Act Now, Apologize Later

Rating:
Summary: perhaps his accomplishments have gone to his head...
Review: One star for being motivational to young people...but overall, extremely disappointing. Adam is without double an accomplished individual. But for someone who has achieved so much in life at such a young age, his writing is very superficial. The book fails to truly educate people on environmental issues and appears to be nothing but a promo for his own accomplishments. Instead of fairly presenting both sides of the story, Adam's book is just a rehash of extreme environmentalist philosophy. He does not encourage people to think for themselves, to do research on issues they believe in or to look at issues from different perspectives. It really sets a poor example for today's youth.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiration is Step One: Adam's Book is Superb
Review: Readers looking for a "how-to" of activism need to check out THE FUTURE IS OURS (John W. Bartlett, Ed.), to which Adam contributed a chapter, instead of harping on Adam's book for not providing one. ACT FIRST, APOLOGIZE LATER offers young readers what they need before seeking out the "how-to" -- inspirational success stories, a window into the grueling fun of Adam's own experiences as an activist, and some foundational principles for activism and life -- in an accessible and conversational tone. Simply put, Adam's book gives readers a sense of possibility for themselves and the world. Because it does that, it is invaluable.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiration is Step One: Adam's Book is Superb
Review: Readers looking for a "how-to" of activism need to check out THE FUTURE IS OURS (John W. Bartlett, Ed.), to which Adam contributed a chapter, instead of harping on Adam's book for not providing one. ACT FIRST, APOLOGIZE LATER offers young readers what they need before seeking out the "how-to" -- inspirational success stories, a window into the grueling fun of Adam's own experiences as an activist, and some foundational principles for activism and life -- in an accessible and conversational tone. Simply put, Adam's book gives readers a sense of possibility for themselves and the world. Because it does that, it is invaluable.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Anecdotes, a Philosophical Welter-weight, but FUN!
Review: This book is a light read. It's chock full of inspiring stories illustrating how environmental action can succeed. It's weak on establishing either a philosophy or political theory for environmental action, and has little concrete advice for organizing. The writing style flows nicely and is not difficult. This would be a great book for a Jr. High/High School level environmental club to read and discuss.

Although not systematically organized, most of his stories illustrate useful strategies for environmental action, such as:

"We only need to provide people with the facts that enable them to make up their own minds and empower them to act on their decisions. We need to be savvy, but we don't need to employ scare tactics and misleading information to communicate our message." (p. 218)

He provides a number of examples of corporate greed gone haywire, such as the Pacific Lumber story (p. 118), the cost of timber roads in our National Forests (p. 208), and the impact of Wallmart (p. 247+).

His stories are entertaining and informative, even at his own expense. It's a great book to read between something by Ruether and something by Bookchin--a light break between heavies.

(If you'd like to discuss this book or review in more depth, please click on the "about me" link above & drop me an email. Thanks!)

Rating:
Summary: This Book Could Use a lot of work
Review: This Book Needs To explain the actions that he took to get to the point hes at.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: This is an autobio and discussion of the environmental movement and activism by the 24-year-old president of the Sierra Club. Toward the end of the book he includes a meeting he had with a British Columbian Native American group, who criticize the environmental groups out to "save" their forests. The local people say, "It is our turn for environmental development.... You take food from our children's mouths. You're trying to stop us from improving our condition. You are no different from those who tried to kill us with their guns."
Werbach mentions, "I learned an important lesson on the trip. Environmentalists, in a rush to save the natural world, often forget to consider the implications of their actions. Our dedication leads to a self-righteousness that bowls over friends as well as enemies."
Yet his book title, and apparently his philosophy, remains, Act Now, Apologize Later.

Rating:
Summary: Title doesn't fit
Review: While Adam Werbach's book may suggest actions and strategies, it fails to. It gives insight into Adam's "interesting" take on certain campaigns, but leaves the reader dumbfounded how to go about activism. Not worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Being young does not mean you can't be wise
Review: While others have complained that this is not a "how to ..." book, it was refreshing to have someone show how something is done, rather than just telling you to do it. Many of the stories are inspirational and show that there is no need to force the language of revolution on a public that largely agrees with an agenda. The disparate forces of religion, pop culture, business and politics can be used together to protect the planet. We are all in this together, and it still is amazing that so many expend their energy in hand-wringing and pointing the finger at each other that they don't take the time or responsibility onto themselves. I think the future is not quite so dark after reading this book, and I hope Adam Werbach can continue to pull together people striving for a better tomorrow.