Common Fire: Leading Lives of Commitment in a Complex World

"Common Fire" is a scintillating work--but I'm not sure it's (ENTIRELY) aptly named. The "Fire" part seems to me entirely appropriate, for this book is positively pyrotechnic in its passion and pizzazz! On the other hand, its approach and content are FAR FROM "Common." This book is a masterful synthesis of wit and wisdom. It combines impeccable intellectual and academic credentials with a profoundly spiritual sense of consciousness. It taps and appeals to both the heart AND the mind. In other words, it plumbs the depth of our souls. Citing scholars as diverse as Ronald Heifetz (of "Leadership W/out Easy Answers"), Robert Kegan (of "In Over Our Heads"), Nel Noddings (of "Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics & Moral Education"), Robert Bellah et al. (of "Habits of the Heart"), Robert Putnam (of "Bowling Alone"), Lev Vygotsky (of "Thought and Language,"), Cornel West (of "Race Matters," etc.), Erik Erikson, Thich Nhat Hanh, Peter Senge (of "The 5th Discipline"), and Garrett Hardin (who wrote the seminal essay: "The Tragedy of the Commons")--as well as MANY others, "Common Fire" touches its readers in remarkably nuanced and incisive ways. The book chronicles the lives of actual people who are extraordinarily committed to serving the common/public good. These (auto)biographical sources lend the book an air of practical, non-fictional, personal authority. The "subjects" of the authors' study thus come across with all their human subjectivity, diversity, and individuality intact. But the book is also carefully enough researched, and thoroughly enough informed, that it conveys a more sweeping sense of "objective truth," as well. Perhaps that's because its authors understand and appreciate paradox, mystery, etc. Dialectiticians at heart, they see the world thru' a subtle lens of dialectical sophistication & perspicacity. Moreover, their lyrical, compelling prose makes it a veritable page-turner. This book is engrossing. Once it entranced me within its seductive clutches, I couldn't put it down. When I finally finished it, I felt CHANGED, renewed, inspired in a way books rarely make me feel. "Common Fire" demonstrates the power of "constructive engagement with otherness," of the transcendent joy and possibilities of "living within and beyond our respective tribes," of "developing critical habits of mind, a responsible imagination," and "struggling with human fallibility." SOMETHING has made you investigate this book thus far. I recommend your continuing to follow WHATEVER cosmic force is drawing you thither: So now you have only to go get your hands on this book in order to feel its promethean spark!

Common Fire is more than a book. It is itself a vision and an inspiration. If you're looking for hope and innumerable practical tips about how to create more possibilities for compassion and creativity in our schools and communities, then you'll love the incredible stories that this brilliant, care-full group of four author/educators has put together. Common Fire introduces us to a vision of what our good country can be when we re-envision ourselves as citizens rather than mere "consumers." I find it unbelievably heartbreaking to see America play darkly at the edges of cynicism, despair and violence, all of this supported by a daily barrage of TV and newspaper stories that hold out the lowest possible standard for what we humans can be, individually and in our communities. We are capable of so much more! Each one of our children should grow up in a safe home, surrounded by adults who know how to deal artfully with differences and potential conflict. Each one should grow into a visionary neighborhood of people who help one another and speak well of one another. These courageous Common Fire authors of have really gone out to the edge of what is possible for us as a nation, grounding their vision in the real experience of over one hundred extraordinary, visionary, incredibly committed leaders who refuse to take despair as the answer. As someone who has done professional interviewing, I know how difficult it is to ask good questions, to sort through masses of material for the gold. The Common Fire authors have done a superb job. These are good stories, real pearls of wisdom from mature American citizens who know what they're talking about. I am inspired by their stories, by their tenacity and creativity in situations where so many of us have given up. Common Fire is food for our hungry imaginations. Please read this book and present it as a gift of enkindled love to friends who are teachers, parents, college students, mental health professionals, politicians, community activists, business leaders, priests and ministers. I for one want the new life that these authors and their interviewees offer for us all. And I humbly thank them for all that they have already accomplished for my neighbors and for my country.

The book was astonishing in pinpointing the hearts of our "miracle workers" who have been able to elevate the conscious of those people who have either lost hope in the restructuring of our social fabric.

A wonderfully researched and written book that explores a difficult yet compelling topic. The authors should be commended for making striking advancements in the discussion of leading a committed life.