A lively, concise, and practical antidote to climate anxiety and a guide to positive action.
A potent primer on motivational speaking for climate action by a Danish social anthropologist and United Nations environmental expert.
In this informative overview of speech writing and delivery, Nielsen focuses his attention on applying oratory skills to address climate change. The nine chapters address key concepts, including rhetoric and persuasion, the role of emotion, framing your worldview, building connections, motivating people, and thematic consistency in messaging. The author informs readers about other important considerations, including maximizing your digital impact, the power of word choice, and understanding what types of messages increase polarization. The book’s central purpose—helping readers inspire others to act in support of climate justice—is supported through topics and methods that build momentum and help overcome barriers, like “scale mismatch,” that are clearly explained. Accounts of and quotes from diverse speakers and influencers in history illustrate skilled communication techniques and provide a balanced integration of theory and practice. The outcome is a sturdy lesson on crafting the bones of a personal story to fuel direct, sustained engagement. Addressing the need to move from climate anxiety and silence to action, Nielsen guides readers to strategies that are sure to appeal to a generation of wordsmiths and movement-makers. This thorough, well-written work will be invaluable for classrooms and debate teams as well as young activists seeking guidance.
A lively, concise, and practical antidote to climate anxiety and a guide to positive action. (source notes, bibliography, further information, index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: April 15, 2025
ISBN: 9798765627587
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Zest Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today.
A beautifully heart-wrenching graphic-novel adaptation of actor and activist Takei’s (Lions and Tigers and Bears, 2013, etc.) childhood experience of incarceration in a World War II camp for Japanese Americans.
Takei had not yet started school when he, his parents, and his younger siblings were forced to leave their home and report to the Santa Anita Racetrack for “processing and removal” due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. The creators smoothly and cleverly embed the historical context within which Takei’s family’s story takes place, allowing readers to simultaneously experience the daily humiliations that they suffered in the camps while providing readers with a broader understanding of the federal legislation, lawsuits, and actions which led to and maintained this injustice. The heroes who fought against this and provided support to and within the Japanese American community, such as Fred Korematsu, the 442nd Regiment, Herbert Nicholson, and the ACLU’s Wayne Collins, are also highlighted, but the focus always remains on the many sacrifices that Takei’s parents made to ensure the safety and survival of their family while shielding their children from knowing the depths of the hatred they faced and danger they were in. The creators also highlight the dangerous parallels between the hate speech, stereotyping, and legislation used against Japanese Americans and the trajectory of current events. Delicate grayscale illustrations effectively convey the intense emotions and the stark living conditions.
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today. (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-60309-450-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Top Shelf Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2019
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