1
of
1
Beacons in the Darkness
Hope and Transformation Among America's Community Newspapers
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 16 ratings, 7 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK
Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock
Sorry, we're currently out of stock of Beacons in the Darkness. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Latest News
100 Years of Winnie the Pooh
100 years ago the Hundred Acre Wood and a cast of beloved friends was published...
The Book Briefing - 14/10/2026
It's time for another edition of 'The Book Briefing'! Sacha's back with all the latest...
TV Show Review on: Carrie
Liam's Review Carrie 26’Carrie has been on my radar for a while now, probably my...
The Struggle of Working Somewhere That Sells Beautiful Books
The problem is…I work in the cutest little (I said what I said) bookshop and...
New Releases to add to your TBR this week (12th October)
There's new dark romance from one of our favourites, the brand new US edition of...
See moreEarnest, intimate reporting on the vanishing terrain of community newspapers across America, and the proud few that are still standing guard.
Marketing:
- Social media campaign, including advertisements and giveaways
- Hard copy ARC mailing
- Consumer advertising
- Select author events
- Promotion to national media, such as Atlantic, the New Yorker, and Harper’s Magazine
- Promotion to book-focused radio programs and NPR morning shows
- Promotion to regional (Chicago) media including TV, radio, and newspapers
- Promotion to advance review media
- Promotion to national newspapers as well as community newspapers profiled by the author
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
Community journalism has long been a part of the lifeblood of America, but never have the stakes been so high for the people behind it.
In Beacons in the Darkness, award-winning journalist Dave Hoekstra interviews the people trying to keep the lights on at community newspapers across the country amid buyouts, declining revenues, fake news, and a pandemic. This book is not another account of the death of local journalism—but rather a celebration of the community ties, perseverance, and empathy that's demonstrated in community newsrooms from Hillsboro, Illinois, to Charleston, South Carolina, to Marfa, Texas.
Hoekstra recounts the sometimes-scandalous but always-industrious stories of the families who built these newspapers and passed them down through generations. Modern publishers and owners describe in their own words their struggles and experiments to stay alive in the digital age, not just for their businesses and their families but also for the communities they serve and the neighbours whose stories they tell in their reporting. Beacons in the Darkness provides an intimate view inside the organisations that still publish photos of the local bowling league and the outlandishly large mushrooms on the edge of town, leaving you with a rekindled fondness for your own community paper—and a renewed appreciation of what we all stand to lose without one.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781572843165
Publisher: Surrey Books,U.S.
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 24 November 2022
Country: United States
Imprint: Surrey Books,U.S.
Illustration: Color and B&W photos throughout, Charts, Tables
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 152.0mm
Height: 228.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 200
About the Author
Dave Hoekstra is a Chicago author-journalist. From 1985 through 2014, he was a columnist-critic at theChicago Sun-Times, where he won the 2013 Studs Terkel Community Media Award. He has contributed pieces toChicago Magazine, theChicago Reader,New City, and Raw Vision.
He has written several books, includingThe Supper Club Book (A Celebration of a Midwest Tradition),The People's Place (Soul Food Restaurants and Reminiscences from The Civil Rights Era to Today), andThe Camper Book (Celebration of a Moveable American Dream).
Dave wrote and co-produced the WTTW-Channel 11 PBS special, "The Staple Singers and the Civil Rights Movement," nominated for a 200102 Chicago Emmy for Outstanding Achievement for a Documentary Program-Cultural Significance. He also wrote and co-produced the award-winning 2018 full-length documentary and companion bookThe Center of Nowhere (The Spirit and Sounds of Springfield, Missouri).
More from History & Military
View all-
Saving Elli
One child. Two years in hiding. Three lives in mortal danger. In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's house, another Jewish girl is hidden. Her name is Elli. Her father has been executed at Mauthausen concentration camp. Her mother is fleeing for her life. Elli is next. To save her, resistance couple Frits and Jo Hakkens must risk everything, concealing her...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Spy and the Traitor
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre is a spellbinding Cold War thriller that unravels the true story of Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB double agent who risked everything to aid the British in the battle against Soviet oppression. In meticulously researched detail, Macintyre paints a vivid portrait of espionage, double-crossing, and unparalleled bravery, giving readers a riveting glimpse into...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Suicidal Empathy
The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique...Paperback$3099Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseThe Cauldron
How did an elderly cleric overthrow the Shah of Iran and change the world?Why did Bin Laden attack the USA - and why did the USA destroy Saddam?How did Britain and France carve up the Middle East - and why did the Kurds never get their own state? THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE MAKING OF TODAY'S MIDDLE EAST: A SPELLBINDING...Hardback$4999Elsewhere:$6000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Wager
THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 'The beauty of The Wager unfurls like a great sail... one of the finest nonfiction books I've ever read' Guardian 'The greatest sea story ever told' Spectator 'I cannot think of anyone who would not love this book... It is an extraordinary true story, beautifully...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Discipline
Silence is complicity, but how do we confront the cost of speaking up? Sydney, May 2021. Ashraf is an academic whose career and personal life are in freefall. Hannah is a young journalist struggling to honour the voices of her community. When a Year 12 Al-Bayinnah College student is arrested for protesting a university's ties to an Israeli weapons manufacturer,...Paperback$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Golden Menhir
Assurancetourix is entering the legendary Gallic bards' competition to win the golden menhir. But with the Romans keeping a close watch, Asterix and Obelix must protect him at all costs. Their mission? Keep him safe-no matter what... even if it means risking their own ears! First released as a book-disc in 1967, this adventure soon became a rare treasure, long...Hardback$2999Elsewhere:$3499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseAll The Presidents' Wars
From a multiple New York Times bestselling author, here is an eye-opening history of the United States' war on terror across four presidential administrations. The year 2026 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11, the most devastating attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. Within days, the United States began to declare its war on terror: 'Either you are with us,...Paperback$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Keep Calm – We Are Coming
Keep Calm — We Are Coming briefly backgrounds the New Zealand Special Air Service deployment in Afghanistan — then goes into action. While primarily training Afghan forces, in Kabul the NZSAS had to respond to a series of ‘spectacular attacks’ by heavily armed Taliban fighters wearing suicide vests and determined to inflict major casualties. In the words of those who...Paperback$4000Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Man's Search For Meaning
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is a profound, thought-provoking memoir and psychological exploration that delves into the harrowing experiences of life in Nazi concentration camps, intertwined with the author’s groundbreaking theories on existential psychology. The book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, offering a beacon of hope and a roadmap for finding purpose...Paperback$1800Elsewhere:$2100Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Shattered Lands
'A sparkling debut by an outstanding young historian' – PETER FRANKOPAN 'This book is a revelation … both original and important' – MISHAL HUSAIN A history of modern South Asia told through five partitions that reshaped it. As recently as 1928, a vast swathe of Asia – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and...Paperback$3699Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New Release
Biological War
There is an invisible weapon among us. By the time you know you are a victim, it has turned you into a killer. A blistering new non-fiction thriller from the Baillie Gifford shortlisted author of Nuclear War (200,000 copies sold). A lab accident, a bio-attack, a global pandemic, and the collapse of human society. In this essential new book, based...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
History & Military lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
