-
A Paradise Built in Hell
- The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster
- Narrated by: Emily Beresford
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Release date: 08-27-14
- Language: English
- Publisher: Audible Studios
- Whispersync for Voice-ready
Regular price: $24.95
People who bought this also bought...
-
Hope in the Dark
- Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities
- By: Rebecca Solnit
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
- Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 96
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 92
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 89
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Hope indeed!
- By Carolinebp on 04-21-17
-
A Field Guide to Getting Lost
- By: Rebecca Solnit
- Narrated by: Rebecca Solnit
- Length: 4 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 154
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 143
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 135
A Field Guide to Getting Lost draws on emblematic moments and relationships in Solnit's own life to explore issues of wandering, being lost, and the uses of the unknown. The result is a distinctive, stimulating, and poignant voyage of discovery.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Made me sleepy
- By Natalie on 03-18-17
-
The Faraway Nearby
- By: Rebecca Solnit
- Narrated by: Rebecca Solnit
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 119
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 106
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 106
In this exquisitely written new audiobook by the author of A Paradise Built in Hell, Rebecca Solnit explores the ways we make our lives out of stories, and how we are connected by empathy, by narrative, by imagination. In the course of unpacking some of her own stories - of her mother and her decline from memory loss, of a trip to Iceland, of an illness - Solnit revisits fairytales and entertains other stories.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Book - Author shouldn't read it
- By S. Earle on 02-29-16
-
Wanderlust
- A History of Walking
- By: Rebecca Solnit
- Narrated by: Liisa Ivary
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 103
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 90
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 89
Drawing together many histories - of anatomical evolution and city design, of treadmills and labyrinths, of walking clubs and sexual mores - Rebecca Solnit creates a fascinating portrait of the range of possibilities presented by walking. Arguing that the history of walking includes walking for pleasure as well as for political, aesthetic, and social meaning, Solnit focuses on the walkers whose everyday and extreme acts have shaped our culture, from philosophers to poets to mountaineers.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Must read for all interested in human condition
- By Sarah on 06-06-18
-
Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now
- By: Jaron Lanier
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 57
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 57
You might have trouble imagining life without your social media accounts, but virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier insists that we’re better off without them. In his important new audiobook, Lanier, who participates in no social media, offers powerful and personal reasons for all of us to leave these dangerous online platforms behind before it’s too late. Lanier remains a tech optimist, so while demonstrating the evil that rules social media business models today, he also envisions a humanistic setting for social networking that can direct us towards richer and fuller way of living and connecting.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Book to Read/Listen to!
- By joshua c allman on 06-04-18
-
Men Explain Things to Me
- By: Rebecca Solnit
- Narrated by: Luci Christian Bell
- Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 822
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 739
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 726
In Men Explain Things to Me, Rebecca Solnit takes on the conversations between men who wrongly assume they know things and wrongly assume women don't. The ultimate problem, she shows in her comic, scathing essay, is female self-doubt and the silencing of women. Rebecca Solnit is the author of fourteen books about civil society, popular power, uprisings, art, environment, place, pleasure, politics, hope, and memory, most recently The Faraway Nearby, a book on empathy and storytelling.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book, poor recording
- By Erin B. on 07-22-15
-
Hope in the Dark
- Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities
- By: Rebecca Solnit
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
- Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 96
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 92
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 89
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Hope indeed!
- By Carolinebp on 04-21-17
-
A Field Guide to Getting Lost
- By: Rebecca Solnit
- Narrated by: Rebecca Solnit
- Length: 4 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 154
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 143
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 135
A Field Guide to Getting Lost draws on emblematic moments and relationships in Solnit's own life to explore issues of wandering, being lost, and the uses of the unknown. The result is a distinctive, stimulating, and poignant voyage of discovery.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Made me sleepy
- By Natalie on 03-18-17
-
The Faraway Nearby
- By: Rebecca Solnit
- Narrated by: Rebecca Solnit
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 119
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 106
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 106
In this exquisitely written new audiobook by the author of A Paradise Built in Hell, Rebecca Solnit explores the ways we make our lives out of stories, and how we are connected by empathy, by narrative, by imagination. In the course of unpacking some of her own stories - of her mother and her decline from memory loss, of a trip to Iceland, of an illness - Solnit revisits fairytales and entertains other stories.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great Book - Author shouldn't read it
- By S. Earle on 02-29-16
-
Wanderlust
- A History of Walking
- By: Rebecca Solnit
- Narrated by: Liisa Ivary
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 103
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 90
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 89
Drawing together many histories - of anatomical evolution and city design, of treadmills and labyrinths, of walking clubs and sexual mores - Rebecca Solnit creates a fascinating portrait of the range of possibilities presented by walking. Arguing that the history of walking includes walking for pleasure as well as for political, aesthetic, and social meaning, Solnit focuses on the walkers whose everyday and extreme acts have shaped our culture, from philosophers to poets to mountaineers.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Must read for all interested in human condition
- By Sarah on 06-06-18
-
Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now
- By: Jaron Lanier
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 57
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 57
You might have trouble imagining life without your social media accounts, but virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier insists that we’re better off without them. In his important new audiobook, Lanier, who participates in no social media, offers powerful and personal reasons for all of us to leave these dangerous online platforms behind before it’s too late. Lanier remains a tech optimist, so while demonstrating the evil that rules social media business models today, he also envisions a humanistic setting for social networking that can direct us towards richer and fuller way of living and connecting.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Book to Read/Listen to!
- By joshua c allman on 06-04-18
-
Men Explain Things to Me
- By: Rebecca Solnit
- Narrated by: Luci Christian Bell
- Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 822
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 739
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 726
In Men Explain Things to Me, Rebecca Solnit takes on the conversations between men who wrongly assume they know things and wrongly assume women don't. The ultimate problem, she shows in her comic, scathing essay, is female self-doubt and the silencing of women. Rebecca Solnit is the author of fourteen books about civil society, popular power, uprisings, art, environment, place, pleasure, politics, hope, and memory, most recently The Faraway Nearby, a book on empathy and storytelling.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book, poor recording
- By Erin B. on 07-22-15
-
Gender Trouble
- Feminism and the Subversion of Identity
- By: Judith Butler
- Narrated by: Emily Beresford
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 11
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 9
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 9
One of the most talked-about scholarly works of the past 50 years, Judith Butler's Gender Trouble is as celebrated as it is controversial. Arguing that traditional feminism is wrong to look to a natural, "essential" notion of the female, or indeed of sex or gender, Butler starts by questioning the category "woman" and continues in this vein with examinations of "the masculine" and "the feminine." Best known however, but also most often misinterpreted, is Butler's concept of gender as a reiterated social performance rather than the expression of a prior reality.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Been wanting for a long time to read Gender Trouble
- By GayIsGreat on 03-22-18
-
The Republic for Which It Stands
- The United States During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896
- By: Richard White
- Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine
- Length: 34 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
At the end of the Civil War the leaders and citizens of the victorious North envisioned the country's future as a free-labor republic, with a homogenous citizenry, both black and white. The South and West were to be reconstructed in the image of the North. Thirty years later Americans occupied an unimagined world. The unity that the Civil War supposedly secured had proved ephemeral. The country was larger, richer, and more extensive but also more diverse.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Be wary of narrator
- By Kate on 05-25-18
-
The Mother of All Questions
- By: Rebecca Solnit
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
In a timely and incisive follow-up to her national best seller Men Explain Things to Me, Rebecca Solnit offers sharp commentary on women who refuse to be silenced, misogynistic violence, the fragile masculinity of the literary canon, the gender binary, the recent history of rape jokes, and much more. In her characteristic style, Solnit mixes humor, keen analysis, and sharp insight in these 11 essays.
-
Lost Connections
- Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression - and the Unexpected Solutions
- By: Johann Hari
- Narrated by: Johann Hari
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,011
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 929
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 926
From the New York Times best-selling author of Chasing the Scream, a radically new way of thinking about depression and anxiety. What really causes depression and anxiety - and how can we really solve them?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Must read
- By Elizabeth on 01-27-18
-
The View from Flyover Country
- Dispatches from the Forgotten America
- By: Sarah Kendzior
- Narrated by: Sarah Kendzior
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 70
A clear-eyed account of the realities of life in America’s overlooked heartland, The View from Flyover Country is a piercing critique of the labor exploitation, race relations, gentrification, media bias, and other aspects of the post-employment economy that gave rise to a president who rules like an autocrat. The View from Flyover Country is necessary listening for anyone who believes that the only way for America to fix its problems is to first discuss them with honesty and compassion.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Repetitive
- By wanda on 05-03-18
-
Humankind
- Solidarity with Nonhuman People
- By: Timothy Morton
- Narrated by: Liam Gerrard
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
What is it that makes humans human? As science and technology challenge the boundaries between life and nonlife, between organic and inorganic, this ancient question is more timely than ever. Acclaimed object-oriented philosopher Timothy Morton invites us to consider this philosophical issue as eminently political. In our relationship with nonhumans, we decide the fate of our humanity. Becoming human, claims Morton, actually means creating a network of kindness and solidarity with nonhuman beings, in the name of a broader understanding of reality.
-
How to Change Your Mind
- By: Michael Pollan
- Narrated by: Michael Pollan
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,571
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,334
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,316
When Michael Pollan set out to research how LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are being used to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such as depression, addiction, and anxiety, he did not intend to write what is undoubtedly his most personal book. But upon discovering how these remarkable substances are improving the lives not only of the mentally ill but also of healthy people coming to grips with the challenges of everyday life, he decided to explore the landscape of the mind in the first person as well as the third.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A delightful trip
- By Paul E. Williams on 05-19-18
-
No Is Not Enough
- Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need
- By: Naomi Klein
- Narrated by: Brit Marling
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 499
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 435
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 428
The election of Donald Trump is a dangerous escalation in a world of cascading crises. Trump's vision - a radical deregulation of the US economy in the interest of corporations, an all-out war on "radical Islamic terrorism", and sweeping aside climate science to unleash a domestic fossil fuel frenzy - will generate wave after wave of crises and shocks to the economy, to national security, to the environment.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great story, TERRIBLE narrator
- By Audio Engineer on 11-09-17
-
So You Want to Talk About Race
- By: Ijeoma Oluo
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 433
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 387
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 386
In So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo offers a contemporary, accessible take on the racial landscape in America, addressing head-on such issues as privilege, police brutality, intersectionality, micro-aggressions, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the "N" word. Perfectly positioned to bridge the gap between people of color and white Americans struggling with race complexities, Oluo answers the questions listeners don't dare ask, and explains the concepts that continue to elude everyday Americans.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
But this book..
- By Space Shopper on 01-24-18
-
This Changes Everything
- Capitalism vs. the Climate
- By: Naomi Klein
- Narrated by: Ellen Archer
- Length: 20 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,119
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 987
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 980
In This Changes Everything Naomi Klein argues that climate change isn’t just another issue to be neatly filed between taxes and health care. It’s an alarm that calls us to fix an economic system that is already failing us in many ways. Klein meticulously builds the case for how massively reducing our greenhouse emissions is our best chance to simultaneously reduce gaping inequalities, re-imagine our broken democracies, and rebuild our gutted local economies.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Informative
- By Zohaib Syed on 05-12-17
-
Manufacturing Consent
- The Political Economy of the Mass Media
- By: Edward S. Herman, Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 15 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 134
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 120
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 117
In this pathbreaking work, now with a new introduction, Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky show that, contrary to the usual image of the news media as cantankerous, obstinate, and ubiquitous in their search for truth and defense of justice, in their actual practice they defend the economic, social, and political agendas of the privileged groups that dominate domestic society, the state, and the global order.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Disturbing view
- By Jan D. Leslie on 07-01-17
-
Our Towns
- A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America
- By: James Fallows, Deborah Fallows
- Narrated by: James Fallows, Deborah Fallows
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 35
For the last five years, James and Deborah Fallows have been traveling across America in a single-engine prop airplane. Visiting dozens of towns, they have met hundreds of civic leaders, workers, immigrants, educators, environmentalists, artists, public servants, librarians, businesspeople, city planners, students, and entrepreneurs to take the pulse and understand the prospects of places that usually draw notice only after a disaster or during a political campaign. The America they saw is acutely conscious of its problems, but it is also crafting solutions.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent premise, please hire a reader.
- By B. Gaston on 05-24-18
Publisher's Summary
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.
Critic Reviews
More from the same
What members say
Average Customer Ratings
Overall
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars31
-
4 Stars19
-
3 Stars9
-
2 Stars2
-
1 Stars1
Performance
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars18
-
4 Stars17
-
3 Stars11
-
2 Stars4
-
1 Stars0
Story
-
4.5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars29
-
4 Stars12
-
3 Stars6
-
2 Stars2
-
1 Stars1
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- zachery
- 10-09-15
Eye opening and thought provoking
The Author shares the truth about how most people respond to disasters, and it is not what you have been taught by media and government. The most good can be accomplished by trusting people to help each other.
I totally disagree with the whole climate change theory but other than that I found the book to be eye opening and thought provoking! Thanks.
I also appreciated the partial dramatic reading as well. Good job
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Lee Ann Cogert
- 05-09-18
Really informative and uplifting
This book was so worth my time. I loved the positivity. How humans respond to each other during disaster is a very interesting topic.
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- D
- 03-07-18
Narration interferes with story
Is there anything you would change about this book?
Narration
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
Learning about the criminal behavior of the authorities during the San Francisco earthquake and fires. Fascinating. Other stories were not as cohesive.
How did the narrator detract from the book?
I hung in there until The narrator started speaking with an accent when reading quotes translated from the original Spanish. I found it very offensive and distracting as I wondered whether she would use an accent when quoting people from other non-English speaking nations - will she dare to use a Japanese or Chinese accent??!! (Answer- no, she only used a “Spanish” accent). I finally gave up on listening to the rest of the book since I couldn’t focus on the content.
Any additional comments?
Loved Solnics other writings, especially The Faraway Nearby.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jerry
- 01-16-18
For school
It was a book I needed to “read” for a college course and it was amazing! Really enjoyed the book and following along with audible really helped out! Recommend!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jan Van Sickle
- 05-15-17
The higher light.
Although a talented reader, the tone of the narrator's voice doesn't reach the higher light in this wonderful book.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Christine Currie
- Santa Cruz, CA United States
- 11-21-16
Powerful Reportive Style
What made the experience of listening to A Paradise Built in Hell the most enjoyable?
Under current of ineptness around disaster zones when people are most in need brought to light.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gregory Monk
- 07-19-17
Similar to Shock Doctrine but from another angle
What was one of the most memorable moments of A Paradise Built in Hell?
The descriptions of the aftermath of Katrina were shocking to a non-American and something I was surprised to hear. The basic failures of the government during this time was something that I was aware of but the details were grisly and something I won't forget, and nor should I.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The entirety of the book was filled with moving encounters of underrepresented examples of humans at their best in the worst possible scenarios. I certainly recommend it to those who have lost their faith in the people of the modern world.