An insightful analysis of contemporary philanthropy offered by a perceptive, experienced insider.
Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, argues for a new vision of philanthropy informed by the demands of justice in this nonfiction debut.
The author frets that the current age is marked by “historic disruption,” roiled by such pervasive injustice, inequality, and authoritarianism that we are “staring down existential risk.” Walker contends that a traditional interpretation of charity—one that emphasizes generosity toward the downtrodden—is simply insufficient insofar as it neglects the causes of socio-economic inequality. In short, Walker posits that charity must not be abandoned but rather transformed by a new relation to justice, one that strives to attack “systemic issues, not just their symptoms.” To this end, the author recommends the adoption of a “justice mindset,” which carefully takes stock of one’s various privileges, investigates the biases and ignorance that undermine our philanthropic efforts, and ensures that our own egos don’t get in the way. Moreover, he feels that the effective philanthropist must seek out solutions that are empirically rigorous and resist the temptation of “silver bullets” and grand strategies concocted independent of real experience. Walker’s acumen in professional philanthropy is impressively vast, and he covers the field with great expertise and clarity. Also, he includes edifying interviews with other notable philanthropists like Elizabeth Alexander, the president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Walker’s discussions can be frustratingly vague—he’s more interested in broadly sketching a general approach to charity than providing immediately actionable counsel—the absence of which he acknowledges. Consequently, the book is filled with platitudinous moral exhortations: “Now is the time for courage. This is our moment to show each other—and the world—that we can rise above the flaws and mistakes of our past, that we are better and stronger than hate, fear, and injustice.” Nevertheless, this remains a thoughtful reflection on the limits and possibilities of philanthropy, one that does not reject capitalism but advocates for a “more inclusive form” of it.
An insightful analysis of contemporary philanthropy offered by a perceptive, experienced insider.Pub Date: March 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781633310773
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Disruption Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A philosophically rich critique of state violence and mass apathy.
An Egyptian Canadian journalist writes searchingly of this time of war.
“Rules, conventions, morals, reality itself: all exist so long as their existence is convenient to the preservation of power.” So writes El Akkad, who goes on to state that one of the demands of modern power is that those subject to it must imagine that some group of people somewhere are not fully human. El Akkad’s pointed example is Gaza, the current destruction of which, he writes, is causing millions of people around the world to examine the supposedly rules-governed, democratic West and declare, “I want nothing to do with this.” El Akkad, author of the novel American War (2017), discerns hypocrisy and racism in the West’s defense of Ukraine and what he views as indifference toward the Palestinian people. No stranger to war zones himself—El Akkad was a correspondent in Afghanistan and Iraq—he writes with grim matter-of-factness about murdered children, famine, and the deliberate targeting of civilians. With no love for Zionism lost, he offers an equally harsh critique of Hamas, yet another one of the “entities obsessed with violence as an ethos, brutal in their treatment of minority groups who in their view should not exist, and self-decreed to be the true protectors of an entire religion.” Taking a global view, El Akkad, who lives in the U.S., finds almost every government and society wanting, and not least those, he says, that turn away and pretend not to know, behavior that we’ve seen before and that, in the spirit of his title, will one day be explained away until, in the end, it comes down to “a quiet unheard reckoning in the winter of life between the one who said nothing, did nothing, and their own soul.”
A philosophically rich critique of state violence and mass apathy.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780593804148
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
