All About Love: New Visions

A New York Times bestseller and enduring classic, All About Love is the acclaimed first volume in feminist icon bell hooks' "Love Song to the Nation" trilogy. All About Love reveals what causes a polarized society, and how to heal the divisions that cause suffering. Here is the truth about love, and inspiration to help us instill caring, compassion, and strength in our homes, schools, and workplaces.

“The word ‘love’ is most often defined as a noun, yet we would all love better if we used it as a verb,” writes bell hooks as she comes out fighting and on fire in All About Love. Provocative and intensely personal, renowned scholar, cultural critic and feminist bell hooks offers a proactive new ethic for a society stricken with lovelessness—not the lack of romance, but the lack of care, compassion, and unity. People are divided, she declares, by society’s failure to provide a model for learning to love.

In this landmark book, bell hooks explores the question “What is love?” Her answers strike at both the mind and heart. Disputing that the ideal love is infused with sex and desire, she provides a new path to love that is sacred, redemptive, and healing for individuals and for a nation. All About Love is a powerful, timely affirmation of just how profoundly love and community can change hearts and minds for the better.

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Published Jan 9, 2001

272 pages

Average rating: 8.18

1,006 RATINGS

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What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *All About Love: New Visions* by bell hooks is a transformative, thought-provoking exploration redefining love as a conscious choice roote...

Maxihistorias

Jan 06, 2026

10/10 stars

great book with a great question: who teaches us how to love in society?

Anne Phillips

Jan 03, 2026

8/10 stars

Reread this book after probably 12 or more years for a book club and I had to knock a star off. Parts of the book had me thinking “ok boomer!” Perhaps it was all her elevation of Marianne Williamso, lol.. Hooks also straight up victim blames Monica Lewinsky. Also as a fierce hater of both toxic masculinity and economic inequality, I found some of her assertions to be overly simplistic. Finally, too much angel talk — glad I never read her angel book.

ShayLynn

Dec 28, 2025

10/10 stars

"All About Love" by Bell Hooks is a transformative exploration of love that challenges conventional perceptions and invites us to deepen our understanding of this essential human experience. Hooks defines love as "the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth." This perspective reshapes how we view love, emphasizing that it is not merely a feeling but a conscious choice. One of the book’s most compelling themes is the importance of community. Hooks inspires us to recognize our collective power to build communities grounded in love and compassion, especially in today's divided world. She encourages us to actively choose to love, reinforcing that love is a commitment that invites accountability. Furthermore, she asserts that the highest form of love is that of God, urging us to strive for a divine love that promotes growth and healing in ourselves and others. "All About Love" is not just a thought provoking work it’s a call to action. Hooks’ engaging narrative and practical insights encourage readers to reflect on how they can embody love in their daily lives. For anyone ready to embrace love's potential to transform their relationships and communities, this book is a must read and a powerful reminder that we can choose to love boldly and authentically.

QueenGracefully

Nov 27, 2025

8/10 stars

All About Love is a powerful and transformative exploration of what love truly is—and why so many of us struggle to give and receive it. bell hooks breaks down love beyond romance, reminding us that real love is built on honesty, accountability, commitment, trust, and care. She challenges the myths we grew up with, exposing how childhood wounds, broken homes, and a lack of emotional education shape the way we love as adults. The book feels like a mirror and a guide at the same time. hooks doesn’t just point out what’s missing in our lives; she teaches us how to build love in healthier, more intentional ways. She speaks on self-love, healing, boundaries, spirituality, community, and how love must be both a choice and an action—not just a feeling. What makes the book so impactful is her ability to blend psychology, spirituality, culture, and personal reflection. It’s gentle but confronting. Kind but firm. And it pushes you toward emotional maturity. By the end, you understand love more clearly—not as something that just happens to you, but something you practice daily with God, yourself, your children, your friendships, and your relationships.

Bertaok

Oct 25, 2025

8/10 stars

Love explained from different perspectives, not only the romantic one. Good read