far-reaching and large-spirited new book, Solnit argues that disasters are opportunities as well as oppressions, each one a summons to rediscover the powerful engagement and joy of genuine altruism, civic life, grassroots community, and meaningful work. --San Francisco Chronicle Stirring . . . fascinating . . . presents a withering critique of modern capitalist society by examining five catastrophes . . . Her account of these events are so stirring that her book is worth reading for its storytelling alone. . . . [An] exciting and important contribution to our understanding of ourselves. --The Washington Post