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From Derrick Jensen, acclaimed author of Endgame and The Culture of Make Believe, comes a prescient, thought-provoking collection of interviews with ten leading writers, philosophers, teachers, and activists.
To function in this society, we are asked to live by lies: that humans have the right to take what they want from the earth without giving back, that knowledge is limited to that which can be quantified, that corporations and governments know what is best for our future. Our instinctive outrage at environmental collapse, political conspiracy, and corporate corruption is stifled by the double-speak of popular opinion telling us that the “progress” of civilization demands unquestioning allegiance to those in power. But the brave voices in Truths Among Us seek to help us acknowledge the values we know in our hearts are right—and inspire within us the courage to act on them.
Among those who share their wisdom here is acclaimed sociologist Stanley Aronowitz, who shows us that science is but one lens through which we can discover knowledge. Luis Rodriguez, poet and peacemaker, asks us to embrace gang members as people instead of stereotypes, while the brilliant Judith Herman helps us gain a deeper understanding of the psychology of abusers in whatever form they may take. Paul Stamets reveals the power of fungi, whose intelligence, like that of so many nonhumans, is often ignored. And writer Richard Drinnon reminds us that our spiritual paths need not be narrowed by the limiting mythologies of Western civilization.
Following How Shall I Live My Life? and Resistance Against Empire, Jensen's third collection of interviews reinforces a simple premise with which he has long challenged his readers: if we shut our ears and eyes to the cacophony of consumption-oriented distractions and pause to listen to the wisdom of our own hearts, the truths among us will reveal themselves.
Interviewees include: George Gerbner, Stanley Aronowitz, Luis Rodriguez, Judith Herman, John Keeble, Richard Drinnon, Paul Stamets, Marc Ian Barasch, Martín Prechtel, and Jane Caputi.
“The book offers a compelling account of the thoughts of these scholars, (and) on rare occasions the book takes a personal twist… lending this thought-provoking series of interviews an intimate dimension.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Derrick Jensen is a rare and original voice of sanity in a chaotic world. He has wisdom and wit, grace and style, and is a wonderful guide to a good life beautifully lived.”
—Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States
“Derrick Jensen is the green thinker and writer who’s out to tell us not what we want to hear but what we need to hear.”
—Utne Reader, “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World”
“Derrick Jensen is a man driven to stare without flinching at the baleful design of our culture… His analysis of our culture's predilection for hatred and destruction will rattle your bones.”
—Daniel Quinn, author of Ishmael