The Quickening of America: Rebuilding Our Nation, Remaking Our Lives

by Frances Moore Lappé, Paul Martin Du Bois

I highly recommAnd Quickening as an extremely useful and practicalguide. It reaffirms that personal and social change areintertwined; that each of us counts; that our lives do make adifference; and that, through involvement and by developing ourskills, we can make an even greater difference.
--ReverAnd Jesse L. Jackson, president and founder, NationalRainbow Coalition

An antidote to cynicism . . . an essential 'how-to' manual foranyone interested in translating values into positiveresults.
--Ben Cohen, Ben & Jerry's

Exploding the popular myths about public life, power, andself-interest that stop individuals from discovering the rewards ofpublic involvement, this thoughtful resource offers practicaladvice from ordinary Americans on how to get more involved. Detailsguidelines anyone can use to master the skills required to beeffective in public life.

368 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1994

About the author

Frances Moore Lappe--author of fifteen books, including three-million-copy bestseller Diet for a Small Planet --distills her world-spanning experience and wisdom in a conversational yet hard-hitting style to create a rare "aha" book. In nine short chapters, Lappe leaves readers feeling liberated and courageous. She flouts conventional right-versus-left divisions and affirms readers' basic sanity - their intuitive knowledge that it is possible to stop grasping at straws and grasp the real roots of today's crises, from hunger and poverty to climate change and terrorism. Because we are creatures of the mind, says Lappe, it is the power of "frame"--our core assumptions about how the world works--that determines outcomes. She pinpoints the dominant failing frame now driving out planet toward disaster. By interweaving fresh insights, startling facts, and stirring vignettes of ordinary people pursuing creative solutions to our most pressing global problems, Lappe uncovers a new, empowering "frame" through which real solutions are emerging worldwide."
Frances Moore Lappé is married to Dr. Marc Lappé a former experimental pathologist interested in the problem of environmental contamination.

Reviews

[Regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even thought it's from 1994, it still has a lot of good ideas and information. It would be nice to see it updated for 2012.

[Mary Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at people who work at the grassroots level to make a difference.