Rating: 
Summary: headed the wrong way
Review: One with Nineveh presents more lucid and well documented analysis of the trends that most threaten our civilization, yet remain underappreciated and often ignored: waste of energy and natural resources, toxification of the environment, clearing of forests and fragmentation of habitats, overuse of fresh water, and -- yes -- expanding human populations. While updated treatment of these issues and the historical parallels between current trends and the fate of once-dominant civilizations like Nineveh are fascinating, the riveting elements of this book are those that document the pathetic state of political leadership, globally.For open-minded readers who think that the neoconservative take on the environment -- that concern is overblown and things are getting better -- is a viable claim, this is a must read. The Ehrlichs provide new insight and summarize recent analyses that identify destructive trends and provide clear and practical remedies. While the Bush administration ignores the environment, its policies are exacerbating environmental problems worldwide, leading to the sort of social instability that undermines opportunities for a just and sustainable future. While these authors suffer unrelenting attacks from the radical right, their assessment is far from radical; everyone can learn from this accessible and authoritative book.
Rating:
Summary: A useful, broad summary of the "predicament" ahead
Review: Skip the first paragraph if you like. But I must state at the outset that I actually read this book, cover to cover, and have no axe to grind. In fact, I haven't even yet decided whether I believe doomsday projections or not; on the other hand, I think we infest and alter our environment so thoroughly that I think the only sane and responsible approach is caution - after all, we need to think about the next generation(s), not merely the next beer. Years ago there was a cartoon in the New Yorker showing a well-to-do 40-something man saying to his friend, "I'm rather fortunate... I have no parents, so social security is not a problem, and I have no children, so the environment is no problem." He could have saved a step simply by not having a brain - then neither would be a problem. Now for the review itself. The Ehrlichs have written a broad summary of the political and social aspects of the large problem of how we humans are going to be able to continue to live in this "space ship" earth. Clearly we have to consume at a rate and in a manner and mixture that the natural world can sustain. They offer a metaphor: in our grandparents' time we needed a cowboy mentality - go out and conquer the wilderness. In our time we need a spaceman mentality - every resource is finite and we can't afford to make mistakes. The daunting challenges to changing the way we humans consume resources are many, some of which I (roughly) list here: (1) the huge power of corporations in national and international life, combined with the the fact that they do not (and with current structures basically cannot) pay attention to much else besides profit. (2) the American consumer culture, which has been fine-tuned and optimized to a fare-thee-well: now that it's sucking up Earth's resources how are we going to STOP this monster. (3) The sudden development expansion in countries like China, whose people aspire to have what America has. (4)the likely difficulty in getting cooperation (in solving environmental issues) from people in other countries who would see a much richer America simply trying to hold them back (5) poverty in undeveloped countries, with huge numbers of desperate people deforesting their land for today's cooking, killing and eating their wildlife, etc. (6) the gross overconsumption (hyperconsumption) by Americans which sucks resources from all over the world at a unsustainable rate. and (7) a certain US administration which you'll have to read the book to figure out who. The Ehrlichs are not at all trying to say we're all a bunch of evil or stupid people. They're merely saying this is our current culture, politics, economy, mentality and real-life world situation, and given this, it is going to be very difficult to change "in time". We can't merely buy eggs shot by free-range chickens or vote for an environmentalist and think we've done enough. We may have to do something quite intentional and drastic. By focusing on the hurdles that make the solution difficult, instead of focusing on the problem itself, the Ehrlichs have provided a sort of road map - a set of things that we all must be thinking about if we want to size the task and figure out what to do. This makes it an extremely useful book. After reading the book I am pessimistic - although the Ehrlichs remind us that Martin Luther King's efforts bore fruit a lot sooner than many of us thought they might.
Rating:
Summary: Enlightening and Important
Review: The Ehrlichs and their scientific colleagues have been trying to alert humanity to its long-term perils for decades. Thirty years ago they were warning that unless steps were taken and nuclear powers lived up to the non-proliferation treaty, we'd face outlaw nations and possibly even terrorist groups with A-bombs. Welcome to 2004. In the 1968 "Population Bomb" Paul Ehrlich discussed the threat of novel diseases like AIDs, which have since materialized, and the failure to adequately feed all of humanity, which continues. He wrote of the perils of "using the atmosphere as a garbage dump. This book revisits such issues and focuses more strongly on the little-understood problems flowing from excessive consumption, a failed media, and the excessive concentration of wealth and power. But more than that, it contains many path-breaking suggestions for ways to change world views and institutions to steer society away from what the World Scientists' Warning to Humanity described as a "collision course" between humanity and the natural world. It puts the moral corruption of the Bush administration into the "big picture" of the human predicament, especially the administration's insane behavior in Iraq, its failure to deal appropriately with terrorism, its assault on the environment, and its distortion of science. As such, "One with Nineveh" is by far the most important current events book of 2004. Small wonder the right wing hates it - it's amusing to see a review that claims the Ehrlich's ideas are supported by "junk economics." A jacket blurb contains strong praise from Sir Partha Dasgupta, past-President of the European Economic Association, and the acknowledgments thank other of the world's top economists (and other social and natural scientists) for reviewing and contributing to the manuscript, including Nobel Laureate in Economics Kenneth Arrow. If you want a very thoughtful, well-documented description of the state of the world, one written by leading scientists that is also a no-holds-barred good read, this is the book for you. If you think atomic bombs are "nucular" weapons, or are waiting for the rapture, you won't like it.
Rating: 
Summary: Wrong Again
Review: The Ehrlichs were wrong about world wide famines in the 70s, commodity shortages in the 80s [losing the famous bet with the economist Julian Simon] and again they are wrong in this book. The environmental doom message they purvey seems uninfluenced by their failure to get their previous prophecies right. And their suggested solutions seem to have learned nothing from the success of market economics. Don't bother.
Rating:
Summary: A "Must Read"
Review: This book should be required reading for anyone eligible to vote, and is even more of a "must read" for anyone in a policymaking position. Many of us are aware that there are serious environmental problems and that the Bush Administration is only exacerbating them, but the Ehrlichs lay out in chilling detail the many-fronted assault on the environment being perpetrated in the name of "progress." For that matter, they make it clear that if we don't make major changes to the structure of incentives across the board in our society, we will be leaving our grandchildren to deal with a nightmare. While some of the suggestions thrown out in the final chapters may be radical, thinking outside the box is long overdue. It is my hope that this book will stimulate a debate that will at long last lead to real change so that we can go forward to a sustainable society.
Rating:
Summary: A "Must Read"
Review: This book should be required reading for anyone eligible to vote, and is even more of a "must read" for anyone in a policymaking position. Many of us are aware that there are serious environmental problems and that the Bush Administration is only exacerbating them, but the Ehrlichs lay out in chilling detail the many-fronted assault on the environment being perpetrated in the name of "progress." For that matter, they make it clear that if we don't make major changes to the structure of incentives across the board in our society, we will be leaving our grandchildren to deal with a nightmare. While some of the suggestions thrown out in the final chapters may be radical, thinking outside the box is long overdue. It is my hope that this book will stimulate a debate that will at long last lead to real change so that we can go forward to a sustainable society.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read for the Mind and Soul
Review: This brilliant book drives home the importance of thinking about the environment in this election year. It is filled with optimism; it really exposes what we can do now to assure our children and grandchildren a sustainable future. This latest work by the Ehrlichs offers stunning connections between politics and the environment and will change the way you think about the most important issues we face today.
Rating:
Summary: AN ESSENTIAL READING
Review: This is a remarkable book about the most pressing global issues: what the authors call the human predicament, which is the impact of overpopulation and overconsumption on the environmental, social, and economic fabric of our societies. After reading the book I have a much better understanding of the importance of these issues and what we all can do about it. There is no doubt that regardless of one's political inclinations, understanding the topics carefully described in the first nine chapters of the book is essential for our future well being and that of our children. Among several noteworthy features of the book, I like to emphasize three.
First, the book is very well written and carefully documented with many relevant references. Although I am a biologist and I know much of the literature well, I found many references that I was unaware of. I was very impacted by the discussion, for example, of the depletion of major predator oceanic fishes in the last decade. Second, the breadth of the book, integrating biology, economics, and other social sciences is especially useful. The economic issues are thoroughly and accurately treated. This is particularly true for the relationship of consumption, purchasing power, and the depletion of the natural capital. It is hard to find texts that describe the complexities of the economic world and its relationship with the environment in such a clear way. Finally, I found that one of the most remarkable features of the book, summarized in Chapters 11, "Healing the wounds", is the effort made by the authors to provide us with solutions. This is a very welcomed addition in this kind of book, which usually lack suggestion about solutions mainly because of the complexity and large scale of the problems. As a citizen of Mexico I was especially interested in the suggestion of creating a Millennium Assessment of Human Behavior. In today's world situation, nothing could be more important.
Rating:
Summary: Learning the past for the future
Review: This is a wonderful book! Paul and Anne Ehrlich did it again! Everyone cares about the fate of human beings and our future generations should read it and take actions suggested by the authors.
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling Read
Review: We (my husband and I) found One with Ninevah to be a compelling read. We are not scientists, but since we live on planet Earth and have children, we have more than a passing interest in what is really happening in this world. The Earlich's present their case with credible examples and sources. This is an eye-opening and readable book for everyone who hopes for a sustainable future.
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