Synopses & Reviews
The incomparable Rebecca Solnit, author of more than a dozen acclaimed books of nonfiction, brings the same dazzling writing to the twenty-nine essays in The Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness. As the title suggests, the territory of Solnit's concerns is vast, and in her signature alchemical style she combines commentary on history, justice, war and peace, and explorations of place, art, and community, all while writing with the lyricism of a poet to achieve incandescence and wisdom. Gathered here are celebrated iconic essays along with little-known pieces that create a powerful survey of the world we live in. In its encyclopedic reach and its generous compassion, Solnit's collection charts a way through the thickets of our complex social and political worlds. Like the women who've pioneered before her Sontag, Didion, and Dillard her essays are a beacon.
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"An amazing potpourri...she brings a clarity to the messiness of ideas." Minnesota Public Radio
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"Globally wide-ranging and topically urgent...will surely solidify her reputation as one of our most independent and necessary freelance intellectuals." Los Angeles Review of Books
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"Refreshingly coherent, profoundly smart." BBC News
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"One mesmerizing volume...these lyrical essays stress the importance of collective action and community." Publishers Weekly
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"Insights that are acute and meaningful....[It] leads to a different, more layered understanding of the world around us." Utne Reader
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"Thoughtful, eloquent and often inspiring essays." Kirkus Reviews
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"The 29 essays that make up Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness are global in their reach, combining meditations on history, politics, science, art, literature, climate change and natural disasters, and take us from the snowy tundra of the Arctic to the carnival-filled streets of New Orleans." The Daily Beast
About the Author
San Francisco writer
Rebecca Solnit is the author of 15 books about art, landscape, public and collective life, ecology, politics, hope, meandering, reverie, and memory. They include the critically acclaimed memoir
The Faraway Nearby and the National Book Critics Circle Award-winner
River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West. She is a contributing editor to
Harpers and a frequent contributor to TomDispatch.com.