Bookshelf

Tools and Ideas that are inspiring and transforming Citizenship and Communities

Reviews

• Citizens by Jon Alexander
“When you see the world through this window, you might well notice that there is a “revolution in progress”. — Brian Eno
vivian Hutchinson review on Facebook. More resources from this book and author. Jon Alexander - Citizens Website

• The Invisible Doctrine by George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison
“This book is dynamite – shining a spotlight on the evils of neoliberalism, shattering the myth that ‘there is no alternative’, and laying the foundations for a new politics” — Caroline Lucas
vivian Hutchinson review on Facebook. Book Website. Review in The Guardian. Documentary Trailer. 

• Together by Ece Temelkuran
“I read it slowly, just one chapter a day. Then I read it again because I had remembered something that I was determined not to forget.”
vivian Hutchinson review on Facebook. A Perfect Day to be Brave. Ece Temelkuran on Climate Democracy

• The Commoner's Catalog for Changemaking by David Bollier
“Someday, the Commoner's Catalog will sit next to the Bible in hotel bedside tables.”. — Peter Block
vivian Hutchinson review on Facebook. Read entire Catalog online. David Bollier Website. Frontiers of Commoning Podcast. Peter Linebaugh History of Commoning interview

• The Connected Community by Cormac Russell and John McKnight
“Put simply, there is work for communities to do, and if they do not do it, it will not get done. There simply is no proxy for community”. — Russell and McKnight
Tamarack Webinar. Nurture Development Website. Asset-Based Community Development Institute.

• Humankind by Rutger Bregman
We are hardwired for kindness, geared toward cooperation rather than competition, and more inclined to trust rather than distrust one another ... “Made me see humanity from a fresh perspective”. — Yuval Noah Harari
vivian Hutchinson review on Facebook. Our Secret Superpower. Now This. Davos. HARDtalk.

• The Good Ancestor by Roman Krznaric
“This is a book our children's children will thank us for reading”. — The Edge, U2
vivian Hutchinson review on Facebook. TED Talk. Long Now Foundation Lecture. A Cognitive Toolkit. Salon London Webinar

• Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth
“This book has become a phenomenon that mainstream economics largely declines to acknowledge but increasingly cannot ignore”. — David Bollier
vivian Hutchinson review on Facebook. BBC on Doughnut. Kate Raworth in Taranaki 2019 (Just Transition 2050). Radio NZ interview 2019. Leading Interview 2023

• Activating the Common Good by Peter Block
“On the question of action, something is needed to convert the consumer who came to listen and support to the citizen who leaves to produce.” — Peter Block
vivian Hutchinson review on Facebook. Restore Commons Website. Designed Learning Website

• The Book of Trespass by Nick Hayes
Lifting the spell of private ownership from land that is, rightfully, our common inheritance, and whose seizure continues to impoverish us all. “A remarkable and truly radical work, loaded with resonant truths” — George Monbiot
vivian Hutchinson review on Facebook. Guardian Review. The Trespassers Companion. 

• Regeneration by Paul Hawken
Ending the climate crisis in one generation “Honest and informative, a rebuttal to doomsayers who believe it is too late.” — Jane Goodall
Taranaki Book Clubs 2021-22. The Nexus website. Tricycle article. Regeneration Justice and Renewal. What is Regeneration? (short film). 

• The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
A masterpiece of the imagination, using fictional eyewitness accounts to tell the story of how climate change will affect us all. “The best science-fiction non-fiction novel I’ve ever read.” — Jonathan Lethem
Guardian review. TED Countdown. Long Now Foundation.

• How Communities Awaken by vivian Hutchinson
“vivian reminds us of the work we need to do to collectively rebuild and nurture our shared sense of belonging, contribution, and committed action as citizens.”. — Megan Courtney, Inspiring Communities
Read full essays online - How Communities Awaken website. ACE Award 2020. Inspiring Communities - Learning from Taranaki.