"…this book is a 'must' for urban and community development researchers, practitioners, and activists and the libraries that serve them." — CHOICE"Renewing Hope within Neighborhoods of Despair is an extraordinarily valuable book that is well situated within the scholarly literature and speaks to what is now a hot debate: what is the potential of community-based development organizations (CBDOs) to revitalize inner cities? No one has gathered this kind of ethnographic data on what exactly developmental activists do, how they view their activities, and how they attempt to surmount the contradictory pressures that press in on them. The book is a fascinating argument that those who control the resources do not necessarily control the agenda. As such, it is good medicine for a very cynical age." – Todd Swanstrom, coauthor of City Politics: Private Power and Public Policy"I like the comprehensive nature of this book. It truly covers A to Z on this topic, something that has not been done to my knowledge. It is important, very innovative, and exciting." – Edward G. Goetz, coeditor of The New Localism: Comparative Urban Politics in a Global Era