A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity

“It’s time to rethink what a charity should be,” write award-winning husband-and-wife journalists Kristof and WuDunn (coauthors of Half the Sky) in their latest collaboration, which will be the basis of a PBS series. Such is the tone of this broadly inclusive and multifaceted account of possible solutions to today’s “overwhelming and unrelenting” social problems. Heartening anecdotal sketches of both givers and receivers in the “charity industry” are engaging and informative, and Kristof and WuDunn hope to provoke serious thought about the role of charity in today’s world. They applaud “innovators who are using research, evidence-based strategies, and brilliant ideas of their own to prevent violence, improve health, boost education, and spread opportunity at home and around the world.” Of particular note is Kristoff and WuDunn’s endorsement of “social entrepreneurship” and for-profit organizations as the most promising models for change. Readers may quibble with their points of emphasis, but Kristof and WuDunn’s commitment and passion for substantial action is inspiring. The book’s appendix includes a valuable list of organizations that work in education, crime and violence prevention, family planning, public health, and other fields.[em] Agent: Anne Sibbald, Janklow & Nesbit. (Sept.) [/em]