No writer has better understood the mix of fear and possibility, peril and exuberance that's marked this new millennium. Rebecca Solnit writes as independently as Orwell; she's a great muralist, a Diego Rivera of words. Literary and progressive America is in a Solnit moment, which given her endless talent should last a very long time

- Bill McKibben,

Rebecca Solnit is a national literary treasure: a passionate, close-to-the-ground reporter with the soul and voice of a philosopher-poet. And, unlike so many who write about the great injustices of this world, she is an optimist, whose faith is deeply grounded in a knowledge of history

- Adam Hothschild,

A clarion voice of reason

- Celeste Ng,

Solnit's literary prose brings a sense of dignity to whatever she examines, and her personal history as an environmental and anti-war activist means that she routinely focuses her analysis on multiple asymmetries of power instead of gender-related ones alone

- Charlotte Shane, TLS

Silence and violence are terrifically tackled by Rebecca Solnit in her excellent new essay collection... Solnit both exposes and dismantles the narratives that have propped up patriarchy... Exploring the ways we dehumanise one another, the book is also infused with hope for a more humane world. Here is an eloquent clarion call for empathy

- Anita Sethi, i paper

A brilliantly sharp-edged, quick-tongued set of essays... Solnit is both a stylist and a fighter, distinguished by her rare combination of grit and grace

- Robert MacFarlane, New Statesman

[A] well-timed book... elegant

- Michelle Dean, Guardian

An intellectual, lyrical and well-argued thesis for why women did not just sit in the caves thousands of years ago ... well worth it

Independent

Super

- Ellen Page, Observer