The Impossible Will Take a Little While: Perseverance and Hope in Troubled Times [B1215]

2014 PB in nice clean condition. More relevant than ever, this seminal collection of essays encourages us to believe in the power of ordinary citizens to change the world. In today's turbulent world it's hard not to feel like we're going backwards; after decades of striving, justice and equality still seem like far off goals. What keeps us going when times get tough? How have the leaders and unsung heroes of world-changing political movements persevered in the face of cynicism, fear, and seemingly overwhelming odds? In The Impossible Will Take a Little While, they answer these questions in their own words, creating a conversation among some of the most visionary and eloquent voices of our times. Today, more than ever, we need their words and their wisdom. In this revised edition, Paul Rogat Loeb has comprehensively updated this classic work on what it's like to go up against Goliath--whether South African apartheid, Mississippi segregation, Middle East dictatorships, or the corporations driving global climate change. Without sugarcoating the obstacles, these stories inspire hope to keep moving forward. Think of this book as a conversation among some of the most visionary and eloquent voices of our times--or any time: Contributors include Maya Angelou, Diane Ackerman, Marian Wright Edelman, Wael Ghonim, Václav Havel, Paul Hawken, Seamus Heaney, Jonathan Kozol, Tony Kushner, Audre Lorde, Nelson Mandela, Bill McKibben, Bill Moyers, Pablo Neruda, Mary Pipher, Arundhati Roy, Dan Savage, Desmond Tutu, Alice Walker, Cornel West, Terry Tempest Williams, and Howard Zinn.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Positive actions work! This book has helped my friends and I to lower our anxieties about today's political climate. It reassures us that little steps towards democracy are multiplied when we all have a stake in the outcome. Highly recommended."; "This book is everything. It is full of hope and wisdom and honesty and beauty and pain. I am a better person for making my way through these stories."; "If you are like me and want to leave this place a little better than you found it while trying not to go freaking insane over everything, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. The convergence of voices in this compilation brought me to tears and has motivated me to gently continue my journey through whatever this existence is, picking up one piece of the world at a time wherever and whenever I can. This is deeper than literature - this is a resource."