Paul Loeb

Paul Rogat Loeb is the author of Soul Of a Citizen: Living With Conviction In Challenging Times. With over 150,000 copies in print, including a wholly updated new edition, Soul has become a classic handbook for budding social activists, veteran organizers, and anyone who wants to make a difference—large or small. An antidote to powerlessness and despair, it has inspired thousands of citizens to make their voices heard and actions count—and then stay involved for the long haul. Soul explores what leads some people to get involved in larger community issues while others feel overwhelmed or uncertain; what it takes to maintain commitment for the long haul; and how community involvement and citizen activism can give back a powerful sense of connection and purpose. It speaks particularly to how to keep engaged despite dashed hopes and disilusionment. Click here for Soul's description, sample sections, and wonderful reviews, as well as information on classroom use.

Loeb's global anthology of political hope, The Impossible Will Take a Little While: Perseverance and Hope in Troubled Times, has its own wholly updated edition released by Basic Books in May 2014 with over 100,000 copies in print. The Impossible creates a conversation among some of the most visionary and eloquent voices of our time: Think Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Bill Moyers, Arundhati Roy, Tony Kushner,Bill McKibben, Paul Hawken, Pablo Neruda and Vaclav Havel. Alice Walker, Mary Pipher, Jonathan Kozol, Diane Ackerman, and Marian Wright Edelman. Cornel West, Terry Tempest Williams, Dan Savage, Desmond Tutu, and Howard Zinn. These essays, poems, and stories, along with Loeb's extended introductions, teach us how to keep on working for a more humane world, replenish the wellsprings of our commitment, and continue no matter how hard it sometimes seems. Loeb has included pieces that explore the historical, political, ecological and spiritual frameworks that help us to persist— with concrete examples of how people have faced despair and overcome it. They examine what it was like to confront South African apartheid, the Egyptian and Eastern European dictatorships, Mississippi's entrenched segregation, the corporations driving global climate change, or the Robber Barons of 100 years ago. The stories don't sugarcoat the obstacles. But they inspire hope by showing what keeps us keeping on--even when the odds seem overwhelming. They replenish the wellsprings of our commitment. The Impossible is a BookSense independent bookstores bestseller and, like Soul, won the Nautilus Award for the best social change book of its year. Click here for a description, excerpts, rave reviews, and information on The Impossible's wonderful classroom responses .

 Paul is also the founder of the Campus Election Engagement Project, a national nonpartisan project that helps America's colleges and universities motivate their 20 million students  to register, volunteer in campaigns, educate themselves, and turn out at the polls. We focus on how administrators, faculty, staff, and student leaders can help engage students,  and we just finished up our biggest year yet in 2014, working directly with 280 campuses in 21 states and having partner organizations distribute our materials to 680 more.

 

For more about Paul and his works, go to http://www.paulloeb.org/index.html