BOOK REVIEW
The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times
by Jane Goodall, & Douglas Abrams, with Gail Hudson 2021
About the Authors
Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, is an iconic voice for holistic, compassionate, and sustainable solutions. Through her global advocacy as an ethologist and environmentalist, she is shaping attitudes and policy on issues ranging from human rights to the climate crisis, and inspiring action through the power of hope.
Jane Goodall was born on April 3rd, 1934, in London, England. At the age of 26, Jane followed her passion for wildlife and Africa to Gombe, Tanzania. There, under the mentorship of paleoanthropologist Dr. Louis Leakey, she began her landmark study of chimpanzees in the wild. Her revelatory observation in 1960 that chimpanzees make and use tools rocked the scientific landscape and forever redefined our understanding of the relationship between humans and other animals.
In 1977, Dr. Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), a global community-led conservation, research, and animal welfare organization to advance her vision of a better future for all. In 1991, Dr. Goodall created Roots & Shoots, JGI’s international youth program, now active in more than 60 countries, to develop the compassionate changemakers our world needs.
From scientist to world-renowned activist, Jane has been a leader in the community-led conservation and animal welfare movements for decades.
Douglas Abrams is an author, editor, and literary agent. He is the founder and president of Idea Architects, a creative book and media agency helping visionaries to create a wiser, healthier, and more just world. Doug has worked with Desmond Tutu as his cowriter and editor for over a decade, and before founding his own literary agency, he was a senior editor at HarperCollins and also served for nine years as the religion editor at the University of California Press. He believes strongly in the power of books and media to catalyze the next stage of global evolutionary culture. He lives in Santa Cruz, California. For more information, please visit ideaarchitects.com and humanjourney.com. –This text refers to the paperback edition.
Gail Hudson is an international bestselling writer who writes about the power of human relationships to heal the world. Gail has written three books about saving animals and the natural world with the renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall. Most recently Gail collaborated with Jane Goodall and Douglas Adams on the Book of Hope, A Survival Guide for Trying Times. Gail’s personal essays and articles about spiritual growth and human relationships have appeared in numerous national and international publications.
She is currently writing a non-fiction book that explores the effects of patriarchal conditioning on women’s sexuality. Gail is also a writing coach and book developer who specializes in feminine empowerment. You can find out more about Gail and her work at http://www.gailhudsoncoaching.com.
About the Book
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
In a world that seems so troubled, how do we hold on to hope?
Looking at the headlines—the worsening climate crisis, a global pandemic, loss of biodiversity, political upheaval—it can be hard to feel optimistic. And yet hope has never been more desperately needed.
In this urgent book, Jane Goodall, the world’s most famous living naturalist, and Douglas Abrams, the internationally bestselling co-author of The Book of Joy, explore through intimate and thought-provoking dialogue one of the most sought after and least understood elements of human nature: hope. In The Book of Hope, Jane focuses on her “Four Reasons for Hope”: The Amazing Human Intellect, The Resilience of Nature, The Power of Young People, and The Indomitable Human Spirit.
Drawing on decades of work that has helped expand our understanding of what it means to be human and what we all need to do to help build a better world, The Book of Hope touches on vital questions, including: How do we stay hopeful when everything seems hopeless? How do we cultivate hope in our children? What is the relationship between hope and action? Filled with moving and inspirational stories and photographs from Jane’s remarkable career, The Book of Hope is a deeply personal conversation with one of the most beloved figures in the world today.
While discussing the experiences that shaped her discoveries and beliefs, Jane tells the story of how she became a messenger of hope, from living through World War II to her years in Gombe to realizing she had to leave the forest to travel the world in her role as an advocate for environmental justice. And for the first time, she shares her profound revelations about her next, and perhaps final, adventure.
The second book in the Global Icons Series—which launched with the instant classic The Book of Joy with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu—The Book of Hope is a rare and intimate look not only at the nature of hope but also into the heart and mind of a woman who revolutionized how we view the world around us and has spent a lifetime fighting for our future.
There is still hope, and this book will help guide us to it.
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Endorsements
An Amazon Best Book of October 2021: “We still have a window of time,” explains famed naturalist Jane Goodall to writer Doug Abrams. “There really is reason to hope we can succeed.” Through several interviews in Tanzania, the Netherlands, and England, Abrams asks Goodall to delve into her keen commitment to hope, much as he movingly did in The Book of Joy with the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Goodall’s hope is that humankind will come together to help heal our natural world. Sharing personal stories of growing up during World War II, her studies of chimpanzees in Africa that made her a household name, and her ongoing efforts to open eyes to the state of our suffering ecosystem, Goodall inspires with her grit in the face of obstacles. “Hope…is a stubborn determination to do all you can to make it work,” she says so memorably. Goodall’s words and wisdom will resonate in your heart and soul, inspiring action, change, and, yes, hope. —Adrian Liang, Amazon Editor
Goodall’s “infectious optimism and stirring call to action make this necessary reading for those concerned about the planet’s future… [Her] rousing testament will resonate widely.”
―Publisher’s Weekly, starred review
“Vibrant with wry humor, scientific fact, grassroots advances, compassion, and spiritual depth, this compelling and enlightening dialogue of hope amplifies Goodall’s mantra: ‘Together we can. Together we will.'”
―Booklist, starred review
“Ultimately, this is less a self-help book than the personal testament of a traditional idealist with the belief that we are put on Earth for a purpose…An estimable researcher and activist tells stories and delivers uplifting advice.”
―Kirkus Reviews
“A lifetime of experience and wisdom combines with much-needed optimism in this guide to the climate crisis and what we can do about it.”
―The Guardian
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