Dialogues (Paperback)

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After victory in a June primary, former California governor Brown is campaigning for November election as mayor of Oakland. Before he takes on that daunting responsibility, he shares 18 of his more than 300 interviews during the 18 months he spent hosting the syndicated radio program We the People. On issues of justice, Brown's interview subjects include Jonathan Kozol, Sister Helen Prejean, Noam Chomsky, and David Korten. The environment, the arts, globalization, and spirituality are among subjects he discusses with Thich Nhat Hanh, Judi Bari, Helena Norberg-Hodge, Vandana Shiva, Wolfgang Sachs, and Gary Snyder. John Taylor Gatto and Susannah Sheffer converse about education and home schooling; Paolo Soleri, urban design; Donovan Webster and Lt. Col. David Grossman, war and "the violent society"; Suzanne Arms, childbirth; and Ivan Illich and Alice Walker, friendship and kindness. Most appropriate for libraries where Brown won a significant following in the 1992 presidential race, where his radio program was popular, or where books by his interview subjects circulate. Mary Carroll

Product Description

For three decades, Jerry Brown has been one of the most insightful and outspoken figures on the American cultural landscape. Former Governor of California and Mayor of the city of Oakland, he has re-evaluated and attacked entrenched ideas, forging a political philosophy that transcends conventional boundaries.

Dialogues is a collection of conversations between Brown and eighteen men and women whose ideas and activism have helped shape his vision. Ranging from the villages of India to the streets of the South Bronx, from birth centers in Holland to Louisiana' s Death Row, from battlefields to Buddhist monasteries, this work explores accepted practices that undermine a just society, and proposes ways of being that can lead to a sustainable future.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 309 pages
• Publisher: Berkeley Hills Books (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965377490
• ISBN-13: 978-0965377492
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #991,691 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read, February 18, 2000

By	Antonio Sacin (Panama City Beach, FL, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book was excellent in the contents and it is full of interesting thoughts and ideas, expressed by a selected assortment of 18 people that inspired Jerry Brown himself. In the book, he gets to interview each one of them in a sort of dialogue that engages these peoples ideas. Most of the topics deal with social and political criticism, well founded by the way, and it is very insightful into looking beyond the reality of everyday life, what are the larger mechanisms at work, what are our limitations, what are the problems, what are the underlying issues, etc. It tends to uncover many assumptions and should provoke in the reader much thinking on issues that affect us all in today's society, from religion to environmentalism to capitalism.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent summary of Jerry Brown's talk show content, February 17, 1999

By	Robert A. Navarro (Bellevue, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book is vintage Jerry Brown. The various people with whom he holds discussions on a variety of issues builds a consistent humanistic position with regard to the current situation in the United States. These are views that come from "reading between the lines" with regard to what is happening in our country--and in the world. The discussions are truthful, impactful, revealing and very intellectual in nature. The dialogues will open up your mind to events and conditions, even if you disagree with the stated positions. And, the discussions should make everyone more aware of what is happening around them, particularly in the areas of the economy, the environment, politics, social agendas and military research.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jerry Brown - Moral & Spiritual Politician, January 22, 2002

By	Blake Ross (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Jerry Brown is that rare thing - an ethical politician. Read this book to get some insight into the otherwise private nature of an influential figure. Read how Mayor Brown served with Mother Theresa in Calcutta and decided to save a city rather than "monitor" government at the state or national level. Courageous and noble man.