Rating: 
Summary: very good overview and introduction to the subject
Review: When I read this book for my college environmental science class, I thought it was fascinating and ground-breaking. Picking it up 6 years later, however, I realize how much is missing. I re-read the first chapter on Easter Island, and wondered, "where is the account of disease?" Contrary to Ponting's claims, the Easter Island civilization did NOT collapse as a result of over-use of resources! In fact, it recovered from this mistake, only to be devastated by syphilis and small pox, brought by the Europeans. Instead of using Easter Island as a warning to the rest of the world, Ponting should use it as a message of hope. If Easter Islanders could recover from severe resource degradation- so could we. The key is recognizing the problem in time and working actively to resolve it.
Rating: 
Summary: much good info, but incomplete facts
Review: When I read this book for my college environmental science class, I thought it was fascinating and ground-breaking. Picking it up 6 years later, however, I realize how much is missing. I re-read the first chapter on Easter Island, and wondered, "where is the account of disease?" Contrary to Ponting's claims, the Easter Island civilization did NOT collapse as a result of over-use of resources! In fact, it recovered from this mistake, only to be devastated by syphilis and small pox, brought by the Europeans. Instead of using Easter Island as a warning to the rest of the world, Ponting should use it as a message of hope. If Easter Islanders could recover from severe resource degradation- so could we. The key is recognizing the problem in time and working actively to resolve it.
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