eBook
English language
Published July 10, 2009 by Penguin USA, Inc..
A startling investigation ofwhat people do in disastersand why it mattersWhy is it that in the aftermath of a disaster—whether manmade or natural—people suddenlybecome altruistic, resourceful, and brave? What makesthe newfound communities and purpose many findin the ruins and crises after disaster so joyous? Andwhat does this joy reveal about ordinarily unmet socialdesires and possibilities?In A Paradise Built in Hell, award-winning authorRebecca Solnit explores these phenomena, lookingat major calamities from the 1906 earthquake in SanFrancisco through the 1917 explosion that tore upHalifax, Nova Scotia, the 1985 Mexico City earthquake,9/11, and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Sheexamines how disaster throws people into a temporaryutopia of changed states of mind and social possibilities,as well as looking at the cost of the widespread mythsand rarer real cases of social deterioration during...
There are few books I would say are must-reads. I wish everyone would read this book. Solnit does an amazing job recounting some of the worst disasters (mainly in the U.S.) over the past 100 years. In doing so, she paints a picture that contrasts the state response to disaster with the ways that everyday folks build paradises in hell. An amazing book well conceived and well written. 5/5
A Paradise Built in Hell[1] by Rebecca Solnit is chicken soup for the soul of people paying attention to the world right now.
After studying the field of disaster sociology, Hobbes “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” view of humanity falls apart through extensive studies of disasters across the globe. People tend to join in community in disaster if they don’t believe their neighbors are coming with a shotgun to kill them. The mutual aid of people who give themselves to the moment in disaster to serve those around them is so common as to be considered hardwired into whatever “human nature” is.
My regurgitation of Solnit’s arguments is unlikely to convince you of much. However, many influential authors have reveled in the hope Solnit brings to us in A Paradise Built in Hell. Cory Doctorow wrote a book that holds Solnit’s ideas in the core of the narrative called …
A Paradise Built in Hell[1] by Rebecca Solnit is chicken soup for the soul of people paying attention to the world right now.
After studying the field of disaster sociology, Hobbes “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” view of humanity falls apart through extensive studies of disasters across the globe. People tend to join in community in disaster if they don’t believe their neighbors are coming with a shotgun to kill them. The mutual aid of people who give themselves to the moment in disaster to serve those around them is so common as to be considered hardwired into whatever “human nature” is.
My regurgitation of Solnit’s arguments is unlikely to convince you of much. However, many influential authors have reveled in the hope Solnit brings to us in A Paradise Built in Hell. Cory Doctorow wrote a book that holds Solnit’s ideas in the core of the narrative called Walkaway[2]. Robert Evans combined his knowledge of accelerationism and modern insurgent warfare and ideas from this book to provide listeners with a path after his reality shattering podcast series It Could Happen Here [3].
Follow the golden rule and you’ll show up to the disaster with a covered dish. Fear your neighbors and you’ll show up to disaster with a shotgun and an itchy finger.
[1] slpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/258355980
[2] slpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1379898116
[3] www.iheart.com/.../1119-it-could-happen-here.../
