This book is about a new possibility for each of us to live a satisfying life. It is a life that becomes possible when we join our neighbors in creating a community that nurtures our family and makes us useful citizens. This possibility is idealistic, and yet it is an ideal within our grasp. It is a possibility that is both idealistic and realistic. Our culture leads us to believe that a satisfying life can be purchased. It tells us that in the place where we live, we don''t have the resources to create a good life. This book reminds us that a neighborhood that can raise a child, provide security, sustain our health, secure our income, and care for our vulnerable people is within the power of our community.This power is silent on most of the streets where we live. However, it is possible to give voice to a neighborhood that is able to speak the language of satisfaction - a language that the marketplace can never speak in spite of its alluring failed promises that we can buy a good life. There is a neighborhood ideal that we all believe in, but it is usually a whisper. When we speak up for our ideal, our voices tell of our gifts, our hospitality, our relationships, and living by the habits of our heart. This book gives voice to our ideal of a beloved community. It reminds us of our power to create a hope-filled life. It assures us that when we join together with our neighbors we are the architects of the future where we want to live.

For nearly three decades, John McKnight has conducted research on social service delivery systems, health policy, community organizations, neighborhood policy, and institutional racism. He currently directs research projects focused on asset-based neighborhood development and methods of community building by incorporating marginalized people. John has been associated with many of Northwestern University''s Institute for Policy Research''s major research projects since he joined the organization in 1969. These have included research on the urban determinants of health, law enforcement, urban disinvestment and metropolitan government, deinstitutionalized child welfare services, police anticrime programs, and the effects of the perception of crime upon community responses. He also directed the Chicago Innovations Forum, an IPR-based dialogue among neighborhood leaders and innovators in economic, political and social development. John serves on the Board of Directors of numerous community organizations including the Gamaliel Foundation and The National Training and Information Center. Before joining Northwestern, John directed the Midwest office of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. John lives in Chicago, Ill. Peter Block is an author, consultant and citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio. His work is about empowerment, stewardship, chosen accountability, and the reconciliation of community. Peter is the recipient of the first place 2004 Members'' Choice Award by the Organization Development Network, which recognized Flawless Consulting as the most influential book for OD practitioners over the past 40 years. Peter is a partner in Designed Learning, a training company that offers workshops designed by Peter to build the skills outlined in his books. He received a Masters Degree in Industrial Administration from Yale University in 1963; he performed his undergraduate work at the University of Kansas. Peter serves on the Boards of Directors of Cincinnati Classical Public Radio and Elementz, a Hip Hop urban youth center. He is on the Advisory Board for the Festival in the Workplace Institute, Bahamas. He is the first Distinguished Consultant-in-Residence at Xavier University. He has received national awards for outstanding contributions in the field of training and development, including the Organization Development Network''s 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award; the American Society for Training and Development Award for Distinguished Contributions; the Association for Quality and Participation President''s Award; and Training Magazine HRD Hall of Fame. Peter lives in Cincinnati, OH.