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Chris Hedges spent two decades as a foreign correspondent in the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans. He was at the New York Times for 15 years and was part of the team of writers that won the Pulitzer prize in 2002 for that paper’s coverage of global terrorism. He has taught at Columbia University, New York University and Princeton University and is currently a Senior Fellow at the Nation Institute and a columnist for Truthdig.com. Chris Hedges’ acclaimed books include “War is a Force that Gives us Meaning,” “American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America,” “Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle,” “The Death of the Liberal Class,” and “The World As it Is: Dispatches on the Myth of Human Progress.” His latest book is a collaboration with author and graphic artist Joe Sacco, called Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt.

Earlier this year, Chris Hedges appeared on UCTV, in an interview with Dean Nelson as part of the 17th annual Writer’s Symposium by the Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University. Special thanks to UCTV for sharing the video of the DVD with us.

Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt

The town of Welch, West Virginia grimly exemplifies the ravage that Big Coal has unleashed on the public and local ecosystem. A combination of pollution from coal mining, corruption and a destruction of public programs has lead to widespread poverty, crime, prescription drug abuse, and dirty coal dust covering the town inside and out. There is an absence of hospitals, sewage treatment services, and clean water, and in recent years fatal diseases like black lung and cancers of all kinds have been on the rise.

The decline of Welch is only one of many stories told in the new book, Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt, the result of a powerful collaboration between Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chris Hedges and American Book Award winning cartoonist Joe Sacco. Hedges and Sacco traveled the country to witness first-hand the sometimes bleak, sometimes hopeful, stories recounted in Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt. In Welch, guided by a local activist, the book’s authors obtain a personal account of the sweat and blood shed by miners since the early 1900s to win basic labor rights, only to have them undermined by collusion between government officials and Coal executives. In addition to Welch, Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt also looks into four other localities suffering from the effects of unfettered corporate greed and introduces readers to the people working to make a change. Hedges and Sacco traveled to Pine Ridge Reservation, Dakota, Camden, New Jersey, Immokalee, Florida and Liberty Square to create a poignant, visually stunning chronicle of the consequences of unregulated capitalism and the small revolts rising up in challenge.

Thank you Gifts:

Interview with Chris Hedges on UCTV – DVD – $75

Best of 2012 Drive MP3 CD (includes Chris Hedges, Michelle Alexander, Van Jones, Tavis Smiley, Cornel West, Richard Wolff, Gabor Mate, Selma James, and more) – $100

Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt by Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco – $125

Chris Hedges Pack (all 3 above gifts) – $200

Call 818-985-5735 (KPFK) to make a pledge or click on the above links.