"Amongst the best American writers, Rebecca Solnit leads the 'don't mourn, organize' school. In the toxic deserts and suburban badlands of the West, she still finds seeds of paradise and futures redeemable by struggle. Neither lovesongs nor dirges, these remarkable essays are a genre of their own: imagine the intellectual acuity of Susan Sontag alloyed with the holy roar of Walt Whitman."--Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums"Solnit's is an indispensable voice, and Storming the Gates of Paradise is the perfect introduction to her work."--Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma "Rebecca Solnit, like some of the places she writes about here, is a national treasure. At a time of reckless arrogance in high places, hers is a voice of moral clarity, wisdom about our country and planet, and impressive erudition that is lightly worn. This book is a tasting menu for the work of a mind and pen we are lucky to have."--Adam Hochschild, author of Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves"Solnit is, as she says, a memoirist, a journalist, and a critic, but first and foremost, she is a writer. The essays in Storming the Gates of Paradise, with their brilliant and all too rare interweaving of political acumen and passionate prose, prove that she is in fact the best landscape writer around. When she focuses on some of my favorite Western places, it's like revisiting them in good company, with sharpened eyes and mind."--Lucy R. Lippard, author of The Lure of the Local: Senses of Place in a Multicentered Society"Rebecca Solnit is reinventing the genre we call 'American nature writing,' finding provocative new ways to look at the intersections of landscape and politics. Hers is an indispensable voice, and Storming the Gates of Paradise the perfect introduction to her work."--Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals Read Less