Adult nonfiction; knitting/social activism. If you are a knitting fanatic and will eagerly devour anything related to knitting, this is for you. Otherwise, you can skip this book, as it doesn't actually contain much information that you don't already know/can't figure out for yourself. There are a few ideas for making a positive impact with your knitting (knit scarves and hats for the homeless; blankets for animals at the shelter; knit tree and car-antenna cozies to brighten up certain corners of your neighborhood; knitting in public makes other knitters feel good!) There are also a very few knitting patterns included. ( )

This seems good for its intentions. It has suggestions on ways to knit for charity, and does a good job of showing many, many ways that crafting can benefit more than the crafter. (And also ways that it *does* benefit the crafter.) However, the yarns suggested for use in items to be donated seem a bit on the pricey side, and since this was a review copy there were lots of typos. I hope the typos will be corrected in the published version, but it did hinder my reading a bit.

Heard about this book on the To the Best of Our Knowledge show called Reconsidering Craft, 12/14/2008: http://www.wpr.org/book/081214a.cfm.

An interesting book that takes the "zen" of knitting and makes it meaningful in the context of what your hands can do for others through the craft of knitting. It is a thought provoking book that underscores the good that comes from crafting at so many different levels - after you've knit for everyone you know and love - or even before - knit for others in need. ( )

Knitting for Good seeks to tap a huge market among knitters today--those who have knit as much as they can for their friends, family and selves, and want to use their craft to give back to the larger community. Betsy Greer provides many examples of how knitting can bring spiritual fulfillment by focusing on things outside yourself. The book has a nice variety of ideas of ways to help out, projects to work on, and stories of individuals and how they have used knitting to effect change in themselves, their local communities or the world. The focus is on younger people, especially members of certain movements, and many of the ideas may not be relevant to older readers (who make up a huge percentage of the people with time and energy to devote to use their craft skills to help others. However, the kind spirit of all the people profiled shines out, and the many ideas for ways to combine altruism and craftwork will inspire nearly any reader. ( )