Don Cheadle

This was a book I read for my sociology 328 course entitled "Globalization". I was very interested in this topic and was invested in completing this book as a result. The major fault of this book for me (this will not be true for everyone) is that it incorporated stories from the authors of the book. This detracted from what I felt was the main focus of the book, which is to end genocide and to present a solution that is feasible in nature. It is hard to recognize the solution though because it gets somewhat lost in the rendering of these side event stories. When writing a book that is about such an atrocity as that of the Darfur genocides one should focus on the facts and stay away from the rendering of useless stories. I particularly disliked the fact that near the beginning of the book Don Cheadle shares his experience at the Oscars. While I get that this contrasts with the realities that he later sees it feels out of place in a book that should help me to understand what I can do to make the world a better place. I would probably do better finding a more factual book instead of reading something that is set up like this in the future. If you read this review and have a recommendation for a more factual book please feel free to leave a recommendation if you have one. I will gladly look into the book and read it.… (mais)

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.… (mais)