Books by Rebecca Solnit
Rebecca Solnit is an American writer, historian and activist, author of more than 20 books.
Orwell's Roses
by Rebecca Solnit
“Orwell’s Roses says something fresh about George Orwell. It discovers Orwell as gardener, as the grower of fruit and vegetables as well as roses. It is also about Orwell’s family and its engagement with slavery and sugar in the Caribbean, and opium and imperialism in India. The book also deals with Orwell’s interest in the politics of genetics and his engagement with the politics of science in the Soviet Union and, indeed, in the UK.
But from there we get a much, much broader story about Orwell as an optimist, as somebody who’s concerned with aspects of life that are often hidden or don’t come to the surface, and a broader discussion of pleasure and nature and their place in the politics of the left. One particular theme concerns production and nature, following Orwell into the study of work, into the hidden worlds where things are made, including roses in Colombia, the conditions of the workers, the factory-like sheds where refrigerated roses are prepared for air freighting to the United States and Europe.”
“Deep research, unbelievably sharp thinking, and beautiful, beautiful prose.” Read more...
The best books on Radical Environmentalism
Daegan Miller, Environmentalist
“She says that ‘to trace even an imaginary route is to trace the spirit or thought of what passed there before’.” Read more...
Interviews where books by Rebecca Solnit were recommended
The best books on Myths of War, recommended by Thom and Beth Atkinson
Photographers Beth and Thom Atkinson, authors of the acclaimed photobook Missing Buildings, discuss five books that explore the mythology of war.
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1
The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks
ed. Benedicta Ward -
2
The Great New Wilderness Debate
ed. J. Baird Callicott and Michael P. Nelson -
3
Wilderness and the American Mind
by Roderick Nash -
4
The Worst Journey in the World
by Apsley Cherry-Garrard -
5
A Field Guide to Getting Lost
by Rebecca Solnit
The best books on Wilderness, recommended by Cal Flyn
The best books on Wilderness, recommended by Cal Flyn
Henry David Thoreau insisted that “in wildness is the preservation of the world.” His words have inspired conservationists to bring many of the planet’s more ruggedly beautiful places under environmental protection. But ‘wilderness’ as a concept has become increasingly contested in recent years, explains Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn, whose new book The Savage Landscape unravels the history of an electrifying idea.
The best books on Radical Environmentalism, recommended by Daegan Miller
The shining core of a radical environmentalism is when we open up our circle of concern to include things beyond trees or animals or water to people of all kinds, says the writer and landscape historian Daegan Miller. Here he selects five of the best books that evoke the spirit of the movement.
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1
My Fourth Time, We Drowned
by Sally Hayden -
2
Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad
by Michela Wrong -
3
Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World's Economy
by Adam Tooze -
4
Orwell's Roses
by Rebecca Solnit -
5
Things I Have Withheld
by Kei Miller -
6
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity
by David Graeber & David Wengrow
The Best Politics Books: the 2022 Orwell Prize for Political Writing, recommended by David Edgerton
The Best Politics Books: the 2022 Orwell Prize for Political Writing, recommended by David Edgerton
From the dawn of humanity to the Covid crisis, from a study in power to the plight of the powerless, the Orwell Prize for Political Writing looks for books that break through the mendacities of politics and rise to the challenge of our times, explains historian David Edgerton, chair of this year’s judging panel. He talks us through the ten fabulous books that made the 2022 shortlist.
