Rating: 
Summary: Julian Simon is an idiot.
Review: As a biologist, I have to point out that mister Simon's ideas are ridiculous. The only reason he survives is that his books are useful to those who wish to restrict the reproductive freedoms of others. The simple fact of the matter is that ANY level of growth in a closed system is unsustainable over a long enough period of time. Mister Simon gloats that Paul Ehrlich was wrong, that The Population Bomb's predictions failed to come true because of the ingenuity of human beings, specifically Norman Borlaug, in accomplishing what has become known as the green revolution, drastically increasing crop yields. This is undoubtably true. However, even the most optimistic plant geneticists say that the maximum possible remaining increase in food to plant yield is far less than 50%. Once this point is reached, farmland must expand. When plant yields cannot be increased, the doubling time of farmland becomes that of the human race, less than 40 years. Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of calculus or even a bit of common sense can see that, even assuming that we need no land for anything else, there will soon simply be no room to grow anymore. At that point people start starving in droves. If you take into account that a large portion of the world is not farmable and that we need land for houses, factories, etc., the deadline gets a lot closer. Mister Simon's brand of blissful ignorance isn't just annoying, it's dangerous. He wishes to continue the unchecked overpopulation of the globe on the grounds of sloppy sentimentalism and pseudoscience that even a freshman biology student could see through. For those of his readers who disagree, I urge you: learn a little ecology and read up on population biology. You might find that you're pretty ticked off about how much you've been lied to!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Good good
Review: Despite the two negative reviewers who seem to have missed the entire point of the book, this is the most influential and important book I've ever read.To address the biologist's concern, farmland is a commodity and more of it can be made in less space using technology. Common sense and Simon both dictate that replacement commodities don't need to be the same as the original - if you can't imagine a farm in a skyscraper, then perhaps you can't solve the world's food problems but I'll bet someone can and will. For the anti-capitalist, Simon VERY CLEARLY advocates democratic, people-friendly governments for everyone, and equally clearly shows that it is the lack of political stability and civil freedoms that has caused much of the so-called "third world's" inequity and deplorable conditions. And I have visited the third world and the slums of Washington, D.C., and have lived and volunteered in very poor parts of Chicago in the past. I don't think that adopting poor practices here will help developing nations or our own problem-ridden parts. I have recommended this book to almost every person I know, and have bought and given away a good number of copies as well. I'd encourage you to do the same.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: Excellent resource that objectively discusses environmental and human health and welfare issues. Simon does a commendable job of using real (and appropriate) data to make his points. He clearly demonstrates the falacy of finite resources. The book is technical but Simon does a terrific job of presenting information in an understandable manner. He also provides extensive references to support his work and to help the reader delve further into a subject. The ideas and conclusions may seem heretical in todays doom and gloom dominated market, but the data support his contentions. The book demonstrates the value of humans and that the human brain is truly the ultimate resource.
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding reference!
Review: Excellent resource that objectively discusses environmental and human health and welfare issues. Simon does a commendable job of using real (and appropriate) data to make his points. He clearly demonstrates the falacy of finite resources. The book is technical but Simon does a terrific job of presenting information in an understandable manner. He also provides extensive references to support his work and to help the reader delve further into a subject. The ideas and conclusions may seem heretical in todays doom and gloom dominated market, but the data support his contentions. The book demonstrates the value of humans and that the human brain is truly the ultimate resource.
Rating:
Summary: Changed my thinking on immigration and population
Review: For several years I have been active in the immigration restrictionist movement, motivated largely by concerns about population growth on the environment. Recently returning to libertarianism, I ordered the Ultimate Resource 2 and it radically changed my thinking on the subject of population growth and immigration, so much so that I am switching sides. When Julian Simon began his population studies, he was in a state of depression and actually believed that population growth was a problem, but as his research progressed, he realized the opposite was true. Consequently, the text is suffused with optimism that you cannot help but notice and feel. My main complaint with this book is that some of the charts are a bit confusing. Otherwise, this is a great book that will really change the way you think about the world around you.
Rating:
Summary: Like poetry
Review: I didn't look forward to reading this hefty book, but it is broken up into very easy to digest chapters that cover EVERYTHING vaguely 'environmental.' This empirical encyclopedia is wonderfully written and totally refutes all the nonsense you hear repeated by the mindless media. Simon will be profoundly missed.
Rating:
Summary: Thick book ideal to swat those nasty enviromentalists
Review: I had always felt that there was something inconsistent with the fact that people are living longer worldwide and all the bad news in the media. This books explains how all we get is the bad news about the shape the world is in and how often this news are based only in the opinions ( and values) of "experts" that are more interested in advancing their agendas than the truth ( VP Al Gore is one of them beware!!!). One thing about this book is that it gave me an enormous amount of information to squash the uninformed sentimental enviromentalists at parties, wetlands, farmland, rain forests, food, there is a chapter for every "issue".
Rating: 
Summary: The world is complicated
Review: I have not read the full book, but from what I have read Simon has a strong Economist's view. The main reason I read the sections of the book that I did was that I was evaluating the world3 model that appears in the book Beyond the Limits and Limits to Growth. Simon correctly points out that world3's simulation of nonrenewable resource is unrealistic because it ignores the ability to substitute one resource for another and ignores the information that price can convey. This of course is expected from an economist since any econ 101 class will discuss substitution of one good for another and the fact that demand will decrease if the cost goes up. On the other hand, he often ignores the complexity of the problems that others do address. For example, he states that the amount of agricultural land is not a problem, since an area the size of downtown Houston could feed the world. What he igores is how many resourses such as energy, fertilizer, etc would be required to do that (hint, more energy than the world produces). World3 got that part right, since it correctly predicted that humanity would still have enough food in 2000, however, it also predicted that substantially more nonland resources would be need to do so. The world is complicated, and looking at it from just one perspective, such as an economist's, like Julian Simon does will give you a biased view of it. This book is useful if you want that perspective, but if that is the only perspective you have, you will be wrong. Josh Cogliati
Rating:
Summary: The world is complicated
Review: I have not read the full book, but from what I have read Simon has a strong Economist's view. The main reason I read the sections of the book that I did was that I was evaluating the world3 model that appears in the book Beyond the Limits and Limits to Growth. Simon correctly points out that world3's simulation of nonrenewable resource is unrealistic because it ignores the ability to substitute one resource for another and ignores the information that price can convey. This of course is expected from an economist since any econ 101 class will discuss substitution of one good for another and the fact that demand will decrease if the cost goes up. On the other hand, he often ignores the complexity of the problems that others do address. For example, he states that the amount of agricultural land is not a problem, since an area the size of downtown Houston could feed the world. What he igores is how many resourses such as energy, fertilizer, etc would be required to do that (hint, more energy than the world produces). World3 got that part right, since it correctly predicted that humanity would still have enough food in 2000, however, it also predicted that substantially more nonland resources would be need to do so. The world is complicated, and looking at it from just one perspective, such as an economist's, like Julian Simon does will give you a biased view of it. This book is useful if you want that perspective, but if that is the only perspective you have, you will be wrong. Josh Cogliati
Rating:
Summary: Boy howdy is this a good book
Review: If you have the slightest interest in this book, you should probably get it.
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