Call Them by Their True Names

Call Them by Their True Names American Crises (and Essays)

Beginning with the election of Donald Trump ("The Loneliest Man in the World") and expanding back and forth into American history, surveillance, violence against the individual, the denormalizing of misogyny and the rehumanizing of public space. The ultimate focus of the book is climate and feminist activism, bringing Solnit's trademark deep analysis to bear on a range of contemporary crises. And again, and spectacularly, she shows us how to hope.
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Reviews

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Heather Margaret@heatherdarling
5 stars
Jun 9, 2024

"Michel Foucault noted, "People know what they do; frequently they know why they do what they do; but what they don't know is what they do does." You do what you can. What you've done may do more than you can imagine for generations to come. You plant a seed, and a tree grows from it; will there be fruit, shade, habitat for birds, more seeds, a forest, wood to build a cradle or a house? You don't know. A tree can live much longer than you. So will an idea, and sometimes the changes that result from accepting that new idea about what is true, or right, just might remake the world. You do what you can do; you do your best; what you do does is not up to you." I love Rebecca's little books full of huge stories and facts. I especially love it with the atmosphere that we are all living through and a lot more people have been woken up to notice. The essays are meant to hit your heart and brain leaving you using both your knowledge and feelings together.

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Neva Davies@booksofunknownorigin
5 stars
Nov 18, 2021

An excellent collection of essays looking at serious problems There are three essays that I really appreciated: Facing The Furies, Preaching to The Choir, Death By Gentrification. Each of these essays really looked at politics and life in a way that humanizes the people who are the most likely to get hurt, and to remind us that while anger has its place, that anger is a double edged sword. This is a collection of essays that I really recommend everyone should read!

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Virginia Su@virginiasu
4 stars
Oct 28, 2021

4.5 stars!!!

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Joylyn yang@joylyn
2.5 stars
Feb 23, 2023
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Andrew Reeves@awreeves
4 stars
Jul 5, 2024
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Megan Parrott@meganparrott
4 stars
Jul 5, 2024
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Emma Bose@emmashanti
5 stars
Mar 3, 2024
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Lizelle G@lizelle
4 stars
Dec 28, 2023
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Boothby@claraby
5 stars
Apr 14, 2023
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Morgan Thomas@moalthom91
4 stars
Apr 8, 2023
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Ana Hein@anahein99
3 stars
Jan 5, 2023
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Martin Ackerfors@ackerfors
5 stars
Sep 13, 2022
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Katie Chua@kchua
4 stars
Aug 13, 2022
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Audrey Kalman@audkal
3 stars
Jun 19, 2022
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Tiff Brunson@tiffbrunson
5 stars
Feb 19, 2022
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Stephen Schenkenberg@schenkenberg
3 stars
Dec 29, 2021
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Spencer Turney@spencerturney
3 stars
Dec 29, 2021
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Kaitee Tredway@kaiteeyaeko
5 stars
Dec 17, 2021
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Leslie Stinson@lstinson
4 stars
Dec 8, 2021
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Karolina@fox
5 stars
Sep 14, 2021
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Jen Taylor@jen_n_taylor
5 stars
Aug 3, 2021

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