The Book of Hope
A Survival Guide for Trying Times
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4.3 • 46 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**
In a world that seems so troubled, how do we hold on to hope?
Looking at the headlines—the worsening climate crisis, a global pandemic, loss of biodiversity, political upheaval—it can be hard to feel optimistic. And yet hope has never been more desperately needed.
In this urgent book, Jane Goodall, the world's most famous living naturalist, and Douglas Abrams, the internationally bestselling co-author of The Book of Joy, explore through intimate and thought-provoking dialogue one of the most sought after and least understood elements of human nature: hope. In The Book of Hope, Jane focuses on her "Four Reasons for Hope": The Amazing Human Intellect, The Resilience of Nature, The Power of Young People, and The Indomitable Human Spirit.
Drawing on decades of work that has helped expand our understanding of what it means to be human and what we all need to do to help build a better world, The Book of Hope touches on vital questions, including: How do we stay hopeful when everything seems hopeless? How do we cultivate hope in our children? What is the relationship between hope and action? Filled with moving and inspirational stories and photographs from Jane’s remarkable career, The Book of Hope is a deeply personal conversation with one of the most beloved figures in the world today.
While discussing the experiences that shaped her discoveries and beliefs, Jane tells the story of how she became a messenger of hope, from living through World War II to her years in Gombe to realizing she had to leave the forest to travel the world in her role as an advocate for environmental justice. And for the first time, she shares her profound revelations about her next, and perhaps final, adventure.
The second book in the Global Icons Series—which launched with the instant classic The Book of Joy with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu—The Book of Hope is a rare and intimate look not only at the nature of hope but also into the heart and mind of a woman who revolutionized how we view the world around us and has spent a lifetime fighting for our future.
There is still hope, and this book will help guide us to it.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
A follow-up to author Douglas Abrams’ bestseller The Book of Joy, a life-affirming conversation with the Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama, The Book of Hope is a powerful tonic for troubled times. Published in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, this thoughtful back-and-forth between Abrams and naturalist Jane Goodall goes into compelling detail about how and why to have faith in the future of our planet. Dr. Goodall’s science background is at the forefront; she points out how the almost daily small advances of the scientific community show that significant leaps forward in renewable energy and other major advances are likely in our near future. Goodall is unfailingly optimistic, using anecdotes from her lengthy career to underscore her core idea that when hope is combined with personal action, nearly anything is possible. After you’ve read it once, this book is ideal to keep handy for short bursts of inspiration and optimism whenever you need them.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This illuminating conversation between naturalist Goodall (Reason for Hope) and Abrams (coauthor, The Book of Joy) teases out Goodall's thoughts on why one should feel hopeful in "dark times." According to Goodall, there are "four main reasons for hope: the amazing human intellect, the resilience of nature, the power of youth, and the indomitable human spirit." In unpacking her belief in the power of persistence, Goodall takes readers to her childhood home in England, where her family questioned if she had the constitution to travel to Africa; to Tanzania, where she studied chimpanzees and came face to face with "crippling poverty, lack of good education and degradation of the land"; and into her work as a U.N. Messenger of Peace. In the process, she cites having a spiritual sense of purpose as crucial to her hope and activism. Her infectious optimism and stirring call to action make this necessary reading for those concerned about the planet's future: "we must not let this distract us from the far greater threat to our future—the climate crisis and the loss of biodiversity," she writes. "Find your reasons for hope and let them guide you onward." Goodall's rousing testament will resonate widely.
Customer Reviews
The Book of Hope
A lovely book that feels like you’re sitting across from Dr. Jane Goodall, a plate of warm scones and steaming mugs of tea before you, as she chats about her life from her childhood, to her time in Africa with her beloved chimps, and to her present day environmental activism. There are wonderful stories and a genuine sense of hope that she imparts about our planet. Inspiring and highly recommended!
Pub Date 19 Oct 2021
Thanks to the authors and Celadon Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Inspiring
#TheBookofHope A Survival Guide for Trying Times by #JaneGoodall and #DouglasAbrams
by theliteratequilter
In these dark times when we are faced with multiple threats of our own making, Jane Goodall offers us hope for the future, inspiration to change our lives, and assurance that every one of us can impact the world for good.
In a series of interviews, Douglas Abrams asked Goodall about the source of her hope. She offers four reasons to hope.
First, Goodall knows that humans have an intellect that can be used for "unfortunate ways" or for good. If enough people take individual action for the better, and bond together, we can implement changes for good. She often references Britain during WWII, the horror of Nazism and the boundless, hopeful courage of the British that made them resilient. She saw good victorious over evil.
Goodall has traveled the world and seen first hand the resilience of nature. She believes it is not too late to prevent a collapse of the world as we know it. Readers learn about species like the black robin that was brought back from the brink of extinction, and refers to other species that have rebounded, like the whooping crane and California condor, and how wolves reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park restored its ecosystem. Nature is resilient.
Young people across the world understand the world they are to inherit and are demanding and implementing change. Goodall's Roots and Shoots program supports children to identify and create programs that impact their world, planting gardens and trees, demanding school cafeterias disband Styrofoam, and even removing the image of a chimpanzee from a cereal box after learning that its 'smile' was one of fear. They are not responsible for doing all the work to correct our mistakes, but they lead us to awareness of the work to be done.
Goodall has faith in the indomitable human spirit, which with our ability to think and cooperate and adapt, has allowed us to be successful as a species. Her own husband, Derek was crippled during WWII and told he would never walk again. He never gave up, and learned to walk with a cane. She shares the unforgettable story of two Chinese men, one blind and one who lost his arms in an accident. They needed purpose in their lives and decided to restore their degraded land by planting trees. The sighted, armless man led the blind man who planted the trees. They have planted over ten thousand trees.
The stories of Goodall communicating with animals and humans, her loving acceptance, her spirituality and goodness, makes me understand that she is a saint, one who reflects God into our world. She believes in a spirit that embraces us all.
I dread the idea that if I had grandchildren they would have to contend with a world in crisis, with climate change and mass migrations and geopolitical turmoil and food and water insecurity. Can humanity give up our habits of indulgent waste, our alliance to business profit and wealth over protecting our home? Will we claim all living things our brothers and sisters and work to protect them?
We cannot survive without hope. Hope allows us to seek answers and implement growth through change.
I have read books warning about the future and encouraging change. This book is one that also offers encouragement that we CAN take on this huge responsibility and we CAN restore a balance to the world.
I received an ARC from Celadon Books in exchange for a fair and unbiased review