Collections
Publication
Viking Adult (2009), Edition: First Edition, First Printing, Hardcover, 368 pages
Description
Why is it that in the aftermath of a disaster, people suddenly become altruistic, resourceful, and brave? Award-winning author Solnit explores this phenomena, looking at major calamities from the past 100 years.
Media reviews
Choice
Highly recommended. ***All levels/libraries.
Emergency planning, such as securing levees, can help protect the vulnerable. Yet state-sponsored projects don't fit into Solnit's picture of spontaneous, anarchic recovery, so they get little attention here. Nonetheless, this is a bracing, timely book.
The West Coast essayist and social critic Rebecca Solnit is the kind of rugged, off-road public intellectual America doesn’t produce often enough. It’s been fascinating to watch her zigzagging career unfold.
Awards
Commonwealth Club of California Book Awards (Gold Medal — Nonfiction — 2009)
The New York Times Notable Books of the Year (Nonfiction — 2009)
San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year (Nonfiction — 2009)
Christian Science Monitor Best Book (Nonfiction — 2009)
Los Angeles Times Best Books of the Year (Nonfiction — 2009)
Language
Physical description
368 p.; 6.5 x 1.18 inches
ISBN
0670021075 / 9780670021079