"The more who read Barasch, the better the world will be."
—KIRKUS REVIEWS (Starred)

"Marc Ian Barasch’s Field Notes on the Compassionate Life is an excellent and penetrating book. His argument for compassion is balanced yet persuasive, and long overdue. This book ought to be a compulsory read for all."
—ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU,
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

"Marc Barasch stands out as a bard of the human heart, spinning a gripping, thought-provoking, and entertaining tale as he explores the meandering paths of compassion. His Field Notes On The Compassionate Life offers an essential guidebook for anyone who cares deeply about the human condition, and about how we can help each other find our way through with love and guts."
—DANIEL GOLEMAN,
Author of Emotional Intelligence

"In our post-nine-eleven world, compassion is no longer optional. Our future largely depends on it—and not just compassion toward one another, but also toward the earth and all its creatures. Describing how compassion unfolds in ordinary lives and transforms them is Barasch’s great gift. Elegant, erudite, and profoundly gentle: this book is a shimmering jewel."
—LARRY DOSSEY, MD,
Author of Healing Words

"Forget ‘compassionate conservatism’—here is something refreshingly real, beyond right or left, just straight to the center of the human heart. If you want to help save the world today, then give someone—anyone— this startling, truthful, and passionate book about the power of being kind."
—ARIANNA HUFFINGTON,
Columnist and author of Fanatics and Fools

"A powerful argument for a world of kindness, generosity and love. Amidst his engaging personal accounts of interactions with a wide variety of helpers and healers, Barasch develops sophisticated social theory that challenges the paralyzing cynicism that is the ‘common sense’ of our age. This book would be a great gift to a friend or family member who has given up hope about healing our world— but it should also be required reading at every college and in every workplace, reminding us that kindness and compassion are not luxuries but the essential ingredients for our survival on this planet."—RABBI MICHAEL LERNER,
Editor of Tikkun magazine and author of Spirit Matters

"This book is a marvelous act of generosity: a wise, beautiful, triumphant reminder of our human goodness."
—JACK KORNFIELD,
Author of A Path with Heart

"If I had to pick one skill that was most important for a negotiator—meaning everyone everyday—it would be theability to put yourself in the other side’s shoes. In this extraordinary book—part keenly observed reportage, part magical story-telling—Marc Barasch helps us understand why and how this might be so, leading us deep into the mysteries of human and non-human compassion."
—WILLIAM URY,
Co-author of Getting to Yes

"I have read this book twice. The first time, coming from an intellectual perspective, I found things to think about. The second time, I stopped thinking and read from my heart, and was doubly rewarded. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand why the compassionate life is the answer—and who wants to learn how to live it."
—BERNIE SIEGEL, MD,
Author of Love, Medicine, and Miracles

"Field Notes On the Compassionate Life is a stupendous achievement, at once brilliant and touching, a superb work that delicately unravels the secret narrative of the heart. Everyone who reads this book will glimpse an internal map of kindness that Marc Barasch unfolds and displays with style, wit, and humor."
—PAUL HAWKEN,
Author of Natural Capitalism

"Marc Barasch is one of America’s finest writers—a revolutionary thinker who conveys an uncommon wisdom about the human qualities we all hunger to tap into. This impeccable work reflects the depth of his own life, and breaks new ground on an eternal subject with urgent relevance for our troubled times."
—LYNNE TWIST,
Author of The Soul of Money