At a time when political; environmental and social gloom can seem overpowering; this remarkable book offers a lucid; affirmative and well-argued case for hope. This exquisite work traces a history of activism and social change over the past five decades - from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the worldwide marches against the war in Iraq. Hope in the Dark is a paean to optimism in the uncertainty of the twenty-first century. Tracing the footsteps of the last century's thinkers - including Woolf; Gandhi; Borges; Benjamin and Havel - Solnit conjures a timeless vision of cause and effect that will light our way through the dark; and lead us to profound and effective political engagement.