A Paradise Built in Hell

How do we respond to disaster? What expressions of care and solidarity might we find among the debris? A Paradise Built in Hell is a study of five major disasters - the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the Halifax explosion of 1917, the Mexico City earthquake of 1985, the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina - and the expressions of altruism, generosity and resourcefulness that emerged in the wake of these tragedies. The result is a sweeping history of some of the foundational events in the modern history of North America, and a meditation on community: challenging us to look afresh at society, and what these models of local, collaborative politics might look like carried through into everyday life.

Rebecca Solnit is the author of more than twenty books, including Orwell's Roses, Recollections of My Non-Existence, The Faraway Nearby, Wanderlust, A Field Guide to Getting Lost, River of Shadows and A Paradise Built in Hell. She is also the author of many essays on feminism, activism, social change, hope, and the climate crisis. She lives in San Francisco and writes regularly for the Guardian. She lives in San Francisco.