Hope in the Dark

Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities

By: Rebecca Solnit

Narrated by: Tanya Eby

With Hope in the Dark, Rebecca Solnit 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 knowledge of environmental, cultural, and political history, Solnit argues 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. Originally published in 2004, now with a new foreword and afterword, Solnit's influential book shines a light into the darkness of our time in an unforgettable new edition.

©2016 Rebecca Solnit (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"An inspired observer and passionate historian, Solnit, whose River of Shadows (2003) won a National Book Critics Circle Award, is one of the most creative, penetrating, and eloquent cultural critics writing today." ( Booklist)

Truly awful narrator

The book is informative and engaging. I have purchased it in print to finish. The narration is absolutely terrible- like turning on an automated text reader on your computer. Really really bad.

Fierce, fearless and empowering

As a climate activist for more than 6 years this is one of the best books about untold history and how to communicate courage, hope and joy. Rebecca looked at crises from a longer view of time and wider perspective of movements. I will come back to it again and again.

Galvanizing

I spent years assuming I knew roughly what was in this book, but finally reading it has changed my life. Solnit helped me make sense of activism, hope and despair. It’s also a wryly funny book. Five stars for Solnit’s amazing book, zero stars for the publishers who chose a narrator who makes it all sound like an uplifting tampon commercial and can’t pronounce key terms like “transnational.”

Hope in a difficult age

The book focuses on maintaining a hopeful disposition while engaging in activism. The book uses specific examples to help reframe the purpose of activism from impossible end goals to achievable progress through dedication and celebration of the process.

Helpful

In a time that often feels hopeless to me, Rebecca’s work helped me see other options.