Rating: 
Summary: Heartbreaking, essential reading
Review: The reissuing of Bill McKibben's groundbreaking book on global warming is pause for thought. Wouldn't it be nice if we could point back 10 years and identify this book as representative of a turning point in human evolution - one where we finally came to terms with our manipulation of natural processes? It is clear that we continue to plunder our environment with increasing improvidence, and that global warming has continued unabated. So hard is it to reach consensus on how to tackle the issue, that at the next Earth Summit (Johannesburg 2002) it has been proposed that global warming be left off the agenda entirely, lest the discussion deteriorate as it did in Rio. At the same time this book sounded the death knell for what is sometimes called "hard" ecology: that nature should be left alone entirely and that the fight should be to reinstate it in its most pristine form. Sadly, this book forcefully made the point that this is now impossible, because the very fundamentals of nature have been affected by our interventions. The only cause for optimism (and I think this is McKibben's point) is to support conservation on these new terms, using a softer ecological approach. Unfortunately, this theoretical regrouping is unlikely to prove fruitful (witness George W. Bush's reneging on his CO2 emissions campaign promises). Depressing, salutary and a testimony to our embarrassing myopia. Anyone with any optimism left after this might decide to expend it on the highly recommendable "Song of the Dodo" by David Quammen.
Rating:
Summary: Ignorance = Bliss ???
Review: The science and explanation of the greenhouse effect/global warming has matured since the original publishing of this book in 1990, but give McKibben credit for raising awareness of an issue years before the herd. 'Little good it has done, however. Suggesting that one might consider altering the American lifestyle 1 inch (e.g. by using tankless on-demand water heaters) as a little "insurance" against the possibility global warming actually being true places you on about the same plane as a card-carrying member of the Communist Party. But I digress. Mckibben's argument her is deceptively simple: 1. Nature is that part of the earth independent of humans. 2. Human activity has altered global atmosphere and weather patterns, thereby influencing all of the earth (and will likely continue to do so). 3. Since no part of the earth remains independent of human influence, ther is no more Nature. There are two key areas of this argument: McKibben's definition of Nature and the existence of global warming. The latter idea still promotes considerable disagreement, although it is fair to say that very few climatologists unconnected with the fossil fuel industry reject the idea entirely. Don't rely on this book as a reliable source for the latest global warming information; do some independent research using more recent materials. The Nature definition is more interesting. McKibben's definition obviously recognizes a separation between humankind and the rest of the earth. Many thinkers (both old and new) reject this separation on a variety of grounds. Ishmael author Daniel Quinn, for example, continuously ridicules the distinction, arguing that there is no meaningful difference between a woman sitting in a multiplex theater in a large city and the same woman sitting in the middle of the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana. In both places, Quinn argues, the woman "is in the middle of nature." McKibben has a couple of responses to this line of reasoning. First, although perhaps true as a matter of logic (because humans are part of nature) and something to ponder deeply over vodka or in an environmental lit class, few of us take it very seriously. Most of us-and rightly so-feel very different in the middle of a theater compared to the middle of a forest. Mere cultural or psychological construct? Perhaps. But does that make it less real? Ahhhh....a question for the metaphysicians in the audience. McKibben continues that the essence of Nature is independence-absence of human control. This could get a little dicey in that some might read "control" as suggesting "intent," and no one suggests we are intending to alter our atmosphere by accelerating the greenhouse affect. Perhaps "absence of human influence" is still a better definition. Some might quibble that there's a big difference between a lichen living a day longer because of a 2 degree increase in temperature and an offshore oil-rig belching crude into the water, but McKibben's thesis is a thought-provoking one...and that's precisely the point. Tragic, depressing...all the adjectives of the other reviewers are true enough here. I can't say I'm glad I read this book, but that is my response much of the time I encounter new knowledge these days (particularly in the environmental sphere). Again I come face-to-face with the classic philosophical conundrum: is it better to live and die happy and ignorant or know the Truth (or at least be headed in that direction) and live and die miserable. As a young(er) pup I always answered unequivocally the former...these days I'm not so sure. Decide for yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: Above average seller, i would buy from them again
Review: they did a good job packaging and shipping and had a GREAT price. the only thing the didn't do is send an email confirming that they shipped the item. besides that little, they are a great seller and would recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Above average seller, i would buy from them again
Review: they did a good job packaging and shipping and had a GREAT price. the only thing the didn't do is send an email confirming that they shipped the item. besides that little, they are a great seller and would recommend.
Rating:
Summary: will make you see the world in a new way
Review: This book has already received the highest accolade the reading public can grant: it has become part of the way we think. Since the publication of THE END OF NATURE we have all accepted McKibben's premise. Mankind is so powerful that no natural process on the planet now operates beyond the range of human influence. A pleasure to read, it is a great pleasure to see a tenth anniversary edition that will make this fascinating book available to new readers.
Rating:
Summary: It isn't when will things change, but when did they change
Review: This book makes the case that our relationship to Nature has fundamentally changed, arguing that since human influence extends to every part of Earth's biosphere WE are now the primary motive force of Evolution and Earth's Destiny
Rating: 
Summary: More Heart Than Fact
Review: This novel is a touching polemic about the voracious appetite of mankind to chew up and taint "Nature" - but it is so one sided that it's not a scientific examination of the subject. It's more like a poem or an ode to an earlier time. I enjoyed the book, but recognize it's shortcomings
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book, A Little Outdated
Review: This would've been a five-star review if this book were about 10-12 years newer than it is. In some ways, McKibben's extended essay on global warming has aged very well. His central thesis that nature is ended (not destroyed but removed of majesty or even neutered) by the overwhelming pressures of human industrial society and human overpopulation is as relevant now as it ever was, the truth of this argument more evident every day. And global warming, the central thread of his argument, is even more pressing today, even though we in the United States are doing even less about it. Though some of his worst fears have yet to come true, the reality of global climate change is bad enough, as underscored by the recent report on rapid climate change in arctic regions.
In other ways, though, the book seems dated. A lot of what McKibben writes about is uncertain. "It could be that in 50-100 years..." or "our models are very uncertain but..." and so on. The last 15 years have seen a lot of research in this area and a a great deal of refinement of our climate models, such that we know have a much more certain picture of the realities of climate change. This is real. It is happening, and it's happening quickly. Unfortunately, the greater uncertainty in our understanding of this at the time McKibben was writing undercuts his message somewhat, that we must learn to curb our desires and live more humbly if we wish to avoid the worst consequences of global warming. Were his argument bolstered by more modern research, I think he would have a much easier time outlining some real steps we as a society could take to deal with global warming.
Still, the issues McKibben raises and the ideas he presents for how we can deal with them are as pressing now as they were in 1989, perhaps even more so. Anyone who is at all concerned about global warming, the environment, or even just living beyond the next 30 years or so would do well to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Please don't read this if you are clinically depressed.
Review: Warning. If you truly believe that ignorance is bliss, stop now and do not buy this book. If however, you care at all about the planet, and/or you care for your children and the world they will inherit, you must read this book. This is the most frightening and depressing book I have ever read and in some ways I wish I had never read it. I spent the week after reading it in a deep funk and the camping trip I took the next weekend was tainted by the my new awareness of the wilderness that we have as a civilization already destroyed. The cause of enviromentalism has never seemed so desperate and hopeless to me, but now that McKibben has opened my eyes to the steep slope towards oblivion that we are on , it seems criminal not to try to stop our fall, at least for my childrens sakes. This book should be required reading for all candidates for public office and high school graduation. In the decade since its publication much of the environmental degradation predicted has already occured, some like the melting of the Antartic ice sheet and accelerating destruction of the ozone layer at the fastest predicted rate. I would be very interested to read an update detailing exactly how far this has deteriorated in the last decade. Something must be done! But what? We are living blissfully in ignorance while the very oceans, the atmosphere that protects us and the earth that sustains us are being destroyed at a rate that probably even with total cooperative world effort and prioritization, we could not stop.We're talking about mere decades here! But in the present political and social climate in the U.S.,can anyone imagine our environment becoming the national priority? So, I'm left with, What can I do. I guess that other than urging this book on all my friends,( one of whom a conservative who after borrowing it for the weekend chastised me, " Thanks for ruining my weekend and my trip to Mt. Rainier!"), this review is a meager start for me. Maybe a start for you is to READ THIS BOOK! If not, our civilizations epitaph, written on a scorched and sterile Venusion planet may read, "They had a last desperate chance, but they decided to stick their head in the sand."
Rating:
Summary: Please don't read this if you are clinically depressed.
Review: Warning. If you truly believe that ignorance is bliss, stop now and do not buy this book. If however, you care at all about the planet, and/or you care for your children and the world they will inherit, you must read this book. This is the most frightening and depressing book I have ever read and in some ways I wish I had never read it. I spent the week after reading it in a deep funk and the camping trip I took the next weekend was tainted by the my new awareness of the wilderness that we have as a civilization already destroyed. The cause of enviromentalism has never seemed so desperate and hopeless to me, but now that McKibben has opened my eyes to the steep slope towards oblivion that we are on , it seems criminal not to try to stop our fall, at least for my childrens sakes. This book should be required reading for all candidates for public office and high school graduation. In the decade since its publication much of the environmental degradation predicted has already occured, some like the melting of the Antartic ice sheet and accelerating destruction of the ozone layer at the fastest predicted rate. I would be very interested to read an update detailing exactly how far this has deteriorated in the last decade. Something must be done! But what? We are living blissfully in ignorance while the very oceans, the atmosphere that protects us and the earth that sustains us are being destroyed at a rate that probably even with total cooperative world effort and prioritization, we could not stop.We're talking about mere decades here! But in the present political and social climate in the U.S.,can anyone imagine our environment becoming the national priority? So, I'm left with, What can I do. I guess that other than urging this book on all my friends,( one of whom a conservative who after borrowing it for the weekend chastised me, " Thanks for ruining my weekend and my trip to Mt. Rainier!"), this review is a meager start for me. Maybe a start for you is to READ THIS BOOK! If not, our civilizations epitaph, written on a scorched and sterile Venusion planet may read, "They had a last desperate chance, but they decided to stick their head in the sand."
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