This book is a blueprint for how to become active in any issue that one may be passionate about. Don Cheadle is one person who was moved to action after playing the role of Paul Rusesabagina in the movie Hotel Rawanda. We see how he went from someone on the fringes, to a more active role for the cause of Darfur and genocide in particular. This book shows how even what one person can do to benefit the cause.

This book tells you exactly why you don't know more than you do about contemporary issues you should be aware of, genocide in particular, and it takes you beyond the feeling of helplessness it knows you feel into a recognition that a single voice does in fact matter, regardless of any cliche. It truly is a layperson's guide to contemporary matters that every individual should be aware of, but there is no guilt-tripping here--simply awareness. Cheadle and Prendergast take you through their own self-titled "journeys out of apathy" in an effort to show you where their own interests began, and how these matters affect even those of us who have no direct connections outside the U.S. In practical terms, it gives you understanding of what's going on in Africa, particularly in Darfur, and how you personally can help--or at the very least avoid adding to the problem unknowingly.

Cheadle's voice is powerful throughout the work--particularly since he began as a man no more affected or knowledgable than any of us who might pick up this book--but even more powerful and far-reaching are the various stories of individuals no different than us (housewives, students, white-collar workers, etc.) who've made significant differences with simple and small steps "out of apathy". Reading this book, you no longer have an excuse to say that the problem is larger than you, or that you don't have the money to donate, because money is not the largest of the issues, and the stories here prove that the problem is not larger than the individual in the end. It is a simple, if hard to take, read, and if I had the money, I truly would buy a copy for everyone I know to take in and read. Part of the reading difficulty comes because there is simply so much information here, but if you take it in steps and read it as Prendergast and Cheadle have set it before you, it isn't so overwhelming as you'd expect.

This book does not simply set before you insurmountable problems. It provides you past cases of success, shows you stories of individuals who've inspired the authors and others while helping their causes, and outlines exactly how you can help, small step by small step. I cannot recommend this book to you highly enough. And as a twenty-something teacher of college students, I can tell you honestly that this book should be given to all high school and university students. As the book says, they are the most likely to donate significant time and original ideas to their causes, and they are the most likely to not just step out of apathy, but to leap out of it. I see plenty of students in my classroom who are lost in apathy for anything beyond partying and videogames, but I can't imagine that emotion would persist if someone were to put this book in their hands, and bother them until it is read. Obviously, I can't recommend this book highly enough. It is not pleasure-reading (or at least not at most moments---there are plenty of laughs here, surprisingly), but it is touching, necessary, and inspiring, as well as instructive. ( )