The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams is a timely book that inspires optimism. The book is laid out simply, with four tenets for why Goodall feels hopeful for the future of humanity and the planet we occupy. The book is conversational in tone, with Abrams meeting with Goodall intermittently. It is peppered with stories from her illustrious career, from her work in the field to activism. It’s fascinating to hear Jane Goodall’s unique perspective about the existential threats we currently face and balanced thoughts about what humanity has and can achieve if we aspire to act ethically and selflessly.

Thank you Celadon Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

Well-timed book with a thoughtful message…

I’ve always admired Jane Goodall. From my perspective, her life has always been about the thirst for knowledge and making a difference. A difference for animals who have no voice. And for a planet who is crying out for help. And now for the humans may be struggling, believing that all has already been lost… This book was not a ‘Pollyanna’ take on the crisis we are all facing – if we choose to believe it or not – but rather a call to peaceful arms, that (together) we can make a difference….

In a conversational style, Jane and her co-author document what she believes are the pillars of strength that will enable all of us to keep working towards a solution. Her ‘four reasons for hope’ include The Amazing Human Intellect, The Resilience of Nature, The Power of Young People, and The Indomitable Human Spirit. Each subject was broken down and explained in a clear voice that didn’t bludgeon me with righteousness but instead encouraged me to look for strength and reasons to keep moving forward. All has not been lost. Yet…

Is the task overwhelming? It most definitely is. I liked that this wasn’t white-washed but instead it confirmed the daunting task we face. What it also did was remind me why it’s important to keep fighting. Because there is hope, in each other, in the work being done every day. We can unite believing, and working, in a unified belief that we, and the planet we live in, are worth saving…
Inspirational and informative, I really did come away more optimistic and also determined to not just be hopeful but take that belief and transform it into something tangible. Hope won’t save the planet or its inhabitants but the loss of it would be its death knell…

During this uncertainty, Jane Goodall's wisdom is a much needed gift to us all. Written in a conversational style between Douglas Abrams and Jane Goodall, we get an insight on Jane's personal anecdotes and experiences that shaped her hopeful worldview. I appreciated the dialogue format. It provided for an intimate and thought-provoking read. Douglas Abrams did an astounding job in asking the right questions and keeping the conversation flowing. Through her measured, solace voice, her plea for necessary action and healing is expressed gracefully without sounding preachy. I absolutely love and respect Jane's work and what she represents. For her to give us four specific reasons for hope was inspirational and encouraging. I appreciated how she highlights taking small steps in action makes a difference. Jane's personal stories were very fascinating and powerful. Her gentle voice about hope felt like a very much needed warm hug. She lived and continues to live such an incredible life, and most importantly, even amidst all the darkness, it was truly uplifting how she still has hope in our future. This was such a beautiful book voiced by a phenomenal woman.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, Jane Goodall, Douglas Abrams, Celadon Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. It hits shelves on October 19th, 2021!

“Hope is contagious. Your actions will inspire others. It is my sincere desire that this book will help you find solace in a time of anguish, direction in a time of uncertainty, courage in a time of fear.”

JANE GOODALL
The Book of Hope by Douglas Abrams is a part of the Global Icon Series. This book is Jane Goodall and she is such a beautiful soul! She is one of the people with who I would love to have lunch, but reading this book is probably as close as I will get to that. There is no doubt we are in trying times. It is really hard to go out into this world without feeling despair or disappointment. Douglas Abrams interviews Jane Goodall and asks the important question–How do you have hope during this time and how do we foster hope in our future generations? She has “Four Reasons For Hope: The Amazing Human Intellect, The Resilience of Nature, The Power of Young People, and The Indomitable Human Spirit.”

“Does some of our wisdom get lost when we lose connection with the natural world?” I asked.
“I believe it does. Indigenous cultures have always had a connection with the natural world. There are so many wise shamans and healers among the Indigenous people, so much knowledge about the benefits of living in harmony with the natural world.”

THE BOOK OF HOPE
One of the aspects that I loved about this book is that it is a conversation. It isn’t preachy. It is solace and a kind voice. And I know we can ALL use some kindness and grace during these times. But it is also a call to action. A plea to listen and make the necessary changes for progress and healing. Jane Goodall really draws on her past experiences and what she has learned advocating for animals and our Earth. I love her praise for the Indigenous community and how we need to listen to them and draw inspiration from their connection to the natural world. I was pretty much giddy when they mentioned Peter Wohlleben. He has become a favorite of mine. Jane praises his work in working with trees and the importance of the forest. Then I think I swooned when she mentioned that her favorite fictitious book that draws on hope is Lord of the Rings.

“I think it provides us with a blueprint of how we survive and turn around climate change and loss of biodiversity, poverty, racism, discrimination, greed, and corruption. The Dark Lord of Mordor and the Black Riders symbolize all the wickedness we have to fight. The fellowship of the Ring includes all of those who are fighting the good fight-we have to work so hard to grow the fellowship around the world.”

THE BOOK OF HOPE
I truly admired everything about this book and I look forward to reading Douglas Abrams’s other book, The Book of Joy with the Dalai Lama. I did find hope in this book and I really recommend it to anyone who is struggling to find it. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars!

Jane Good and Douglas Abrams gave their book an appropriate title because it definitely gave me hope for the future. If you suffer eco-grief and anxiety about the future of our planet like I do, I recommend you read "The Book of Hope".

Jane's reasons for hope are based on the following: the resilience of nature, the power of youth, the amazing human intellect, and the indomitable human spirit. An inspiring example of the resilience of nature is the Survival Tree in Manhattan at the sight of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on 9-11-2001. The tree was wounded and seemed certain to die --- yet it did not die. It fought back and now stands proudly as a testament to the power and strength of nature. The Survival Tree is a beacon of hope for all of us.

Jane and Douglas give examples of the damaged wreaked on nature by humanity's greed and ignorance, They give us the hard truth but then follow with positive examples,, such as the beneficial effect on Yellowstone Park with the reintroduction of the wolf. A lovely quote from the book from Jane Goodall is "how resilience is linked to the belief that we can make a difference in our lives and the lives of others, how hope really gives us the will to not only heal ourselves but to make the world a better place."

My hearts beats stronger and more hopefully because of this thoughtful and honest book.

Jane Goodall has always been someone I looked up to. I have read all her books and I cherish each one. The Book of Hope was written in a unique way as Jane discusses different experiences of her life, and why she still has hope for the future of our world, all in conversations with Douglas Abrams. Jane's "Four Reasons for Hope": The Amazing Human Intellect, The Resilience of Nature, The Power of Young People, and The Indomitable Human Spirit are the main focus of the conversations.

This is the perfect book to read right now as we all struggle with the last year and a half and the future.. The book is thought provoking and will also give you hope.

I loved the way this book was written. Douglas Abrams shared with us his conversations with Jane Goodall on the subject of Hope. What is Hope? What does hope look like? And....how does it drive us? I felt like I was an observer on the sidelines, listening in on these most interesting of conversations.

If you only know Jane Goodall as the chimpanzee expert, this book shows another side of her and will give you some insight into how she sees the world. If you are familiar with the world’s most famous living naturalists, the beloved Jane Goodall, you will then be able to enjoy the deeply personal conversations and photographs of Goodall’s career.

READ THIS BOOK! Loved it! When I saw this book available on NetGalley, I jumped at the opportunity. Once again I'm amazed that I had never previously read one of Jane Goodall's books and I think that she is one of the most incredible women (right up there with Mother Theresa).

Concurrently I'm taking an enlightening, wonderful college mini-semester class (on-line via UofM and Dr. Naomi Levin) ENVIRON112 entitled Climate and Humanity. Jane Goodall's most recent book (written in conjunction with Douglas Carlton Abrams) really complimented this course.

There are a lot of pictures in this book. The book is listed at 320 pages. I'm surprised because I absorbed it so quickly and easily. With covid, the interviewing of Jane Goodall needed to shift for co-author Douglas Abrams from in person at the beginning of writing this book to internet based. This was accomplished seamlessly and really worked well with the title of the book, even though there are challenges ... there are still ways to make things work.

It really is good to have HOPE.

One of my favorite stories in the book was two friends from rural China, one was blind and the other had no arms. Together they decided to build a forest. Oh, and they had no money. So they took cuttings from trees. The armless friend described to the blind one what to do; together they worked. Of the first batch of 80 or more, 2 survived the first year. The subsequent year was more successful. And then the community started noticing and their forest continued to grow. There are now more than 10,000 trees. Seems like one of those feel good, made-up stories on the internet, but the men are named Jia Haixia and Jia Wenqi and there is a picture of them in the book. Hope and perseverance.

Other favorite quotes.
- "Humans are incredibly adaptive and will do whatever is required to survive in their environment. ... If we live in a society with a reasonable standard of living and some degree of social injustice, generous and peaceful aspects of our nature are likely to prevail; while in society of racial discrimination and economic injustice, violence will survive."
- "Because if we don't act wisely now to slow down the heating of the planet and the loss of plant and animal life, it may be too late. We need to come together and solve this existential threats to life on Earth. And to do so we must solve four great challenges - I know these four by heart because I often speak about them in my talks. First - we must alleviate poverty. ... Second - we must reduce the unsustainable lifestyles of the affluent. So many people have way more stuff than they need - or ever want. Third - we must eliminate corruption, for without good governance and honest leadership, we can not work together to solve our enormous social and environmental challenges. And inely, we must face up to the problems caused by growing populations of humans and their livestock. There are over 7 billion of us today ... "
- the rate of extinction today, due to human actions, is many, many times faster than ever before.
- "that not only are we part of the natural world, not only do we depend on it - we actually need ti. In protecting these ecosystems, in rewilding more and more parts of the world, we are protecting our own well-being. .. Even in cities, like Singapore, there are projects now that link small areas of habitat with green corridors of trees so that animals can move from place to place as they look for food and mates. Whenever you give her a chance, nature returns. Every tree planted makes a difference."
- "there is a famous saying," Jane continued, " 'We have not inherited the earth from our ancestors but borrowed it from our children.' And yet, we have not borrowed it from our children. We've stolen it! When you borrow something, the expectation is that you will repay. We have been stealing their future for countless years and the magnitude of our theft has now reached absolutely unacceptable proportions."
- Roots and shoots program! The motto of Joy from Chengdu, China is 'Only if we understand, can we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help, shall all be saved.'

Just an awesome, wonderful book. Recommended reading for all.

Thank you to NetGalley, the authors Jane Goodall and Douglas Carlton Abrams and the publisher Celadon Books for the opportunity to read this advance read copy in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is scheduled for 19 Oct 2021. READ THIS BOOK!

Author Doug Abrams is a brilliant interviewer and biographer. He has a great knack for presenting Jane Goodall's words from their conversations and drawing out when it's important to be personal versus global. "Hope" is a broad subject; and Goodall, herself, has had such a full and meaningful life -- yet the subjects are one cohesive message. Abrams brings four specific missions to the table and presents them clearly.
Interviewing and for that matter, answering, can easily off on tangents. Abrams and Goodall work so well together in keeping this collection of personal stories linked to all of the missions of the Jane Goodall Institute and Jane's individual work.

Goodall is a trailblazer in science and especially for women. She was the first person to study chimpanzees in the wilds of Africa to which she credits her friend/employer/mentor Louis Leakey (the man who also provided the opportunities for Dian Fossey and Biruté Galdikas to conduct their research). The most fascinating characters of Goodall's life are woven through the chapters on hope, science, activism, resilience, and the human spirit. Characters like David Greybeard, one of the most important primates in the history of biological research. He was the chimpanzee that Jane noticed fashioned tools to get food. It was a breakthrough like many of her other benchmarks.

Much of Abrams and Goodall's conversations take place over her ritual evening dram of whiskey (her favorite being Johnnie Walker green). Readers may be transported to Africa, to the Netherlands, or to the virtual space when these two had to remain separated during the pandemic. In Dar es Salaam at Jane's house where used to spend much of her time but now only visits on her short trips, Abrams asked one of the most pressing questions one could ask such a historical figure: Have you ever lost hope? The way Goodall answers Abrams in this and all his thoughtful questions is that she explains where things when she began, the traumas or tragedies along the way, and then solidifies her own stubbornness in not being willing to give up or give in when there is a problem to solve.

Of the four reasons Jane Goodall has hope, the second -- the chapter on the resilience of nature -- is quite honestly, something everyone should read. The traumas that humans have done to the planet may be irreparable. Yet, hope is seen when trees in areas of bombings/man's attacks manage to bloom one fresh leaf or eventually grow a new branch in time. This regrowth is explained in somber detail about Jane's time in New York City with the Survivor Tree at the 9/11 Memorial and in her visit to Nagasaki where two five-hundred-year-old sister trees still fight to stand despite their burned damage. Abrams includes photos of these trees and many other key factors in Goodall's reasons for hope.

Education is something else Goodall emphasizes and works to improve with JGI's children's program, Roots and Shoots. The first Roots and Shoots group of kids was ridiculed for working without compensation. They cleaned a beach and not because their parents told them to, but because it needed to be done. They persevered and showed the people of Tanzania what volunteerism is and how can be effective.

Summary:
While there are plenty of sad stories from Goodall about the world, the treatment of animals, the death of her dear husband Derek, and her own time living through World War II, Doug Abrams lifts the veils of sorrow in order to show Goodall's heart.

As she says about approaching life in her nineties, "...we must defeat two enemies, one against invisible, microscopic enemies; the other -- our own stupidity, greed, and selfishness."

Rating: 5 stars

Hope. It is essential in this book and throughout life. In the conversations between Dr Goodall and Mr Abrams this is the recurring theme. Why we need to have it, why we need to share it and believe in it. I always find myself fired up after listening to Dr Goodall or watching her on a show. She has this way of pulling you closer to a subject. I enjoyed this book and the style in which it is written!

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley.

So most of the books I've read from Goodall relate to plants and animals in some way. I'm not saying this one doesn't, but it takes a different tone for the rest. It's about hope (which is a common theme in the titling of her books as well, hope's a big thing for Goodall).

The narrator, Abrams, writes out this book as a conversation he has with Goodall about the human spirit, the current state of the world, and hope in general. He gets her life experiences, takes on the issues affecting us in the world, and tries to frame them in a way that people can learn lessons from and take her experience into their own lives. And again, as a conversation (over several sessions).

It was a unique way to present the book because you get to be this unobtrusive observer in their conversations. While some of that felt a bit too "clean" to be a true conversation, it still worked well in general as the format. It also made me continue to appreciate Goodall's contributions and the work she has done over her lifetime. And the work she continues to do even now.

Review by M. Reynard 2021

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC

I feel so fortunate to have been able to read this absolute gem of a book! The story is put together primarily by Douglas Adams, who narrates Jane Goodalls life and accomplishments, interviews her, and adds to the discussion of hope.

The book centers on Hope, what Hope means, and how Hope can drive our life and actions. The book is set in this current time which makes the discussion so profound since as a species we often seem to be on a precipice. The writing was well laid out, easy to read, and clear. I liked that the discussion was applicable and laid out clearly with examples, rather than just being nebulous pontificating.

Jane Goodall is without doubt, an exceptional person. I think this book gave insight into to how she sees the world, and how hope has driven her to improve the world. The boom is t comprehending about her life, but comprehensive about the topic.

I absolutely feel that my life has been enriched by this book! Highly recommend!

#TheBookofHope #NetGalley

Of course Jane Goodall is a monumental global figure, and I was interested to see her perspective on the concept of hope... but personally, I don't care for the "conversational" approach to this kind of book. If Goodall doesn't want to write this book on her own, then.... fine? I don't like how the actual author centers himself and I just don't think it works very well.

Based on conversations between Jane Goodall and author/ publisher Douglas Abrams this book gives sage advise on not only what we have done to our planet but also what her four hopes/actions are for the future. Ms. Goodall's hopes for our future as a species are: human intellect, nature's resilience, the power of young people, and "the indomitable human spirit." Such hope from such an important naturalist and environmental activist.

This book is very timely. I love that the overall theme of the book is hope, despite the grim topics that are covered. The message that it's not too late to try to fix things and the inspiration that Jane lends is very powerful. "The Book of Hope" is the perfect title for this book.

The way the book was written made the book very readable, with the author writing his conversations with Jane Goodall, and then expanding on topics she talked about at times. I loved hearing Jane Goodall's memories from all of the experiences she's had and experiences others have shared with her.

This is written as more of a series of personal conversations with Jane Goodall. It is interesting and fulled with photos.