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Optimism Over Despair
Optimism Over Despair
Nov 15, 2024 3:16 AM

Author:Noam Chomsky,C J Polychroniou,Ako Mitchell

Optimism Over Despair

Brought to you by Penguin.

We have two choices. We can be pessimistic, give up, and help ensure that the worst will happen. Or we can be optimistic, grasp the opportunities that surely exist, and maybe help make the world a better place. Not much of a choice.

Another essential work from a peerless political thinker, exploring the rise of neoliberalism, the refugee crisis in Europe, the Black Lives Matter movement, the dysfunctional US electoral system, and the prospects and challenges of building a movement for radical change. Including four up-to-the-minute interviews on the 2016 American election campaign and global resistance to Trump, this Penguin Special is a concise introduction to Chomsky's ideas and his take on the state of the world today.

Reviews

Highly informative ,deftly organized... Noam Chomsky teaches us-yet again-so much on a huge range of issues... If you haven't read Chomsky before, this book will open your eyes. Even if you have, reading this book will make you realize that you still have more eyes to be opened. A beacon in this turbulent and darkening world

—— Ha-Joon Chang, author of '23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism'

Especially valuable in helping us navigate the dreadful challenges of the Trumpian era... For all those of us who have always dreamed of spending a day with Noam Chomsky and getting his answers to all our questions about the (sorry) state of the world, here's the next best thing: a collection of interviews with our greatest living intellectual on capitalism, empire, and social change

—— Michael Klare

Astonishing, fundamental, urgent... Demonstrating anew that Noam Chomsky is the world's most humane, philosophically sophisticated, and knowledgeable public intellectual. I cannot imagine a better primer for anyone seeking a better, safer, fairer future

—— Professor Richard Falk, International Law Emeritus at Princeton University

In this brilliant series of recent and wide-ranging interviews, Noam Chomsky combines an astounding breadth of knowledge, great depth of insight, clarity and a relentless commitment to social and economic justice. Simply exhilarating, especially in our current dismal era of Donald Trump. Optimism over Despair is a book to devour

—— Professor Robert Pollin, Codirector of the Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts

Mitchell cuts through the hype that the field of A.I. is often prone to and lays out what it does well, where it fails, and how it might do better

—— George Musser, author of Spooky Action at a Distance

Melanie Mitchell deftly provides the reader with a keen, clear-sighted account of the history of AI and neural networks. A wonderfully informative book

—— John Allen Paulos, author of Innumeracy

Mitchell is one of the finest minds in computation today, and one of the clearest-spoken. She understands the power of a metaphor — and why nearly all of the ones we have for AI are either simply poor, in the best of cases, or dangerously misleading. If you want to know where our current mayhem came from, read this account of the field

—— Cat Bohannon author of Eve

Jason Hickel takes us on a profound journey through the last 500 years of capitalism and into the current crisis of ecological collapse. He lays out how we can transition to a post-capitalist economy, but also reminds us that there are other ways of knowing and being that hold the secret to a better world. Less is More is required reading for anyone interested in what it means to live in the Anthropocene, and what we can do about it.

—— Alnoor Ladha, co-founder of The Rules

This riveting offering explores a world that has finally woken up to the reality of climate change and ecological collapse. Arguing that a change of thinking is desperately needed, he charts a path to a post-capitalist world and an economy that is more just, caring and fun.

—— The Sunday Post

A restorative and invigorating read for troubled times, Hickel inspires hope that there is in fact a different way to approach life and society. The global pandemic has made us realise we don't need to go back to the way it was, and this book offers up a vision of the future that we should aspire to. A must read for anyone sick of the egregious ills of the present day.

—— Wicked Leeks

Hickel's book is accessible and engagingly well written, with a good mix of anecdote, facts and argument

—— Steady State Manchester

A clear and compelling case for a post-growth economy.

—— Global Justice

A marvel of just under 300 pages in which, with undeniable literary talent, the author reviews the history of the last six centuries and how capitalism has always been sustained in search of an "external something" that would allow it to continue its expansion and accumulation.

—— El Salto

Hickel ... succeeds in outlining a fresh history of the epic struggle between capital and the commons ... A foreword by Extinction Rebellion, and a creditable argument linking the politics of degrowth to de-colonisation, imply a revolutionary moment must come, and soon.

—— Bella Caledonia

Jason Hickel argues shrinking economies is the way to avert climate catastrophe ... it's certainly persuasive.

—— Miranda Moore , The Herald

Mack is a great science communicator and I suspected I was going to like this book as soon as I saw her name. I am pleased to say it does not disappoint

—— BBC Sky at Night

Mack creates an accessible, easy-to-digest guide to how the universe might end, speaking in a casual way that feels like sitting down for coffee with a good friend - one who can break down the physics of destruction into bite-sized delights

—— Discover

Excellent, far-reaching... the perfect antidote to the malaise of mundane worries

—— Science

I found it helpful -- not reassuring, certainly, but mind-expanding -- to be reminded of our place in a vast cosmos.

—— James Gleick, The New York Times Book Review

Having a great time enjoying The End of Everything. A mind blowing book. I got mine on Kindle as I need to underline particularly mind boggling ideas. Why not join me?

—— Eric Idle

A joy . . . a captivating trip into the weird and wonderful mycorrhizal world around us - and inside us . . . full of startling revelations

—— Daily Mail

The oddest and most uplifting book . . . It is, to say the least, rare to find such a vast area of life on Earth - fungi - about which one knows almost nothing, and which gives promise of being so important to human life during our next century

—— ANDREW MARR , New Statesman Books of the Year

If you had told me a book about fungi would be both enthralling and completely mind-blowing, I wouldn't have believed you. And yet. Dazzlingly good

—— INDIA KNIGHT, Sunday Times

A triumph and a thing of vast beauty

—— TOM HODGKINSON, The Idler

Fungi are everywhere, and Merlin Sheldrake is an ideal guide to their mysteries. He's passionate, deeply knowledgeable and a wonderful writer

—— ELIZABETH KOLBERT, author of Under A White Sky

Deeply engaging and constantly surprising . . . the magic of mushrooms is not merely mind-expanding . . . it might expand the very concept of mind

—— PHILIP BALL , Prospect

As hard to put down as a thrilling detective novel, and one of the best works of popular science writing that I have enjoyed in years

—— DENNIS MCKENNA, author (with Terence McKenna) of Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower’s Guide

It is impossible to put this book down. Entangled Life provides a window into the mind-boggling biology and fascinating cultures surrounding fungal life, as well as fungi’s innumerable uses in materials, medicine and ecology. Sheldrake asks us to consider a life-form that is radically alien to ours, yet vibrant and lively underfoot

—— HANS ULRICH OBRIST

This is not just for mushroom-heads - it is science at its most uplifting

—— JEANETTE WINTERSON , The Times

Playful, strange, intensely philosophical ... Until very recently, human knowledge of this most mysterious lifeform, neither plant nor animal, has been extremely limited. This is astounding, given ... their seismic impact on life on earth ... [Sheldrake's] central vision of the interconnectedness of all life-forms feels shiveringly prescient'

—— Telegraph

Superbly written. Beautifully written and utterly heartbreaking. Courageous, inspired, bleakly comic, extreme candour

—— Guardian

Searing

—— Daily Mail

Hodge's beautiful memoir is both a devastating, grief-fuelled account of her sister's death and a redemptive tale of an emotional reckoning

—— i

It's a vivid and oddly entertaining memoir, a hand plunged into the dark hole of grief . . . uncovers surprising treasures - most importantly, strength, resilience and love

—— Mail on Sunday

Searing. A masterful writer with a gift for storytelling. Her prose is rich with detail, combining a sharp sense of place with escalating drama. A triumph

—— i

The most moving, most exquisitely written book about addiction, grief, loss and coming to terms with trauma even decades on. One that you will be thinking about, and remember long after finishing

—— Sophia Money-Coutts , Quintessentially

One of the most beautiful memoirs I've ever read. This story will say with you long after you put the book down

—— Emma Gannon

I just turned the last page (reluctantly!). A bold, often brutal exploration of memory, grief and love. Full of hope and heart. I can't recommend it enough

—— Terri White, author of Coming Undone

A brave, brilliant book that is both beautiful and important. Read it then buy it for all your friends

—— Hello!

Gavanndra's memoir The Consequences of Love is absolutely beautiful. It's compelling, heartbreaking, sweet, honest, fascination. I recommend it HIGHLY. I absolutely LOVED it.

—— Marian Keyes

This stunning exploration of grief is so well written and profoundly moving

—— Good Housekeeping

An elegant study of grief and memory

—— Guardian

Hodge pours heartbreak and love into the pages of a book that never pretends to know the answers, and is all the better for it

—— Sunday Times

An eye-opening snapshot of the fashion world in '90s London

—— Vogue UK

The most important story, perfectly told

—— Amy Liptrot

Memorable, urgent, eloquent ... Rebanks speaks with blunt, unmatched authority. He is also a fine writer with descriptive power and a gift for characterisation ... English Pastoral may be the most passionate ecological corrective since Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

—— Caroline Fraser , New York Review of Books
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