Read more
From acclaimed author Derrick Jensen comes a prescient, thought-provoking collection of interviews with 10 leading writers, philosophers, teachers, and activists who argue against society's belief that corporations and governments know what is best for them.
About the author
Hailed as the philosopher-poet of the ecological movement, Derrick Jensen is the widely acclaimed author of
Endgame, A Language Older Than Words, and
The Culture of Make Believe among many others. Jensen's writing has been described as "breaking and mending the reader's heart" (
Publishers Weekly). His books with PM include
How Shall I Live My Life?: On Liberating the Earth from Civilization,
Resistance Against Empire, and the novels
Songs of the Dead and
Lives Less Valuable. Author, teacher, activist, and leading voice of uncompromising dissent, he regularly stirs auditoriums across the country with revolutionary spirit. Jensen holds a degree in mineral engineering physics from the Colorado School of Mines, and has taught at Eastern Washington University and Pelican Bay Prison. He lives in Crescent City, California.
Summary
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.
