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Carry Tiger to Mountain

The Tao of Activism and Leadership

by (author) Stephen Legault

Publisher
Arsenal Pulp Press
Initial publish date
Apr 2006
Subjects
Taoist

Library Ordering Options

Description

This fascinating and useful book is a modern-day interpretation of Lao Tzu's Tao te Ching for those concerned with social issues and activist movements in Western civil society. It's a thoughtful examination of how the Tao, and Taoist thought, might be applied to the challenges, conflicts, and obstacles that activists and concerned citizens face as they deal with such issues as poverty, workers' rights, environmentalism, freedom of expression, gender and sexual equality, and social justice. The book also includes a verse-by-verse interpretation of the Tao te Ching, one of the most important historical works of Chinese philosophy and is the basis of Taoism (or Daoism).

This is a timely book about the role of spirituality in activism in the 21st century, and how we--not only activists per se, but those for whom issues of social and political justice are important--can forge new paths in our daily struggles to make the world a better place, and at the same time restore personal balance to our lives. It includes a foreword by Dr. Jim Butler, a political activist for the past 30 years who is also a Buddhist monk.

About the author

Stephen Legault is a full-time conservation activist, writer, photographer, and organizational development consultant. He is the author of a number of historical and environmentally themed mysteries, including The End of the Line and The Third Riel Conspiracy, featuring Durrant Wallace, a sergeant with the North West Mounted Police in the late 1800s; The Slickrock Paradox, a Red Rock Canyon Mystery set in Utah's Canyonlands region; and The Vanishing Track and The Glacier Gallows, the most recent mysteries featuring Cole Blackwater, an environmentalist who finds himself solving crimes. Stephen is also the author of Carry Tiger to Mountain: The Tao of Activism and Leadership, which he wrote based on his experience using the Tao Te Ching as a guide to his lifelong work to protect wilderness and wildlife, and Running Toward Stillness, a meditation on Buddhist spiritual practice, running, and parenthood. He is currently working on new books of photography, essays on spirituality, and more mystery novels. He lives in Canmore, Alberta, with his wife, Jenn, and two children, Rio and Silas. Visit Stephen online at stephenlegault.com and follow him on Twitter at @StephenLegault.

Stephen Legault's profile page

Editorial Reviews

Carry Tiger to Mountain: The Tao of Activism and Leadership pairs a modern interpretation of Lao Tzu's Tao te Ching to Western leadership goals and values, considering how these principles can be applied in a new era of spirituality in activism. Experiences of present leaders of social causes blend with the author's own decades of experience as a social and political activist: from mistakes to ego in organizational management, everything is covered.
-Bookwatch

Bookwatch/California

This is a fascinating book about carrying the Tao of Lao Tzu to leadership in social issues and activist movements in Western Civil society. It is a timely book about the role of spirituality in activism that covers the left side of the social and political spectrum. It is a relief to see that the whold world hasn't been converted to the fundamentalist Christian conservative side.
-Books On Line/Amazon

Books On Line/Amazon

Stephen Legault's Carry Tiger to Mountain reminds us that social activism and personal awareness need each other to be complete, that undisciplined activism and passive spirituality both lead nowhere. Legault's account of his personal experiences with activism demonstrate that he learned these lessons first hand. This is an important book for anyone who dreams of a better world.
-Rex Weyler, author of Greenpeace: The Inside Story

Greenpeace

Legault has crafted a solid spiritual guide.... This is both a wise meditation and a good source of strategies for activism, one of the most important being how to step back and get a grip.
-Montreal Mirror

Montreal Mirror

It is the work of an honest and dedicated layman who's looking for guidance in his vocation.
-George Fetherling, New Brunswick Reader

New Brunswick Reader

Stephen Legault believes the Tao te Ching contains much that can help people who are working to change the world.... His sincerity, and the concrete examples he gives, will make you receptive to what he has to say.
-The Vancouver Sun

Vancouver Sun

Stephen Legault's marvelous ability to connect the experiences of the present leaders of social causes with the wisdom of the ancients shows us all that there is a passage through the often seeming insurmountable obstacles of the present, a way that enables all who care to be successful in their personal lives as well as in their chosen work.
-Brock Evans, US Endangered Species Coalition

Brock Evans