A paradise built in hell
the extraordinary communities and strange joys that arise in disasters
by Rebecca Solnit, Emily Beresford, David Muñoz Mateos · first published 2009
81% recommend19% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Histories of disasters like the Halifax explosion, the 1985 Mexico City quake, 9/11 and Katrina, showing people mostly cooperate rather than turn savage; suits readers doubting prepper myths or media panic narratives.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A startling investigation ofwhat people do in disastersand why it mattersWhy is it that in the aftermath of a disaster—whether manmade or natural—people suddenlybecome altruistic, resourceful, and brave? What makesthe newfound communities and purpose many findin the ruins and crises after disaster so joyous? Andwhat does this joy reveal about ordinarily unmet socialdesires and possibilities?In A Paradise Built in Hell, award-winning authorRebecca Solnit explores these phenomena, lookingat major calamities from the 1906 earthquake in SanFrancisco through the 1917 explosion that tore upHalifax,
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…disasters - then the national guard comes in, treats everyone like they're animals, and make everything horrible. A great book that's documented this happening again and again throughout history is "A Paradise Built in Hell" by Rebecca Solnit.
on “A World Without Power (2013)” ↗…what happened in various situations ( 1917 explosion that tore up Halifax, Nova Scotia, the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans) * http://rebeccasolnit.net/book/a-paradise-built-in-hell/ * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6444492-a-paradise-built... It's an area / sub-field of study: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociology_of_disaster
on “Disaster planning for regular folks (2015)” ↗There is an excellent book on this theme, which I have been recommending liberally for several years: "A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster". https://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Built-Hell-Extraordinary-Com...
on “Mendon, Missouri” ↗There is a book about how people come together during times of disaster, called A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit. One of the distinct things I got from it is how the media often focuses on the gruesome details rather than how people more often than not help one another out. It is an eye-opening…
on “Mendon, Missouri” ↗The article opens with an example of someone seeing how life broke down in postwar Italy. But there is an alternate view of how humans behave in crisis, well-articulated by Rebecca Solnit in "A Paradise Built in Hell". She notes that, in actual crises, the expected apocalypse of savagery never arises. Instead there is often an unusual sense of solidarity. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/books/21book.html Now,…
on “The Fallacy of Human Freedom” ↗Reading Rebecca Solnit's A Paradise Built in Hell changed my views of human nature and expanded my imagination on how societies can be organized. The book is a series of histories of disaster events, natural and human-made. It shows how traditional…
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗…take a non-political-compass take. FWIW, the "inherently good" people have more evidence on their side, based on how communities have responded to disaster in the pass. A great book on the subject is "A Paradise Built in Hell" by Rebecca Solnit[1]. She takes a look at primary sources from a set of disasters throughout history, and how people helped eachother with no expectation of reward. She also turns up some cases of totally…
on “Disaster prepping is mainstream again” ↗> Can you find any news articles, any info collaborating this, or some variation? The book A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit examines several disasters over several decades: * https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/301070/a-paradise-b... * http://rebeccasolnit.net/book/a-paradise-built-in-hell/ The general…
on “Disaster prepping is mainstream again” ↗…or secure a fiefdom within which they ensure collaboration. Human beings pretty much default to tribal behavior. And they favor collaboration even across tribes. (I recommend reading Rebecca Solnit's "Paradise built in hell") Really, it's a tougher row to hoe than you think.
on “Getting humanity to bounce back faster in a post-apocalyptic world” ↗…Highly recommend finding your local food not bombs cohort or visiting one in a nearby city and then starting your own back home. Community resiliency is a natural instinct it seems. Rebecca solnit's "paradise built in hell" is a fascinating read on the subject.
on “Coronal mass ejection impact imminent, two more earth-directed CMEs” ↗Rebecca Solnit wrote a book, "A Paradise Built in Hell", on how people behave during disasters, and found broadly the same thing - contra the prepper myths, most people most of the time faced with disaster come together to work cooperatively to help each…
on “AI models collapse when trained on recursively generated data” ↗…generosity and solidarity,” says Christian Parenti, associate professor of economics at John Jay College in New York City. ... "This idea is reinforced by author Rebecca Solnit in her landmark book, “A Paradise Built in Hell,” in which she explains that, “in the wake of an earthquake, a bombing, or a major storm, most people are altruistic, urgently engaged in caring for themselves and those around them, strangers and neighbors…
on “Stockpile 72 hours of supplies in case of disaster or attack, EU tells citizens” ↗…when shit hits the fan. In disasters, it never benefits a community to turn on itself. And in fact, I believe the natural human reaction to disaster is to become more altruistic rather than less; see "A Paradise Built in Hell" by Rebecca Solnit for more on this. The actually noble interpretation of "family first" is "family first, my own priorities second," at least so long as it doesn't lead to unhealthy self-sacrifice.
on “The normalization of corruption in organizations (2003) [pdf]” ↗…this. Have you ever been in a natural disaster? If our nature is selfishness, why then are we our most selfless when everything but our nature is stripped away? Others have noticed this, I recommend "A Paradise Built in Hell" by Rebecca Solnit. > The great majority of people generally tend to do stuff that benefits them and their close ones. Capitalism recognizes that and realizes that the great majority of value created…
on “Starship will attempt a launch this weekend” ↗'A Paradise Built in Hell' by Solnit is a good read about it
on “I'm Tired of Talking to AI” ↗