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"Uncompromising and unconventional...Cornel West is an eloquent prophet with attitude." —Newsweek 
"West's thinking consistently challenges the conventional wisdom [and] confronts the reader with profound and unsettling insights."—Newsday Educator, philosopher, and New York Times bestselling author of Race Matters and Democracy Matters, Dr. Cornel West offers open-hearted wisdom for our times in Hope on a Tightrope, a courageous collection of quotations, speech excerpts, letters, and photographs all reflecting the profound humanity that fuels the passionate public intellectual. In a world that yearns for unarmed truth and unconditional love in the midst of cold greed and blind hatred, Hope on a Tightrope offers a new compass. This provocative collection will challenge all those in search of new perspectives and provides deep wells of inspiration that marry the mind to the heart. "I am never optimistic...but I am full of hope. Real hope is grounded in a particularly messy struggle and it can be betrayed by naïve projections of a better future that ignore the necessity of doing the real work. So what we are talking about is hope on a tightrope." —Cornel West Preview an excerpt from the book » Order Hope on a Tightrope today and you will be entered to win one of these three giveaways: (1) Have Cornel West discuss Hope on a Tightrope with your reading group, (2) an autographed copy of Hope on a Tightrope, or (3) an autographed copy of the Never Forget CD. For additional details, visit: http://promos.hayhouse.com/west/120908email/ |
| Check out the fantastic prizes we're offering to celebrate the release of Hope on a Tightrope! | ||||||
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| HURRY, this is a limited time offer! Visit Hay House for additional details: http://promos.hayhouse.com/west/120908email/ |
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In Hope on a Tightrope, Dr. West presents an honest, unbridled, and unabashed commentary on issues that affect the lives of all Americans. Themes he touches upon include Identity and Race, Leadership, Love and Service, Social Justice, Faith, Family, and Wisdom.
"Allow yourself to absorb Dr. West's wisdom. Let him become your intellectual and spiritual sparring partner, stand on his shoulders to gain a new view of the world and your place in it." —Tavis Smiley Dr. Cornel West calls on ordinary, everyday people to wake up, re-energize their vision of a just and democratic society, and organize for the public interest and the common good. He asks us for a leap of hope where love and service will enable us to "step out on nothing and land on something." Hope may be on a tightrope, but with love we can cross the chasm that threatens and divides us. |
"When we dare to love and serve, we will be willing to speak, act, dialogue, write, fuse, share, laugh, and love with others whom we can inspire and who can inspire us. There's never any guarantee of victory in history. There never has been, there never will be. Nevertheless, if we can commit to loving, serving, and understanding each other—recognizing that we are far more alike than we are different—we have a chance. I pray that each one of you will dare to wrestle with these questions—about the quality of your love and the depth of your service to humanity." —Cornel West |
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West includes interludes that give insight into his personal world such as his frank and honest response to the poignant letter from the prisoner who wondered about West's marital status and his wife's race, the feelings that swept over him as he faced cancer surgery, his visit to hip-hop artist-entrepreneur Jay-Z's home, and reflections on the neighborhood of his youth.
Hope on a Tightrope features an original audio CD that highlights more of Dr. Cornel West's powerful insights and commentary as well as his renowned spoken-word artistry. West's 2007 CD release Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations topped the charts as Billboard's #1 Spoken Word album. Hope on a Tightrope also features a back-of-the-book listing with some of Cornel West's favorite books and music. "Those books that most influence me are food to my soul," he explains. "I read and reread them—as they read and reread me." As for musical interludes, West points out, "I cannot mention the influence of books without acknowledging the impact of music. In fact, I believe that music is deeper than philosophy, Beethoven deeper than Goethe or Hegel, Coltrane deeper than Du Bois or Ellison." These artistic elements help sustain, "my hope on a tightrope." |
| Purchase Hope on a Tightrope today and you'll receive free gifts from Cornel West, SmileyBooks and Hay House, and our sponsors. Don't forget, with your purchase you will also be entered to win a chance to have Cornel West discuss Hope on a Tightrope with your reading group! For additional details, visit: http://promos.hayhouse.com/west/120908email/ |
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"Cornel West is one of the most authentic, brilliant, prophetic, and healing voices in America today." —Marian Wright Edelman "Our Black Jeremiah…Cornel West is the preeminent African-American intellectual of our generation...Cornel West matters." —Henry Louis Gates, Jr. "What does it mean to be a public intellectual, to dare to take one's wisdom beyond the safe confines of the classroom and go out into the world where your usable intellect can help everyday people who are wrestling with some of the most complex realities the world has ever known. Many have come to know and love my dear and abiding friend Dr. Cornel West from his best-selling books, his standing-room-only lectures at Harvard and Princeton, and from countless other forums for democratic discourse around the globe, but this new book Hope on a Tightrope gives Dr. West's admirers and students deeper access to the great mind that inspires us to keep love in our heart, hope in our soul, and a smile on our face." —Tavis Smiley Order Hope on a Tightrope: http://promos.hayhouse.com/west/120908email/ |
