An Insider's View of Twin Oaks Community In Its 26th Year
by Kat Kinkade
Author of A Walden Two Experiment: The First Five Years of Twin Oaks Community
Now in it's third printing!
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In 1973, Kat Kinkade's highly acclaimed A Walden Two Experiment told the country how a unique attempt at shared living had struggled and
triumphed in it's first five years.
Now, with Is It Utopia Yet?, Kat brings us another lively, firsthand account of Twin Oaks' continued development as one of America's most prominent and successful cooperative communities.
The book includes detail about some of the conflicts that Twin Oaks has lived through and the people who were caught up in them. Kat speaks frankly and thoughtfully about the changes Twin Oaks has gone through and her own changing role in the Community.
As a bonus, the 320 page book also contains over sixty cartoons about community living from the pen of Twin Oaks member Jonathan Roth.
What is it really like to live in a "Utopian" community? What happens to the high ideals of equality and social justice under the pressures of daily living with a continually-changing population of nearly a hundred people?
Creating a new society presents many challenges—making a living, inventing a government, sharing the labor, raising children collectively, and reaching agreement about such things as diet, standard of living, and commitment to caring for the environment. Facing these tasks as a group means taking a hard look at the original principles. Does full economic equality really work? How far can a group compromise its ideals for the sake of holding its members? How much social conformity is necessary for peaceful cooperative living? Just how simple should the simple life be? Kat tells how these fundamental issues have been worked on through 25 years of communal living at Twin Oaks.
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Reviews
"Is It Utopia Yet? is a wonderful read, full of humor and insight."
- R. Seth Friedman, Factsheet Five
" A beautifully written chronicle."
- Deborah Altus, Communities magazine
"Is It Utopia Yet? presents a fascinating and honest look at both the joys and problems of community life. Kat has always been one of our favorite writers on the community scene, as she speaks so honestly from her own experience. Current community members, as well as aspiring ones, can learn much from this in-depth story of an important experiment in human equality."
- Corinne McLaughlin, Author, Builders of the Dawn
" This book is an excellent introduction to the practical aspects of building community. The story of Twin Oaks' development offers valuable insights into group dynamics anywhere - specially for non-hierarchic groups grappling with questions of leadership and decision making among equals. I don't always agree with her conclusions, but Kat is always worth listening to"
- Laird Schaub, Former Secretary, Foundation for Intentional Community
" The result is an absorbing account interspersed with whimsical illustrations and some very funny cartoons."
- Allan Antliff, Alternative Press Review
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Is It Utopia Yet?
by Kat Kinkade
319 pages, 6 x 9 inch. ISBN 0-9640445-0-1
Twin Oaks Publishing ©1994, reprinted Nov 1997 and Aug 2004. Paperback.
Retail copies no longer available except as a used book from various online sellers.
For still-available institutional and wholesale copies or other information contact:
Twin Oaks Publishing
138 Twin Oaks Rd
Louisa, VA 23093-6337
540-894-5126 | 888-424-8838 Fax
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