Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities

Written 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 reading of environmental, cultural, and political history, Solnit argued 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jan 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781541470545

Rebecca Solnit

Rebecca Solnit is the author of more than 25 books, including Orwell’s Roses, Hope in the Dark, Men Explain Things to Me, A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster, and A Field Guide to Getting Lost. A longtime climate and human rights activist, she serves on the boards of Oil Change International and Third Act.

Reviews for Hope in the Dark

[jaimelesmaths · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very enlightening and inspiring for such a short book. I like how it talked about activism as a process with no true victory or defeat. However, I felt that, for my job, this was also a downside of the book. Sometimes there are deadlines that require a more pragmatic activism approach. For example, if there's an election coming up, you can't be content just to educate everyone about the issues and say you won because you changed a few peoples' minds. You need to identify whose minds can be changed or who are undecided because they aren't informed about the issue and do heavy persuasion on them. Then, when you "win," you can take as much time as you need to educate opponents. (Yes, I do political work, so I find this relevant.)Mandatory hippie joke: The publishers should run a promotion: free Birkenstocks with purchase.

[theampersand · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rebecca Solnit wrote this book on the eve of George W. Bush's ill-fated decision to start the Second Iraq War, but this little book functions as a sort of all-purpose devotional for leftist activists of all stripes who find themselves faced with bleak prospects. Solnit deftly connects disparate strands of history, arguing that even failed attempts at improving our world may have far-reaching effects that we may not be able to predict. The author borrows heavily -- and skillfully -- from Vaclav Havel's ideas about hope, which do not require a specific plan of action or favorable odds but only the belief that somewhere and somehow, things can be made better. Solnit provides some wonderful examples of how unpredictable activism can be: an anti-nuclear testing program in Nevada led to an alliance between Americans and Kazakhs. Activists who dreamed of a better world have drawn inspiration from figures separated by both oceans and eons. Solnit's main point here is that trying to make a better world justifies itself and that even movements that seem to have failed may eventually bear fruit. As we look down the barrel of a second Trump administration, it's a message that I -- and maybe all of us -- needed to hear.

Unlike the author, I can't really describe myself as a politically active person. However, I much of "Hope in the Dark" to be useful from a purely personal perspective. Solnit's beliefs that impossible odds are not an excuse to not give things a try, that despair is often a logical but emotionally comfortable option, and that power often disguises itself as normalcy can be applied in both the political and the personal spheres of one's life. I should also probably mention that there are some elements of "Hope in the Dark" that I can't get behind under any circumstances, much as I admire Solnit's courage and her writing. She's rather further to the left than I am, so I'm not really prepared to hear nice things said about the Chavista regime in Venezuela, nor do I think, despite some very real examples of creative mutual support, that the crash of 2001 did very much but cause irreparable damage to Argentine society. Even so, this one is recommended to anyone, lefties and Never Trumpers alike, who need assurance that all is not lost.

[smokler_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Indispensable if you are feeling politically demoralized.

[the7ken7petersen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The trouble with avant guarde politics is that it is always grumpy. This is not right, that is wrong - and, of course, politics should never sit on its laurels and become self congratulatory.

The problem is that it can easily leave one feeling bleak: if one can never reach Valhalla, then perhaps one might as well give up: what's the point?

This little book is that injection of positivity that is sometimes needed. It is an excellent read and will be dipped into on many occasions.

[evelyn.b · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A great book to start off an new year with hope.

As someone who wasn't paying much attention to politics in the 90's and 2000's (seeing as I was born in '95 and caught up with things like learning how to read, and elementary school crushes) I didn't grasp all the content of this book like an adult living through those times likely would, and the Trump Administration isn't mentioned. These things definitely influenced my rating, but I did still enjoyed this book for the info nuggets and thoughtful perspectives on hope.
This collection of essays, the third edition updated in 2015, paints a crucial picture of how having hope during times of political or social injustice is the main reason that activism works in a democracy. Solnit uses real examples throughout time focusing primarily on the last 50 years (prior to the Trump administration mind you), to detail how in the darkest times hope shines brightest.
It can't be denied that Hurricane Katrina, Civil wars in South America, 9/11, and the crushing destruction of the environment by fossil fuel emissions were and are dark matters that seem(ed) hopeless. Solnit argues for hope and activism by breaking down what hope is, what it isn't, and why it's been a crucial tool for creating positive change, helping local communities, and bringing people together.

It's not easy to be hopeful when the world seems pitted against you in every way. But Rebecca makes a good case for why hope is good, why it's logical, and perhaps you may find a reason to be more hopeful about politics yourself after reading this book.

Things I need to search on Wikipedia thanks to this book teaching me I know little about them: The Bush Administration, Zapatistas, Malcolm X, Radical Center, Jazz Freedom Fighters, Reclaim The Streets, Occupy Wallstreet, Sandlot Riots 1977, Ronald Reagan, Alberta Tar Sands

[pdcread · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

For centuries people have revolted over the control that the state or other powerful individuals have tried to exert over the people. People can only be told what to do so much. I Hope in the Dark, Rebecca Solnit concentrates on the past five decades of activism against the state about all manner of issues. Sonit acknowledges the huge political thinkers who have shaped some of the politics that happen today.

It is an interesting polemic against the vested interests and the present economic system and is written with a clarity that I have come to expect from Solnit. It is a bit dated now, but sadly almost all of the salient points that Solnit makes are still valid. The message though is still clear; never, never give up hope. The smallest actions being carried out by you can be multiplied up into the tens of hundreds of people doing the same thing does have an effect. The rise of website and action groups like 38 Degrees and Avaaz are the testimony to this; exerting pressure on corporations and governments does get through, it is an irritant that they ignore at their peril. I particularly liked the way that think global, act local, can be turned on its head; by thinking local acting global is the replication of the same protest all around our planet. I would love to see a re-write of this to know exactly what she thinks about Trump, can't imagine it will be complimentary…

[kwharton-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Despairing about the world? Read this! Change does happen. We need to look at the changes that have happened and remember that things we might take for granted now had to change once. We need to celebrate the good things, and recognise that even though they're not perfect, they are good and we can celebrate them. We also need to get involved with climate activism

[iira_24 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this as an audiobook and for some reason was unable to fully concentrate. At times I felt the book was too much fixed on the Bush asdministration politics, but at times it really showed how history sometimes just keeps on repeating itself.
Mostly US oriented and talks about hope and activism but now looking backwards with the knowledge of the current situation just makes this book seem somewhat naive. There is no hope.

[eldang-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Meh.

Actually that's not quite fair. I wish I'd read this when it first came out, because it would have saved me several years in getting a sense of what the nebulous-sounding global social justice movements that spawned things like the Seattle WTO protests were about. But reading it in 2018 I found myself too often reacting with either "how did you not see that [e.g.] Chavez was a problem?", or "yes, that's nice in itself, but we're so manifestly losing this battle". There are some useful rays of light in it, and Solnit's a great writer, but on balance I think this book left me feeling more hopeless and depressed.

[rivkat_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Another short book of essays centering on the theme of being hopeful, not because victory is guaranteed but because the future is dark and thus much is possible.

[greeniezona · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a lovely and wonderful and needed book. A meditation on hope -- why it's important, how to nurture it, and what it has accomplished. A large portion of this book is dedicated to victories of the past progressive movements -- as reminders that we can create change, even when victories aren't always complete, perfect, or permanent. Even when they sometimes don't feel like victories at all.

My favorite bit: "We inhabit, in ordinary daylight, a future that was unimaginably dark a few decades ago, when people found the end of the world easier to envision than the impending changes in everyday roles, thoughts, practices that not even the wildest science fiction anticipated. Perhaps we should not have adjusted to it so easily. It would be better if we were astonished every day."

This quote sums up so much about both my frustrations with and my love of science fiction. It's perfect.

[jen6e6moore · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an incredible little book, about the stories we tell ourselves about change, and a guide for changing the stories we tell ourselves. I got this from Haymarket Books in the days after the 2016 election, when they were giving it away for free, and I'm convinced now that that was the best thing anyone could have done. I'm susceptible to pessimistic politics myself, but Solnit doesn't shame you for that tendency, only admits that it's easy and offers another way forward.

[snash_44 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The book focused on hope in the face of many wrongs as a necessary ingredient to propel social activism. That being the case, it pointed out the many successful changes brought about and noted that there are no final victories since perfection is not possible. The success of activism is, in part, in the effort.