We Need To Build

“A centrist call to actively build—rather than passively critique—civic institutions.”—Kirkus Reviews“Patel wants to build, and help others build, institutions to do all of this good work. He wants to inspire and train new civic leaders who nurture pluralism and community that is welcoming.”—Jon W. McSweeney, Spirituality & Practice“Revelatory and profoundly timely! This is the essential handbook for every activist ready to move from resisting injustice to rebuilding a world of justice. A legendary builder and visionary teacher, Eboo Patel gives us the blueprint for how to build institutions that will birth the beloved community.”—Valarie Kaur, author of See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love“Eboo Patel is one of America’s most visionary civic leaders and one of our most vital bridge builders. We Need to Build is both a blueprint and a guidebook for an inclusive twenty-first-century democracy. Read this book!”—Van Jones, author of Beyond the Messy Truth“In this moment in civic life, we need institutional leaders who can absorb radical critiques—and radical critics who can build institutions. Eboo Patel is both, and he has the self-awareness and standing to send both messages to both parties. This bracing, necessary book is a guide for deep civic renewal.”—Eric Liu, CEO, Citizen University“Eboo Patel holds a singular place in American life and thought. His expertise on the pluralistic religious reality of twenty-first-century life has influenced virtually every major field—from education to the workplace to political policy and culture. We Need to Build comes at precisely the right moment to become a key handbook for navigating the transformative healing—the building—that our world of fracture and disarray so urgently demands.”—Krista Tippett, author of Being Wise and host of On Being“Eboo Patel has long served as one of America’s most trusted and impactful leaders for religious pluralism. In his latest book, We Need to Build, Patel provides an invaluable and must-read road map filled with practical wisdom and timely prescriptions to help all of us better build the thriving organizations and communities and healthy democracy we so desperately need.”—Rev. Adam Taylor, president of Sojourners and author of A More Perfect Union“In fractious times, Eboo Patel draws on the lessons he’s gleaned from his own inspiring journey to offer us the thing we need most—a credible path to hope and reconciliation.”—David Axelrod, author of Believer: My Forty Years in Politics

Named “one of America’s best leaders” by U.S. News and World Report, Eboo Patel is Founder and President of Interfaith America, the leading interfaith organization in the United States. Under his leadership, Interfaith America has worked with governments, universities, private companies, and civic organizations to make faith a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division. Eboo served on President Obama’s Inaugural Faith Council, has given hundreds of keynote addresses, and has written five books. He is an Ashoka Fellow and holds a doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford University, where he studied on a Rhodes scholarship. Eboo lives in Chicago with his wife, Shehnaz, and their two sons.

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