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Summary: an inspiration to change your perceptions
Review: I have felt deeply moved and inspired reading "Hope's Edge". Travelling with Fances and Anna Lappé around the world to learn about alternative ways of thinking and living has been a wonderful, exciting inspiration to look at life and my place in life with new and different eyes and to find out how and where I can change my perceptions.
The actors in this book try to overcome and change the pain and problems of destructive ways of living. The book made me feel that my life, and everyone's life, can make a true difference, and that it is worth trying.
For me, it was one of the most important books which I have encountered, and the ideas and thinking of Frances and Anna Lappé will accompany me for many years to come.
What an interesting, exciting, wonderful book!
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Summary: Arming us with hope and evidence
Review: I wanted to give you some feedback about an extraordinary book that you sell. Just out a few months ago, written by Frances Moore Lappe (author of Diet for a Small Planet), Ms. Lappe and her daughter Anna traveled 5 continents to write the stories of people in communities that are"doing the right thing" - benefiting their communities in sustainable ways as well as themselves and serving as inspiration for those of us who work to create more healthy and sustainable communities. Hope's Edge is even better than Diet for a Small Planet, and serves as a remarkable guide in a world that has become much harder to live in. Two books that have really changed the way I think about the world are Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point and Hope's Edge, by Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe. Thank you for carrying books that introduce constructive avenues toward social change and move people to positive action.
Rating:
Summary: A book that changes the way you think
Review: I wanted to give you some feedback about an extraordinary book that you sell. Just out a few months ago, written by Frances Moore Lappe (author of Diet for a Small Planet), Ms. Lappe and her daughter Anna traveled 5 continents to write the stories of people in communities that are"doing the right thing" - benefiting their communities in sustainable ways as well as themselves and serving as inspiration for those of us who work to create more healthy and sustainable communities. Hope's Edge is even better than Diet for a Small Planet, and serves as a remarkable guide in a world that has become much harder to live in. Two books that have really changed the way I think about the world are Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point and Hope's Edge, by Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe. Thank you for carrying books that introduce constructive avenues toward social change and move people to positive action.
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Summary: Goes into my life's top 5
Review: I won't say much here, because the other reviewers have described the book well. All I will say is that this is one of the very best books I have ever read. Not only does Lappe have an incredible way with words, but she summarizes her profound insights in such a way that really organizes one's thoughts for genuine reflection. Add to that a well-documented and researched approach, as well as fascinating stories of different communities around the world which they themselves visited.
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Summary: Arming us with hope and evidence
Review: Many authors can and have articulated the problems of today's society. It is important for those problems to be exposed and explained - but where does that leave us? As someone all too familiar with the problems, and struggling to live with my ideals in today's America, it is easy to feel like there is no hope and the world's people are just accepting their fate at the hands of the multi-nationals. That's when a book like Hope's Edge begins to reveal its meaning and importance: it not only covers the problems, more importantly, it uncovers stories of people who are overcoming the problems. The book arms us with examples of people and strategies that are working, that are making progress. It didn't leave me feeling like we're all doomed no matter what we do, it didn't leave me feeling that I can sit back and relax because someone else is making things ok, it simply gave and gives me hope, examples and evidence that it is possible to create healthy communities and empower people in the face of fear, oppression and poverty. That is the seed of true power, the knowing it is possible. For that I thank Ms. Lappé and her daughter and highly recommend their book.
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Summary: FINDING HOPE'S EDGE
Review: The "hopelessly hopeful" reviewer seemed to have missed the Lappe's whole message, or maybe intentionally didn't see it. I loved HOPE'S EDGE and the Lappe's point that hope doesn't come from stacking up evidence but it comes, as they say, from taking action. Through their stories of big and small social change, from school gardens in Berkeley to our personal choices about food to the largest social movement in Brazil, the Lappe's help all of us see we each have a role in helping our planet evolve. Thank you to the Lappe's for giving us such a hope-with-an-edge message at a time when so many of us are feeling desperate.
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Summary: Wonderful book!
Review: This is one of the most creative, courageous books I've read in a long time, drawing lessons from something as essential as food to renew our hope in an era of anxiety, cynicism, and learned helplessness. Hope's Edge offers a welcome alternative to a world increasingly dominated by global capitalism, where more is often spent on processing, packaging, and promotion than on the nutritional value of the food itself and where American citizens are becoming unwary guinea pigs for GMO foods.
From their grassroots research spanning five continents, Frances and Anna Lappe bring heartening evidence that democracy is still alive, that our personal choices can add up to make a tremendous difference, and that, as Margaret Mead once said, "a small group of highly committed people can change the world." I recommend this book highly for its compelling vision of creativity, community, and positive social change.
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Summary: Hope, when we need it most
Review: What a truly inspiring book! Frances and Anna Lappe put words to the previously not-so-well-articulated feelings of "stuckness" that lead so many of us -- and, therefore, the world -- to perpetuate unhealthy and unsatisfying patterns in our lives and in our communities. The off-the-beaten track tour of Brazil, Bangladesh, India, Kenya, and parts of Europe and the United States, gives an inside look at the growing movement of amazing people doing amazing things to attempt to reverse the increasing despair-ity in our world. These are the stories that rarely make it into the "news", but are so important to hear in order to give us hope. The recipes sound wonderful, however, I cannot find many of the ingredients here around my home in East Africa. So, in the true spirit of the book, I am substituting local ingredients to create globally-inspired cuisine. I can't wait to teach the mamas in the village how to use some of their traditional medicinal herbs to make a cream topping for their beet soup! If there has ever been a time for reflecting on how we are all linked-up, this book gives some wonderful insights and clues to how to make sense of it all...and, how to finally make the leap towards making a difference.
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