Hope in the Dark

Description

Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities

By Rebecca Solnit
Haymarket Books

Hope in the Dark was written by Rebecca Solnit to counter the despair of radicals at a moment when they were focused on their losses and had turned their back to the victories behind them—and the unimaginable changes soon to come. In it, she makes a radical case for hope as a commitment to act in a world whose future remains uncertain and unknowable. Drawing on her decades of activism and a wide reading of environmental, cultural, and political history, Solnit argued that radicals have a long, neglected history of transformative victories, that the positive consequences of our acts are not always immediately seen, directly knowable, or even measurable, and that pessimism and despair rest on an unwarranted confidence about what is going to happen next.

Now with a moving new introduction explaining how the book came about and a new afterword that helps teach us how to hope and act in our unnerving world, Solnit brings a new illumination to the darkness of 2016 in an unforgettable new edition of this classic book.

“Seemingly lost in the woods of deceit and banality, bereft of hope, we are confronted by Rebecca Solnit and her astonishing flashlight. In a jewel of a book that is poetic in substance as well as style, she reveals where we were, where we are and the step-by-step advances that have been made in human rights, as we stubbornly stumble out of the darkness.”—Studs Terkel, author of Working

“In this extraordinary book, Rebecca Solnit’s prose grows poetic wings that enable her to soar to a visionary height. The good news that she brings back is that our struggles with persistence and courage are indeed the seeds of kindness.”—Mike Davis, co-author of No One Is Illegal

“Hope in the Dark changed my life. During a period of pervasive cynicism and political despair, the first edition of this book provided me with a model for activist engagement that I have held dear ever since. Today, as movements for climate, racial, and economic justice sweep the globe, its message is more relevant than ever. In her inimitable and inspiring way, Solnit reminds us that social change follows an unpredictable path. Despite all the obstacles, we must not lose sight of the fact that profound transformation is possible. This book’s compact size belies its true power. It provides succor and sustenance, fuel and fire, for those fighting for a more just world.”—Astra Taylor, co-author of Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea