Utopia
(n.): a place of ideal perfection especially in laws,
government, and social conditions.
The definition of utopia itself is simple to comprehend.
It’s the description of a perfect place to live, a locality where everyone coexists
and acts in pursuit of collective security and benefit. It’s a worthy goal to
strive for, something we as humans would all arguably enjoy. Yet no such utopia
has ever existed for an extended period of time. Why? Because the
implementation of such an idea is far from effortless.
Both our front and back lists contain titles which explore
the pursuits of pure utopias. Each with a slightly different approach, these
books comprise a fascinating narrative of coexistence, couched in the Pacific
Northwest’s rich history as a haven for communal living.
My Unexpected Years in a Hippie Commune 
In 1970, Margaret Grundstein abandoned an Ivy League
education to follow her activist husband into the backwoods of Oregon. There,
they lived with ten friends and a rotating cadre of strangers, building what
they believed to be a version of utopia. Resources grew scarce and
relationships frayed, leaving Grundstein faced with difficult questions of
feminism, labor, and love. A gripping memoir, Naked in the Woods forces readers to explore the boundaries of
their own human nature and societal expectations.
Oregon’s Utopian Heritage 
Since the establishment of the Aurora Colony in 1956,
Oregon has housed nearly three hundred communal experiments. Ranging from the
religious and Socialist groups of the nineteenth century to the ecologically
conscious communities of the current century, Kopp’s work serves as the first
comprehensive source for the state’s rich utopian history. Eden Within Eden will intrigue readers with its rich detail and
encompassing look at broader social, political, economic, and cultural aspects
of Oregon’s history.
The Rise and Fall of an Anarchist Utopia on Puget Sound 
Structured around a series of linked narratives, Kopp’s
work traces the history of Home, Washington, an anarchist colony founded in
1896 to promote freedom and tolerance in the midst of a rigid Gilded Age
society. Over time, the community became notorious for its open rejection of
contemporary values; members were arrested, sent to the Supreme Court, and even
turned into private spies. More than a simple history, Trying Home offers insights and reflections from the author as
complex as the community about which he writes.
Living Lightly at Home and in the World 
Surrounded by ever-increasing levels of technology and
modernization, how can we lead sustainable and responsible lives? Building a Better Nest delves into this
question through the author’s own adventures in home construction. Writing with unfailing wit and humor,
Hess looks for answers in such places as neuroscience, Buddhism, and her
ancestral legacy. Sustainability, she discovers, is all about cooperation.
Well, that and active attention to the local watershed, and the widening income
gap, and disappearing species, and overtaxed resources, and … Suffice it to say, sustainable living
requires a lifetime of cultivation. Follow Hess’s progress and method in Building a Better Nest.
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definition taken from the Merriam-Webster dictionary.