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A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster
"The freshest, deepest, most optimistic account of human nature I've come across in years."
-Bill McKibben
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 meaningf...more
-Bill McKibben
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 meaningf...more
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
August 31st 2010
by Penguin Books
(first published January 1st 2009)
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Dec 01, 2010
David
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone
Shelves:
unexpectedly-terrific,
read-in-2010
Before reading this book I was not a fan of Rebecca Solnit. Upon the insistent recommendation of several friends who rarely steer me wrong, a few years ago I bought a copy of her earlier book about Eadweard Muybridge ("River of Shadows") and found it completely unreadable. I could sense that Solnit was smart, but it was as if she were speaking in tongues - wading through her prose was sheer torment. So I ditched it.
About a month ago I heard her speak about this latest book on a local radio progr...more
About a month ago I heard her speak about this latest book on a local radio progr...more
Awesome book. Examines some well-known disasters, including Hurricane Katrina, and how they can lead to good change (as happened in Mexico after their last big earthquake).
One big thing that came from research is that in the absence of government (and in the case of New Orleans, in spite of government, often), people manage to come together and do good things, because of inherent goodness and caring about each other.
Another big thing was that how things turn out can depend very much on the assum...more
One big thing that came from research is that in the absence of government (and in the case of New Orleans, in spite of government, often), people manage to come together and do good things, because of inherent goodness and caring about each other.
Another big thing was that how things turn out can depend very much on the assum...more
Solnit's thesis is that the ordinary folk tend to not act like animals when the poop starts flying. Well and good. She has gathered a mountain of research on the subject, which I love to see. My own inclinations (and personal experiences) tend to support her thesis.
What makes this book tough is that the writing is profoundly uncritical of the primary sources and while the examples chosen were chosen well, it is hard not to feel like confirmation bias had crept into the writing of the book. Even...more
What makes this book tough is that the writing is profoundly uncritical of the primary sources and while the examples chosen were chosen well, it is hard not to feel like confirmation bias had crept into the writing of the book. Even...more
This book is a love letter to the better angels of human nature. In our worst moments, when disaster strikes and everything you have is gone, people's instincts are invariably to help one another in whatever way is needed.
Forget the idea of panicked people running through the streets trampling over one another is mindless frenzy. That's only in the overheated imaginations of authoritarians and Hollywood film makers. The stereotype is so unlikely that sociologists who have studied disasters canno...more
Forget the idea of panicked people running through the streets trampling over one another is mindless frenzy. That's only in the overheated imaginations of authoritarians and Hollywood film makers. The stereotype is so unlikely that sociologists who have studied disasters canno...more
It is amazing that a book can be so terrifying and so cheering at the same time! The author looks at the way people generally respond after a disaster: how they pull together and work to help each other, to the extent that, often, they look back at that time as one of the most meaningful, special times of their lives. That is the cheering part. On the other side are the powers that be--the government, the business owners, the military--that believe (and then act on that belief) that the public w...more
Apr 10, 2011
Lee
added it
Uneven in its ideas and writing, but ultimately compelling.
Solnit convincingly argues that we're not rampaging maniacs in times of crisis--quite the opposite, in fact--but her effort to use the temporary euphoria we feel immediately after a crisis as a model of what Utopia ought to feel like is not wholly convincing. Do we really want to live in a society where intense and euphoric present-oriented solidarity and unity are *always* in the foreground of our consciousness? Do we want to feel the...more
Solnit convincingly argues that we're not rampaging maniacs in times of crisis--quite the opposite, in fact--but her effort to use the temporary euphoria we feel immediately after a crisis as a model of what Utopia ought to feel like is not wholly convincing. Do we really want to live in a society where intense and euphoric present-oriented solidarity and unity are *always* in the foreground of our consciousness? Do we want to feel the...more
Feb 21, 2010
Richard Conlin
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to Richard by:
Washington Post Book World
Don't be put off or confused by this title! Rebecca Solnit writes a gripping and engrossing account of how people and communities respond to disasters by working together to help each other, why community response can make all the difference in changing the course of a disaster, and how fear, the media, and poorly thought out top-down responses can hurt, rather than help, these efforts.
Solnit examines a range of disasters from the San Francisco earthquake a hundred years ago to Katrina, and tell...more
Solnit examines a range of disasters from the San Francisco earthquake a hundred years ago to Katrina, and tell...more
not solnit's best book, but still pretty remarkable. it's tough not to think of naomi klein's the shock doctrine while reading it. in a sense, it's a correction to some of klein's assumptions about community response in the face of catastrophes. both writers are extremely skeptical about neoliberal "relief" efforts - as well as state power in general. but solnit's perspective is more optimistic about grassroots organization - as well as more directly simpathetic to anarchism than her earlier wor...more
A really interesting book. Made me think about disasters in an entirely new way and to be more optimistic about people's longing for community. This book seems to think communities can and do arise and that that can happen at precisely the moment which conventional wisdom tells us is when we are least able to care for ourselves and one another. Why, because civil institutions have our back under normal circumstances. But when those institutions are temporarily disabled after a disaster, conventi...more
I liked it. I read it right after "The Shock Doctrine" and while that book was, well, shocking, this book's main theme is hope in the middle of hopelessness. It shatters the myth that people's natural inclination during disasters and catastrophes is to turn on each other, with looting and murdering and destructive behavior. On the contrary, the vast majority turn to help each other in acts of solidarity. Money and possessions don't matter anymore, and people share food and shelter. Its usually t...more
A wonderful, rich book that absolutely everyone should read. Would have given it 5 stars, but frankly, it didn't move me quite the way Solnit's Field Guide to Getting Lost did, so I give it 4 in order to save the 5.
This book is nominally about disasters and the social-psychology of what happens to regular people when they happen. But I think it is actually an extended, gentle argument for anarchism more generally. Her repeated theme is that when good things happen out of bad situations, it is be...more
This book is nominally about disasters and the social-psychology of what happens to regular people when they happen. But I think it is actually an extended, gentle argument for anarchism more generally. Her repeated theme is that when good things happen out of bad situations, it is be...more
Read this for our latest book club selection. My first book read on a Nook. (When I really got into the story, I kept forgetting how to turn the pages at first!) This reads like a sociology text book where the author is attempting to prove a theory. Her basic theory is as I quote Anne Frank "because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart." She wants to prove that in times of disaster, people's instincts are intrinsically better than what movies and the gener...more
So, yeah, by the time I dragged myself across the finish line I was so oversaturated with Solnit's passion for community that I wanted to hole up in some remote mountain cabin with guns and ammunition and food and books as far away from human contact as possible. I didn't want to hug or look with warmth upon another human being ever again. I'm glad she presents examples of people acting with compassion and resilience under disastrous conditions, and is such an incorrigible optimist, but I couldn...more
I am a big fan of Solnit’s and consider her River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West one of my all time favorites. For the first two thirds of A Paradise Built in Hell, however,I found the repetition of the author's main point that quasi-utopian communities often, or even almost always, arise during disasters a bit tedious. Most interesting to me were the details of the particular disasters themselves. I appreciated the accounts rather more than the theorizing. Solnit...more
Solnit argues that disasters (earthquakes, fires, floods, explosions) result in a kind of temporary utopia in which the majority of people take care of each other, sacrifice and think of community good over personal gain. She also argues that disaster upsets the hierarchical structure of a society and allows for the voiceless to rise up and be heard. And that the elites and those in power often expect the worse in people, fearing that their economic and political clout will be "stolen" and act a...more
Solitary, Poor, Nasty, Brutish, and Short
In his groundbreaking work, Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes famously states, “the life of man [is] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” Describing life outside of a political institution, Hobbes believes that humanity resorts to a chaotic competition for scarce resources. Under this assumption, Hobbes argues for the existence of social contracts and, ultimately, the importance of an absolute sovereign.
A Selfless Humanity
With A Paradise Built in Hell, Rebec...more
In his groundbreaking work, Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes famously states, “the life of man [is] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” Describing life outside of a political institution, Hobbes believes that humanity resorts to a chaotic competition for scarce resources. Under this assumption, Hobbes argues for the existence of social contracts and, ultimately, the importance of an absolute sovereign.
A Selfless Humanity
With A Paradise Built in Hell, Rebec...more
Solnit's thesis is that disaster creates the possibility of new communities arising through the engagement of people working together in adhoc fashion. She also firmly believes volunteers perform better than institutions. I was at first reluctant to believe it. She uses many historical disasters-the 1906 SF earthquake, the 1917 Halifax explosion and the 1985 Mexico earthquake- to prove her point showing that elites are top heavy and obsessed with the threat of looting. But she's best in analysin...more
I slogged through this because I find the research compelling - I like the idea of positive, altruistic communities arising in the wake of disasters rather than the brutal, selfish gangs that may be expected. Solnit invokes some fascinating case studies & research (the Bedford Magazine Explosion, the San Francisco quake, and several more), but the writing and the treatment of these topics proves deeply flawed. Solnit frequently left me with unsatisfying generalizations about 'people feeling...more
I really liked the perspective of this book and found it interesting to finally hear a different narrative about how people respond to disasters. The few bad apples theory of violence and crime is probably pretty accurate, so it's nice to have someone presenting a counter-argument.
Only two things kept me from reviewing this more favorably; The first is that the book tends to go off the rails at times into examples that are only tangentially related to the thesis, but seem to reinforce the autho...more
Only two things kept me from reviewing this more favorably; The first is that the book tends to go off the rails at times into examples that are only tangentially related to the thesis, but seem to reinforce the autho...more
Really interesting book. Solnit organizes this book around the four main disasters mentioned in the synopsis (the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, 1917 explosion in Halifax, 1985 Mexico City earthquake, and Hurricane Katrina). However, she branches off into many other disasters along the way. At times this was confusing. I would end up reading about the great 18th century Lisbon earthquake and be like, wait a minute, how did I get here (although that was interesting, too)?
Solnit also editorialize...more
Solnit also editorialize...more
Had read it for a sociology class, and found it disappointing in terms of a subject for research and theories. Solnit depends on other sources/sociologists to build her work, and when her voice does come through, it is largely political and hyperbolic. That said, the first half of the book was illuminating, especially in light of viewing disasters which are more so historical and not fresh in the purview of contemporary issues. Anyone who has read a newspaper or watched the media during Katrina,...more
Jun 05, 2012
Richard
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Nope.
Recommended to Richard by:
SFPL
Shelves:
non-fiction,
san-francisco
Many folks might enjoy this book, but I'm not one of 'em.
There are two principle reasons for this, one of which is forgivable, the other is not.
The first is that this is a very personal book. No, it isn't TMI about the author, but her opinions and biases are evident throughout the story. When I see a title like this, I'm expecting something like what Simon Winchester has done numerous times (for example, this or this or especially this, or this one that turns out wasn't by him). Even this topic...more
There are two principle reasons for this, one of which is forgivable, the other is not.
The first is that this is a very personal book. No, it isn't TMI about the author, but her opinions and biases are evident throughout the story. When I see a title like this, I'm expecting something like what Simon Winchester has done numerous times (for example, this or this or especially this, or this one that turns out wasn't by him). Even this topic...more
fascinating book. Optimistic view of every-man, explores our cultural and class biases. And our dramatized view of disaster--which needs to expanded, especially for the elites to lead/ or let lead/ to less harm. --which seems to be happening somewhat, i.e., San Francisco disaster training. Fascinating how our different cultures respond with a similiar human response that reflects our cultures.
Thoroughly enjoyed,the entire book. Though found the first half interesting, it was a little dry. As sh...more
Thoroughly enjoyed,the entire book. Though found the first half interesting, it was a little dry. As sh...more
I finished this book today, and it jogged my memory to add Zeitoun by Dave Eggers to my books read this year.
Rebecca Solnit is one of my favorite authors, and I have listened to several interviews with her on PBS, including one about this book. I don't think she's a natural optimist, but her thesis here is convincing. Sections IV and V, about 9/11 in New York City and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, are particularly compelling.
What I remember from an earlier radio interview is her saying that...more
Rebecca Solnit is one of my favorite authors, and I have listened to several interviews with her on PBS, including one about this book. I don't think she's a natural optimist, but her thesis here is convincing. Sections IV and V, about 9/11 in New York City and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, are particularly compelling.
What I remember from an earlier radio interview is her saying that...more
Solnit's theme is a most-timely one for those of us interested in up-ending current myths about how people experience and behave during disasters. She brings together extensive quotations from those who broke this ground: Henry James, Dorothy Day, Peter Kropotkin, and the sociologists of disaster studies. The only reason she hasn't got five stars is that her prose begins to tire somewhere in the middle. When she gets away from the people -- the first person narratives she gleaned from newspaper...more
This book is pretty incredible, and I would recommend it to anyone. The argument builds from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (and subsequent fire) to Hurricane Katrina, through many stops in between, showing how civilized society is a very thin veneer beneath which lies... community and familial love. Looting and panic and random hysterical violence is largely a hyperbole of the very frightened elite. So the touchpoint, throughout, is that the real disaster is a society which keeps people apar...more
If nothing else, this book is interesting, thought-provoking, and sheds a new light on events that we thought we already knew everything about. It is an encouraging and enlightening read. If you've ever watched TV, you probably believe a good deal of disaster mythology, and this book gives some fantastic examples that show that society doesn't fall apart when disaster strikes.
Unfortunately, the writing was a bit sloppy. I frequently felt that Solnit was very passionate about her ideals and that...more
Unfortunately, the writing was a bit sloppy. I frequently felt that Solnit was very passionate about her ideals and that...more
Next Tuesday, May 15th, I will go to the Mammoth Library to hear the incredible author of this book, Rebecca Solnit. This is the California Reads selection, and it certainly deserves to be read and discussed. I felt encouraged by what the author discovered. The communities that arise in the face of a disaster are what sustain us. It's a hopeful message at a time when so many face unprecedented upheaval in places they love. The research and scholarship that brought this book to fruition are notew...more
I like the myth buster approach to how people react acutely in disaster, and I would love to see some policy change arise out of our poor national respionse to Katrina, how there is not a possible rapid national response--that it is inherently delayed, and to develop guidelines for local response that do not assume that every one will be looiting and allow that in times of food and water shortages that there is a need to use what is avaialbe, things like that. What I was less enthusiastic about...more
Couldn't get caught up in this one - it had promise, but the layout of information felt very scatterplot, and the arguments the author made peppered throughout the supporting information, making it hard to follow. It felt as if she kept interrupting the story of what folks did in a particular disaster to assert why this supported her assertions, instead of laying out the info and the drawing the conclusions all at once. I only got through the first disaster section, and I might go back and give...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Reads: What are you discovering? | 1 | 2 | Feb 28, 2012 05:22pm | |
| Book Launch for this book | 1 | 5 | Dec 11, 2009 12:25pm |
Rebecca Solnit (b. 1961) 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.
More about Rebecca Solnit...
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“The possibility of paradise hovers on the cusp of coming into being, so much so that it takes powerful forces to keep such a paradise at bay. If paradise now arises in hell, it's because in the suspension of the usual order and the failure of most systems, we are free to live and act another way.”
—
4 people liked it
“This is a paradise of rising to the occasion that points out by contrast how the rest of the time most of us fall down from the heights of possibility, down into diminished selves and dismal societies. Many now do not even hope for a better society, but they recognize it when they encounter it, and that discovery shines out even through the namelessness of their experience. Others recognize it, grasp it, and make something of it, and long-term social and political transformations, both good and bad, arise from the wreckage. The door to this ear's potential paradises is in hell.”
—
2 people liked it
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Dec 03, 2010 09:43am
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