Rating: 
Summary: Poorly Written, Poorly Thought Out
Review: (...)P>The author has loaded this book with unsubstantiated claims of no scientific merit. Most Americans care about the environment but in this book, Gore implies that he is the only "caring" American. The nerve! He thinks he is better than the reader. Gore also distorts the facts about the environment and litters this book with what he must know are falsehoods. In a few sections of this book, it is not clear whether Gore is out of touch with reality or flat-out lying.Gore claims there is a "scientific consensus" that we are in a "crisis" situation. Nonsense -- the scientific debate continues to this day. Gore's twisting of the truth does not help the scientific debate one iota -- it only polarizes people. A very poor effort -- an editor would have been beneficial.
Rating:
Summary: Junk science mixed with leftist politics
Review: Having majored in both chemistry and math as an undergrad, some ofGore's wild statements in this book jumped off the page at me - andmade me wonder if Gore ever took a course in either chemistry orphysics long before the Washington Post printed just how low hiscollege grades in science were at a time when professors rampantlyinflated grades to keep kids out of the Vietnam draft. Running theAL GORE IN HIS OWN WORDS resource library in Alamance Independent..., it's obvious to me that Gore's current"embellishment" (lying) problem long predates his currentcampaign - like at least to when this book was written in 1992. Butif you are a conservative, definitely buy this book - and heat up yourlocal talk shows daily until Election Day with not only its outrightjunk-science lies, but also with its scary implications formiddle-class jobs and lifestyles.
Rating:
Summary: Psychobabble to a fault.
Review: "To the consumption of the earth itself. This addictive relationship distracts us from the pain of what we have lost: a direct experience of our connection to the vividness, vibrancy and aliveness of the rest of the natural world." This from the least outdoorsy person on the scene today. If he says he stands by every word in his book, I believe you have a man out of balance, yet he says I am dysfunctional. Al Gore is scary.
Rating: 
Summary: Well Thought Out and Provocative
Review: I have read this book two and a half times - during the 1992 and 1996 elections and am reading it currently - and have found it fascinating each time. Al Gore seems to truly understand the environmental issue to a depth that is shocking to find in a politician. Common criticisms of the book include:1. It is dully written - This is true to some extent. If I were not fascinated by the subject I may have found it rough going. This is the reason it gets 4 stars rather than 5 from me. 2. That the facts stated are unsupported - Balderdash. The book is not foot-noted like an academic monograph because it is not an academic monograph - it is a "popular science" book much like Carl Sagan's work or Isaac Asimov's nonfiction. Sources are frequently mentioned within the text and the figure captions. Add this to the copious chapter notes and bibliography and his sources are well credited. 3. Current Science doses not back up the text - Fully answering this would mean writing another book, but, for example, I have yet to see a reputable atmospheric scientist outside the pay of conservative think tanks deny the existence of the global warming phenomenon anymore. Gore simply researched this book to death and got the science right. 4. An excuse for more big government - Yes, some more environmental regulation would be necessary to forward the Vice-President's goals - current corporate structure is not at all conducive to putting the good of the world ahead of the bottom line no matter how small the sacrifice is. On the other hand, Al Gore was one of the first proponents of free-market solutions too, such as transferable carbon-emission credits. All in all, a very good if not great book.
Rating:
Summary: Must reading for voters
Review: This book is based on no credible science (no studies cited by independent groups). Computer models are taken as gospel. Then conclusions are jumped to using this junk science. Like this quote "The internal combustion engine is the greatest threat to mankind ever invented" Come on I can think of some other greater threats - How about the nuclear bomb, biological agents. I suggest you read this book with a thinking mind.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy 3 ...
Review: This is a must read for anyone concerned with environmental issues or with US politics. Earth In Balance is an engrossing, detail-rich account from history to present of human beings troublesome relationship with the environment. This book should be of interest no matter what your views on the "environmental crisis" or US politics. Gore's work should bridge party politics and be read as an important tract from Washington's leading environmentalist and potentially future President. While the work covers enormous territory it veers from being necessarily depressing to analystical and constructive. No matter what you think of Gore take a look at this book and I think you will find he has a great deal to say that is relevent.
Rating:
Summary: Our Air, Water, and Land for Sale--Take Yours and Get Out.
Review: In 1990, President George Bush Sr, father of the candidate now running for office, presented a brochure including a drawing of a balance, a scale with two sides. On one side, was the Earth, our planet, the one we all share--the water, the air, the land, the fish, the trees, the birds...and on the other side, he had six bars of gold. The President of the free world was trying to convince his 1990 White House conference on the global environment that there were no serious dangers, and any efforts to combat or control pollution and global warming were outweighed by the costs to big business interests to control them. In effect, his egregious lack of leadership was designed to protect big polluters at any cost. While the leaders of the great nations of the world looked to the United States for leadership, President Bush pulled the carpet out from under his representatives at The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. From this symbolism came the title for Al Gores intelligent and passionate book, Earth in the Balance. Using clear thinking, and arguments which he says are so important to future generations that he stakes his reputation on them, Al Gore's political courage and leadership shine brightly in this book, described by Carl Sagan as a 'landmark book' on long-term thinking, and savvy eloquence and leadership. I have no political ax to grind here, but it is plain to detect the hatred for both the messenger and his message in so many of the so-called reviews about this book. Please, reader, judge for yourself. One thing is crystal clear. Either we have some solid leadership from our leaders in favor of environmental protections from someone with such intellectual skills to formulate programs that will lead us into the next century, saving our spaceship Earth, or we can put someone in office who sells out our air, water, land, fish, birds for a buck, like his daddy did. A case of 'the hard right against the easy wrongs.' The Earth IS in the balance. And every vote is on the scale.
Rating:
Summary: Not a commercial
Review: I feel strange writing this about someone who is alive because most of my heroes are dead. But this book showed me that Al Gore is more than just a run of the mill politician. I do not want to make a commercial for him but he is a politician who wrote a good book on the environment. He writes well (his experience in journalism helped him I am sure)but he writes well in a way that makes what he says understandable. I will grant that this is not for you fans of John Grisham a page turner like what he pumps out annually, but Earth in the Balance is an intelligent and not too tree-huggingly forceful book on the state of our environment. I feel very happy that he could actually write a book on an issue and not just a biograpphy or a how to book on diplomacy. I am amazed that I did not recognize the quiet grace which this man had in the senate and white house actually working on 'real' issues. He made news surely but was never a celebrity. And I am sorry for having missed out on years of someone in Washington who seems to think reasonably and intelligently. I am not saying to vote for him. I am saying this: think of his works alone, including this well written educational and enlightening book. Sure we can all tell the environment is in poor shape because one can not drink from a river. But after reading this book you should understand more the implications and causes of the horrid state of our environment. Like I said when I opened this review which is about 200 words longer than I thought it would be (yes I counted) most of my heroes are dead. But the more I learn about this manthe more I have come to respect him and I would gladly refer this book to all of my friends and even my enemies. ...
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining
Review: Al Gore's book book should appeal to those who feel the need to introduce more controls on our lives and who think we actually have any significant control on the earth's environment. Filled with unfounded ideas and strange references to spirits living in all things. How many spirits were snuffed out to print the pages of this tribute to Gore's feelings? Not for thinkers except for it's insight into a those who think of humans as less than dirt.
Rating:
Summary: Courageous poltical work
Review: I read Earth in the Balance when it first came out. I was frankly inspired to learn more about the environment myself by the book, and impressed that a professional politician could master so much about soil loss, global warming, the ozone depletion, and other topics of considerable importance to all of us. Gore wrote with passion (I truly believe his introductory motivation about how the project grew from his son's brush with death) and I appreciated his pragmatic suggestions for how to proceed on solving the problems. I frankly found the analogies to dysfunctional families quite intriguing and a masterful way to convey social criticism at a mass communications level. After reading the book, I found myself elated later when Clinton chose Gore as his VP candidate, and I still marvel that a true environmentalist can be running for the presidency. Read it--you'll learn about Gore and you'll learn a lot about the state of the environment in terms of both science and policy.
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