A collection of essays in honour of Jack Layton's life has just been released as an e-book, available for those with a Kindle, Kobo or Sony Reader. Composed of contributions from Stephen Lewis, David Miller, Steven Page, Rex Murphy, Tzeporah Berman, and Pierre-Luc Dusseault amongst others, Hope Is Better Than Fear: Paying Jack Layton Forward celebrates Layton's life and political activism by asking how those who have survived him can continue to do the work that he started.

"It is not a eulogy. It is not — or not just — a work of remembrance. It marks the loss of Jack Layton in a way we hope he would have appreciated. It reflects on his example, it assesses his legacy, but more than anything it highlights the important areas in which he was a change maker and asks: how do we get on with the job?" reads a brief excerpt from the Forward to the edition.

A collaboration between Knopf Random Canada and Doubleday Canada, net proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the university and college bursaries and scholarships program of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation and to Shannen's Dream, a charity named in honour of Shannen Koostachin, who fought for equal education rights for First Nations children. Both of the charities were selected by Olivia Chow, Layton's widow. Although only available electronically right now, the publishers are polling prospective customers about their interest in a paperback edition, which may be released if there's enough interest. Presently the eBook costs around $6.

Photo by Jackman Chiu in the blogTO Flickr pool