A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster Hardback - 2009
by Rebecca Solnit
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 crisis.This is a timely and important book from an acclaimedauthor whose work consistently locates unseen patternsand meanings in broad cultural histories.
Summary
Why is it that in the aftermath of a disaster? whether manmade or natural?people suddenly become altruistic, resourceful, and brave? What makes the newfound communities and purpose many find in the ruins and crises after disaster so joyous? And what does this joy reveal about ordinarily unmet social desires and possibilities?
In A Paradise Built in Hell, award-winning author Rebecca Solnit explores these phenomena, looking at major calamities from the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco through the 1917 explosion that tore up Halifax, Nova Scotia, the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. She examines how disaster throws people into a temporary utopia of changed states of mind and social possibilities, as well as looking at the cost of the widespread myths and rarer real cases of social deterioration during crisis. This is a timely and important book from an acclaimed author whose work consistently locates unseen patterns and meanings in broad cultural histories.
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Details
- Title A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster
- Author Rebecca Solnit
- Binding Hardback
- Edition First Edition
- Pages 353
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Viking Books
- Publication date 2009-08-20
- ISBN 9780670021079 / 0670021075
- Weight 1.25 lbs (0.57 kg)
- Dimensions 9.14 x 6.34 x 1.19 in (23.22 x 16.10 x 3.02 cm)
- Age range 18 to UP years
- Grade levels 13 - UP
- Category Sociology
- Library of Congress subjects Disasters - Psychological aspects, Disasters - Social aspects
- Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2009004101
- Dewey Decimal Code 303.485
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