Rating: 
Summary: Drivel
Review: Al Gore's "Earth in the Balance" is one of the most monotonous and uninspiring books I have ever read. Though the books' intentions are righteous, the author and the chosen subject matter are not. What may have been a sensible explanation of environmental matters that need to be addressed through popular support and legislation, befell to political rambling and semi-radicalism. It is no secret that the "champion of environmental issues" had never entertained more than a few college credits toward the cause and it shows in this book. A more practical and simple book would have sufficed. Gore's persona is noticeable in meanderings such as the analogy between information and a boat that never finds shore. The boats "information" would be lost forever. I suppose "Earth in the Balance" was the boat. As heroic as Gore's efforts have been to work and legislate on behalf of the environment, his efforts to write about them should be avoided.
Rating: 
Summary: Kacynsky's bedtime reading
Review: I mean doesn't that say it all?
For those who don't know this, Al Gore's book was found in the Unabomber's cabin, well read and heavily annotated.
Anyone praising this book is obviously a hard-core environmentalist radical.
Quotes like, "the internal combustion engine is the biggest threat to mankind", are just "priceless" in showing how far on the fringe Al Gore really is.
In a recent statement he actually maintained that the threats to the environment are a close second to the threats of terrorism.
I hope he'll include that sparkling wisdom in a future edition of this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Balance
Review: We chose this book for an AP Environmental project. We chose it because we respect Al Gore's concerns for the environment and attempts to save the Earth. The book was intelligently written. Al discusses environmental effects on a worldly basis. This book is broken into three parts: problems with the environment, what affects the environment, and what can be done to have more positive effects. Although dry in some areas, the reading is easy. Al incorporated numerous examples, quotes, and references into each chapter. Visuals, such as graphs and charts, are used to create a better understanding. This is a great book for everyone, not only those interested in the environment. It is stressed throughout the book that each individual must contribute to save the planet.
Rating: 
Summary: Textbook mate
Review: Honestly, though at times the book as drier then tha Aral Sea described, I enjoyed it. Al Gore gave very powerful insight on a lot of key issues that have been discussed in my Ap Environmental class, which is the calss I had to read the book for. Gore defended a lot of what I have heard with more specific, stronger evidence and data. Not to mention he backed up all the problems he wrote about with tanglible ways to improve the situation. I would highly recomend this book for the extremee environmentalist who is also interested in politics. But if one does not enjoy learning of the distructivness and blindness of our economy (and people themselves), I don't recoment it to them. This book is not for the weak of heart, but the strong in ambition and care. For a teacher, I recomend this book to be read a longside any Envoronmental textbook.
Rating:
Summary: Cogent yet passionate
Review: This book is not perfect, but it is a thoughtful and impassioned analysis of the problems we face as we enter the 21st century. As others have said, to have a presidential candidate who is capable of writing such a book is itself a fairly amazing thing, but to have this particular candidate bring such fervor to the issues is even more eye-opening. Few fair-minded persons doubt Gore's mastery of even the most complex issues, but he often is viewed as wooden and unemotional. How inaccurate that perception is, at least when the subject is the future of Mother Earth, is evident on every page of this book.
Rating:
Summary: Highly competent and credible!
Review: Contrary to what you might expect from just seeing who the author is, this book is *not* a sour criticism of policies proposed by Al Gore's political opponents - it is not about dividing, it is about uniting!
It is a stunningly thoughtful description (yes, we are not used to seeing such deep and balanced views from our politicians, but this is a wonderful exception!) of how our world reached its current state. With many references to history from as far back as the Dark Ages and with a selection of events that took place all across our planet throughout the centuries, Al Gore lays out his view of what the major problems before our civilization are, how they came to be and what could be realistically done to alleviate them.
This is a book about what we never learned in school - the human evolution, the history, our life and ultimately our future! It will be worth your time more that you ever thought!
Rating:
Summary: GORE DOESN'T WANT YOU TO READ THIS
Review: As strange as it may sound, Gore doesn't want anyone to read this book. He wrote it out of honest (if misguided) conviction. Now he is trying to hide his true colors, and this book clearly reveals them. In it he calls for the worship of "the Earth Goddess"; for the abolution of the internal combustion engine; and for many other radical ideas that the great majority of Americans would find repugnant. Why didn't he ever mention this book during his campaign for the Presidency? You would think he would trumpet the fact that he was literate enough to write a book, since he was so busy putting down George Bush as a "non'intellectual." It was because he knew it would ruin any chance for election. And because he still hopes to be elected in 2004, you won't hear him pushing this book now. It took me two weeks to get through this book, because it is so full of utter nonsense and socialist propaganda. (I had to read it, because my job is to expose the liberal agenda.) Don't waste your time on it. (...)
Rating:
Summary: Bizarre
Review: Whatever you think of W, read thsi book and you'll be glad he is President! This one shocked me. Mr. Gore really is a distrubed radical.
Rating:
Summary: Soviet Bolshevism Incarnate
Review: Apparently, Mr. Gore forgot to take English classes in high school. His book is rife with Green Party politics, and it should be no surprise that he lost the recent election. As a compassionatel liberal, I am usually inclined to agree with Mr. Gore's policies, but as an avid reader of political literature, I am disgusted. The book lacks any sort of emotion, much like the ex-vice president himself. The book concentrates less on liberal environmental politics and more on Bolshevistic Communist propaganda. You could, of course, read the book yourself if you don't mind taking a gigantic risk. My suggestion is to stay away completely--unless you're a Marxist.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I have followed Gore for about 20 years -- well before he became popular. He was active in the technology areas before and while he was in Congress, much less so when he was chosen as VP (no, he did not invent the Internet). Having an idea of what to expect, I was disappointed in that the author used disreputable or questionable sources and stuck more to a "preaching" mantra than trying to "discover" the truth.
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