Nicholas D. Kristof

This book was AMAZING and every single adult should read it. Even though I knew of most of the topics in this book about the plight of women worldwide, the book added so much depth to my knowledge and understanding. The authors use both personal interviews and a broader assessment of what aid is necessary to combat different women's issues. They also--and this is key--assess what is working, what is likely to be successful in the future, and what is NOT working. The book demonstrates that show more there is not one cause but multiple causes, and there is not one solution, but many different solutions, to issues affecting women. The authors are also pragmatic. They illustrate that some aid really isn't that effective, and they know that money isn't going to solve it all. They directly confront the feeling of "it's such a big problem, what can I do"? I think the authors are especially good at addressing the thornier moral issues involved. They address the issue of cultural sensitivity to these complex, deep-rooted women's issues that have been part of some cultures for thousands of years. Is it culturally respectful to barge in and demand change? Maybe not, but is it any better to stand by and let women be gang-raped as a means of winning a war? Is it okay to watch as women are sold like chattel and forced into sexual slavery at the ripe old age of ten, rather than appear culturally insensitive?While the book is disturbing and heartbreaking on many levels, it also manages the extremely difficult task of being hopeful and inspiring. I especially appreciated the many practical suggestions of what we can do right now to help. Unlike the crummy Three Cups of Tea book, this book actually did leave me feeling fired up to do something, and I'm going to. I'm already planning it. Please, everyone, read this book!! show less

In "Chasing Hope," Nicholas D. Kristof powerfully illuminates the harrowing realities of global issues such as sex trafficking and the impact of war on women and children. By sharing the untold stories of those suffering in places like Cambodia, he emphasizes the urgent need for women's education and economic independence. Kristof critiques the media's tendency to cater to audience preferences, arguing that this often leads to the neglect of crucial narratives that demand attention. His show more reflections combine journalistic prowess with an introspective examination of the emotional toll that chronicling such stories takes on him.

Kristof's personal journey, marked by a preference for nature over therapy, adds a poignant layer to his narrative. "Chasing Hope" is not just a collection of stories; it serves as a powerful reminder of our shared humanity and the importance of confronting uncomfortable truths. This engaging read challenges readers to step beyond their comfort zones and engage deeply with the struggles of others, ultimately inspiring us to become advocates for change in a world that often turns a blind eye. show less

I am a long-time reader of Nicholas Kristof's articles in the New York Times and I have read Half the Sky by Kristof and his wife Sheryl WuDunn. I was interested in their newest book Tightrope. A few weeks ago while waiting for a talk at a local library, I picked up Tightrope from the new books shelf and started reading. The next day, I went out to a local bookstore and bought the book.

Yet those kids ended up riding into a cataclysm, as working-class communities disintegrated across America, show more felled by lost jobs, broken families and despair.~ from Tightrope by Kristof and WuDunn

Tightrope is a deeply personal book; Kristof writes about the kids who were on the bus he took to school, people who were his neighbors and friends, and what became of them. One of out four died from drugs, suicide, alcohol, recklessness, drugs, and obesity. One is homeless and one is in prison for life. And yet Kristof left that bus and became a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. Their stories become the vehicle to ask the hard questions about what has happened in America.

What went wrong? What goes right for the kids who end up successful? Who, or what, is to blame? And most importantly, what can we do prevent people from falling off the narrow tightrope?

After breaking my heart, and reading the lofty goals that could change the lives of Americans, I was pleased the Appendix shared "10 Steps You Can Take in the Next Ten Minutes to Make a Difference." Political and social change takes time. But these steps are within our personal control.

We have blamed the poor for their poverty, criminalized addiction, threw troubled kids out of school, allowed health care and sound education to become an option only for the wealthy, watched children grow up with food insecurity, and punished people rather than give them the tools to be contributing members of society.

Americans need to change their minds and their policies. Kristof and WuDunn share success stories of successful local programs that have changed lives and which could be adopted on a larger scale.

"Pull yourself up by your bootstraps," after all, originally meant "do the impossible."

Some of us were lucky with parents who offered a firm foundation, teachers who took an interest and encouraged us; some of us had opportunities for education, vocational training, or qualified for the military. When a child has none of these advantages--no boots with straps to pull--their chances of success are slim.

Americans need to shrug off the paradigm of blame.

The paramount lesson of our exploration was the need to fix the escalators and create more of them to spread opportunity, restore people's dignity and spark their ingenuity.~from Tightrope by Kristof and WuDunn show less

“…more girls have been killed in the last fifty years, precisely because they were girls, than men were killed in all the wars of the twentieth century. More girls are killed in this routine ‘gendercide’ in any one decade than people were slaughtered in all the genocides of the twentieth century.”

Sex trafficking, forced prostitution, honor killings, rape and not giving girls the same medical attention and treatments as boys are given are all reasons for the above. “Every year, at show more least another 2 million girls worldwide disappear because of gender discrimination.” And barely any of this makes the ’news’. Horrific. The firsthand accounts of the cruelty and abuse suffered by women made my stomach turn. And ache. Reading about a world in which a girl's virginity is more important than her life, was just unfathomable. But it happens. And is happening.

“…far more women and girls are shipped into brothels each year in the early twenty-first century than African slaves were shipped into slave plantations each year in the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries…”

"Women hold up half the sky." - Chinese proverb show less