Amazon.com
Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, is perhaps the best-known proponent of using meditation to help patients deal with illness. (The somewhat confusing title is from a line in Zorba the Greek in which the title character refers to the ups and downs of family life as "the full catastrophe.") But this book is also a terrific introduction for anyone who has considered meditating but was afraid it would be too difficult or would include religious practices they found foreign. Kabat-Zinn focuses on "mindfulness," a concept that involves living in the moment, paying attention, and simply "being" rather than "doing." While you can practice anything "mindfully," from taking a walk to cleaning your house, Kabat-Zinn presents several meditation techniques that focus the attention most clearly, whether it's on a simple phrase, your breathing, or various parts of your body. The book goes into detail about how hospital patients have either improved their health or simply come to feel better despite their illness by using these techniques, but these meditations can help anyone deal with stress and gain a calmer outlook on life. "When we use the word healing to describe the experiences of people in the stress clinic, what we mean above all is that they are undergoing a profound transformation of view," Kabat-Zinn writes. "Out of this shift in perspective comes an ability to act with greater balance and inner security in the world." --Ben Kallen
Book Description
“Happy 15th birthday to one of the great classics of mind/body medicine! More than any other, Full Catastrophe Living is the book that enabled Americans to discover the inner life. This book has brought peace of mind to hundreds and thousands of people and healed countless lives. This is your chance to let it heal yours.”
–Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., author of Kitchen Table Wisdom
It is everywhere around us. Even worse, it gets inside us: sapping our energy, undermining our health, and making us more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, and disease. Now, based on Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s renowned mindfulness-based stress reduction program, this groundbreaking book shows you how to use natural, medically proven methods to soothe and heal your body, mind, and spirit. By using the practices described within, you can learn to manage chronic pain resulting from illness and/or stress-related disorders…discover the roles that anger and tension play in heart disease…reduce anxiety and feelings of panic…improve overall quality of life and relationships through mindfulness meditation and mindful yoga. More timely than ever before, Full Catastrophe Living is a book for the young and the old, the well, the ill, and anyone trying to live a healthier and saner life in today’s world.
Customer Reviews:
Mindfullness.......2007-09-28
My boss suggested this book. He was correct that it would help me manage a personal crisis.
The Feeling Good Handbook.......2007-09-16
this is an awesome book to help those with anxiety,depression or someone expeiercing stress related problems . I only wish i had it sooner.
Meditation does not have to mean sitting still.......2007-07-28
Being mindful is a well-known technique for lowering stress. Jon Kabat Zinn has the experience to show us how this is done. I really liked this book and his descriptions.
However, as a person with ADD, the idea of trying to sit still for 45 minutes and quieting my mind seemed impossible. But after his explanations of walking meditation and using yoga as meditation I could see myself meditating.
This book is a classic and rightly so. Well worth your time (for reading and trying the techniques) and money (for the book, and if you use yoga for the accessories).
WONDERFUL!.......2007-07-19
I echo what others have said, it opens up a new way of thinking about life. All of it-the good and bad. How you relate to the world as a whole, and the possibilities that awit you. It's not magical and "out there" but rather down to earth and user-friendly.
Doesn't matter your religion/lack of religion. It integrates very well with my Christian faith.
This book lets you consider things at your own pace and doesn't force anything on you. It deals with your reality and success isn't defined as being 100% happy all the time. Are you sad? Deal with that. Are you scared? That's ok. Are things going well? Great, now we can move onto new things from here.
I also have "where ever you go, there you are". As a biologist I feel this one is more intriguing but they both have a place.
A remarkable book.......2007-07-03
This is an extraordinary work, which will be of immense value to those suffering pain or grave illness. Its value lies in very practical, repeat practical, advice based on clinical practice and experience which have benefited many. It is original and pathbreaking. Above all, it holds out hope to those who may have abandoned it.
Book Description
According to Michael Panzner, the US is less than two years away from ""financial Armageddon."" When the stock market bubble burst in March 2000, the collapse that followed wiped out over two-thirds of the value of the technology-laden Nasdaq Index and decimated the hopes and dreams of millions of Americans.
Now, imagine not one, but four such disasters looming on the horizon. Four key elements--Debt, Derivatives, Government Guarantees, and the Retirement system--are quickly unraveling, and because they are so intricately connected, there will be an unremitting domino effect. With time running out, this is a disaster-in-the-making on which every American must be informed so they can protect themselves, their families, and their economic well-being before it's too late.
Customer Reviews:
A guidebook for the future.......2007-09-25
Like its topical namesake in the book of Revelation, Financial Armageddon describes tragic calamities at our doorstep. Given the recent developments in our economy, it has come time to talk about when and how the economic collapse will occur, not if.
In what may very well become a prophetic manual for the way our economy will collapse and touch every facet of our lives, Panzner's Financial Armageddon spells out in detail how he sees the fabric of our financial lives unraveling based on factors and circumstances beyond our control. The basic synopsis he offers is that "the United States will soon suffer the fallout of the live-for-today orgy of borrowing and extravagance that has already foisted an untenable economic and financial burden on future generations. (page 3)"
While Financial Armageddon might read as "doom and gloom" to some, it will be seen increasingly as a valuable asset - a guidebook for what may soon come - for those who wish to plan their financial future wisely and minimize risk. Those who desire to keep smelling roses and ignoring the signs of the times will be the first to suffer, for it is those who plan wisely and prepare for the future that are least impacted by external circumstances.
It is for those who desire to understand how our economy will likely unravel that Mr. Panzner has written Financial Armageddon. I suggest picking up a copy in an effort to understand what the future may very well hold.
Staring Into The Abyss.......2007-08-03
There is a memorable scene in Star Wars Episode V where Luke, unware of the worst possible outcome that awaits him, pledges to Yoda, "I am not afrad." Yoda, speaking with 900 years of aquired Jedi wisdom let's the untried and unproven and naïve Skywalker know in certain terms "You will be. You will be." Peter Schiff may not have 900 years on Wall Street but his Jedi skills are complete. He truly sees to other side. Peter takes the blissfully unaware investor by the neck and walks them right up to the edge of the cliff showing them the abyss below. And as Nietzsche said "When you stare into the abyss the abyss stares into you."
Schiff has aquired the title of doomsayer which is inapt. Few investment firms on Wall Street have made more money for their clients as Euro Pacific Captial and few industry analysts are as bullish on the overall global economy. It's the US economy where Schiff foretells financial armegeddon. And he doesn't wish for it. That is also untrue. He is simply telling you. It's real. It's coming. And it's inevitable.
Friday, August 3, 2007, 3:00 PM ECT. Jim Cramer has just appeared on CNBC proclaiming "Financial armageddon is here. THIS IS ARMAGEDDON."
Read the book. Buy it NOW on Amazon and have it overnighted to you. The situation is that dire and that urgent. Give it to all your friends and family to read. Take action before you lose your life savings, everything you own, and everything you ever dreamed of owning.
eyes WIDE open!.......2007-07-09
As I have always been gloom and doom in my outlook of this nation and my life has been spent preparing for one type of disaster or another (Y2K ect..) I can say that I've been proven wrong more than not. I do however believe in the the boy scout motto "BE PREPARED" and it has served me well. This book opens ones eyes to the smoke and mirrors that the Gov't,Big money, and the privately owned FED reserve try to serve up to an un-careing or un-informed populace and does so in a clear and understandable text. I implore anyone who want's another angle on our economy besides the Main Stream media to read this book. Hope for the best but be prepared for what this book outlines and you'll be a winner either way.
One of the better Doom + Gloom books.......2007-06-20
I like to read gloom and doom books. They are more fun reading than crime stories. I remember reading "Bankruptcy 1995" in the early 1990's - a book which predicted the bankrutcy of the United States in 1995. It was a scary reading in 1990, but as we know today, that prediction did not come true. In fact, the majority of all predictions about the future turn out to be wrong. It is not easy to predict the future correctly.
The book under review distinguishes itself from other books on this subject by its willingness to consider extremely dark scenarios in the future. Contrary to most other books, Panzner believes that the future will unfold via a debt deflation first followed by hyperinflation later on. He seriously believes that the Dollar will get more valuable in the future due to the Dollar scarcity caused by the accelerated repayment of debts.
The attempt to analyze the future in terms of inflation and deflation is in my opinion a case of old and obsolete financial thinking. The last major incidences of hyperinflation and deflation occured at least 70 years ago. Since then, the nature of money has changed completely. Today, money is essentially a piece of data in a computer system. Very little cash exists in the world in form of currency. Ben Bernanke is right by emphasizing that it is very easy to fight deflation: just mail to everybody credit card offers with 0% interest valid until the balance is paid off. (Such offers exist already today: 1.99% until the balance is paid off). Although Bernanke did not say it, it is equally easy for the government to fight hyperinflation. Since hyperinflation is characterized by extreme circulation velocities of money, what needs to be done in such a case is simply restrict people's access to their bank balances and credit cards to let's say $100 per day. That will dramatically increase the scarcity of Dollars which in turn will kill any emerging hyperinflation. All of that is easy to implement because money today is not tangible currency (like 60 years ago) but electronic bytes in computer memories. Computers are very powerful. That power can be utilized in order to control the flow of money and economic activity very efficiently.
If the future does not bring deflation nor hyperinflation, how will the future unfold? I believe, in the future we will not run out of money. Instead, we will run out of resources. For instance, gasoline may not be avaiable all the time. Electricity may not be avaiable 24 hours a day (blackouts). Water may not be avaiable 24 hours a day. Certain types of foods may become scarce. I believe that these things are going to happen first before any serious financial crash will occur. More effort is being spent on securing the financial system than money is being spent in securing essential resources for the future. In other words, the future will unfold pretty much in the direction of what happened in the Soviet Union before it collapsed. Everybody had a job and plenty of money. The money had great purchasing power, but unfortunately stores were empty most of the time, that is, money could be not be exchanged against consumer goods all the time. Certain essential things could not be obtained in stores, but on the black market only in form of barter (supplemented by money and alcohol as a form of payment). A development like this would be the logical conclusion of monetary policies started by Roosevelt in the 1930's.
One last remark: Every doom and gloom book should commit itself to stating a date by which the author admits that his predictions were wrong. For instance, if you predict bankruptcy of the United States, please also state a date by which such an event is going to happen at the latest. It does not make sense to predict the bankruptcy of the US 100 years from today. Such a prediction is totally worthless. If no date is specified by which the prediction is going to happen at the latest, there are no means to falsify the intellectual efforts of the author. In such a case, the prediction has only entertainment value.
Written in plain terms, and notable for its painstakingly clear definitions .......2007-06-17
Written by New York Institute of Finance faculty member Michael J. Panzer, Financial Armageddon: Protecting Your Future From Four Impending Catastrophes is a dire warning of the four most severe financial risks confronting Americans today. Private and public debt has been climbing to record levels; the aging population is putting so much pressure on Social Security that eventually retirement will be simply a hopeless mirage; systemic overindulgence in "hedge funds" and other house-of-cards derivatives that depend on assets losing their value to make a profit place negative pressures on the economy. Financial Armageddon does not pull punches in its warnings of doom and gloom, and what raw economic realities can potentially inflict upon Americans everywhere, yet its greatest asset is its solidly practical advice for preparing for the worst. From the importance of prioritizing maintenance investitures over acquisitional investitures (skipping the regular tune-up of a car is more likely to cause more expense further down the line) to knowing when to spend and when to hold off (it's valuable to buy up tangible and practical commodities such as nonperishable food when the threat of hyperinflation reigns, but not when prices are falling), to the singularly invaluable sentiment of "Trust but verify" - the importance of utilizing the internet to thoroughly check out the credentials and track records of any individual or institution with whom one is considering a financial relationship. Written in plain terms, and notable for its painstakingly clear definitions of terms like "derivatives" that cause many a lay reader's eyes to glaze over, "Financial Armageddon" is a must-read for anyone in the unfortunate modern era of ballooning fiscal irresponsibility, not to mention outright swindles. Highly recommended.
Book Description
Long known for her insightful and thought-provoking political journalism, author Elizabeth Kolbert now tackles the controversial and increasingly urgent subject of global warming. In what began as groundbreaking three-part series in the New Yorker, for which she won a National Magazine Award in 2006, Kolbert cuts through the competing rhetoric and political agendas to elucidate for Americans what is really going on with the global environment and asks what, if anything, can be done to save our planet. Now updated and with a new afterword, Field Notes from a Catastrophe is the book to read on the defining issue and greatest challenge of our times.
Customer Reviews:
Eloquent But Only Notes.......2007-10-09
The title of this book is apt: Field Notes. Whether the word Catastrophe is equally apt, or merely good salesmanship, can be left undecided for the moment. Chapter by chapter, Ms Kolbert has written honestly and earnestly. Chapter 2, for instance, recounts the historical development of the concern over global warming, clearly and fairly, in a mere nine pages. Chapter 3 outlines the recent studies of glaciers, and the possible implications of those studies, with equal brevity and clarity. Chapter 1 sets a passionate tone for the whole book, confronting the fearful sense of global warming at the level of villagers whose lives are already impacted; I have kayaked many times in the Seward Peninsula region, over a span of 25 years, and I've personally felt the real urgency that Ms. Kolbert reports. Each chapter of the book is in fact an essay unto itself. Ms. Kolbert is a front-line journalist, not a climatologist. That is the source of her stylistic clarity, obviously, and of her daring in reporting on the crisis at multiple levels. It also makes her vulnerable to the dogmatic deniers of anthropogenic climate change, as is colorfully exhibited in the several ranting one-star reviews on this page.
This is the University of Washington common book for 2007-8.......2007-10-04
The University of Washington has selected this book as its "Common Book" for the 2007-2008 academic year. That means each of the UW's 10,000+ incoming freshman this year have received a copy of the book and are reading it.
An Extraordinary Work: Important and Readable.......2007-09-23
`Field Notes From a Catastrophe' is Elizabeth Kolbert's masterpiece of conciseness and clarity explaining current climate change science and the political obstacles (read the US, Republicans, and Bush Administration in ascending order) to getting serious about attacking the problem. Originally published in 2005, the paperback version has an afterword written in 2006.
Kolbert takes a journalist's approach to explaining the climate change phenomenon (the book began as a series in the New Yorker). She takes the reader to Shishmaref, Alaska an island village rapidly becoming an untenable place to live due to climate-induced sea ice changes, to the North Slope, to the great Greenland ice shield and she brings the story down to a human scale.
Kolbert also leads the reader through the science of global warming making understandable seemingly arcane topics like "dangerous anthropogenic interference" (DAI), which is basically the point where something truly major goes haywire. Kolbert brings the joy of learning to the reader, until one ponders the potential consequences of what she lays out for us. Perhaps most disturbing is the evidence she marshals that the climate has already changed. For example, the climate has warmed sufficiently to allow numerous butterfly species to migrate to new previously too cold locations and to cause the extinction of certain frog species.
Scientists do not, of course, understand everything about climate change (indeed, it is in the very nature of science that an endpoint of total knowledge is never achieved). Those political and economic forces (primarily in the United States) that benefit from the status quo latch on to the uncertainties to create doubt among the public and forestall action. Her interviews with Bush administration officials strike an odd note - they stonewall with robotic incantations. While Europe and most of industrialized world has acted, the US has dithered, delayed, and denied.
Kolbert explains why scientists conclude that it is virtually certain that under the current `business as usual' approach, greenhouse gas concentrations will reach a level that causes massive coastal flooding, large scale extinctions, and crop failures leading to starvation (DAI). These outcomes will not be evenly distributed and are likely to fall heaviest on the poorest countries. Scientists do not, however, know what level of greenhouse gas concentration will cause these impacts. The Bush administration uses that uncertainty as a reason to do essentially nothing and Congress too has failed to force any action.
Kolbert's book inspires the reader to search out even more current information (NOAA's Arctic Change web site is one good source). And the news is alarming. This stuff is not just a tree hugger's paranoid delusion: global heating is happening, it is happening now, and it is getting worse faster than anticipated.
Kolbert's book is a work of journalism (and given the rapidly changing reality, journalism is probably the best source of information) that informs on both the science and the politics of climate change without stridently hectoring the reader. Kolbert presents the facts. The reader would have to be a dim bulb indeed not to get the picture.
Absolutely the very highest recommendation. Kolbert's Field Notes From a Catastrophe deserves more than 5 stars.
Some very misleading reviews here.......2007-08-09
Reviewer T. Ferrell says "The author comes from an assumption that climate was once stable and has recently become unstable. She states this directly several times and it is the overall impression she intentionally leaves."
I'm not sure if the reviewer didn't actually read the book or is deliberately trying to smear it, but Kolbert states many times that the climate has changed in the past.
This is clearly written sober account of global warming and the effects it is having, and will have, on the environment. An excellent, concise read.
Climate has never been "stable".......2007-07-04
While the book was well written as prose, it was intellectually myopic. The author comes from an assumption that climate was once stable and has recently become unstable. She states this directly several times and it is the overall impression she intentionally leaves. Certainly climate change has an effect on people, flora and fauna, but that does not mean that you ignore the fact that there are winners with climate change as well as losers. Example, as the globe warms agriculture moves north expanding into areas previously too frigid to support farming. No mention of this?
But it is not that she just focuses just on the losers. She glosses over issues that might complicate her simple thesis that man is responsible for climate change as "not understood." This is the explanation she gives for example when discussing how atmospheric CO2 was historically low during the ice ages and was high during periods of warming. This is "unknown." She simply ignores the fact that the worlds oceans hold most of the planets CO2 both directly as an absorbed gas, its concentration being directly related temperature. She also ignores the carbon bank in phytoplankton. I believe she does this because it would bring into question her simple thesis. What warmed or cooled the worlds oceans before man was on the scene.
This is a problem for me because a wider view of climate change would reveal the true issues. At one point in time the earth was a snowball entirely covered with ice. At another point in our past the oceans were much higher and the poles were nearly devoid of ice. If global climate has always been in flux do we now propose that man should control the world's climate? If so, what is the best climate? Is it the best thing to have a sizeable portion of the worlds surface are covered in ice or too cold to support agriculture? Who decides? If man does control the weather is the only way to do it to cut back on fossil fuel useage? The author appears to believe so. Does the entity who controls climate take responsibilty for the weather and its effects? A freeze occurs in a temperate agricultural region. Is this now someone's fault?
It's very easy to look who loses with climate change. It is much more difficult to consider the bigger picture. I was not impressed by this book.
Book Description
James Howard Kunstler's The Long Emergency was an underground hit, going into nine printings of the hardcover edition. His shocking vision for our post-oil future caught the attention of environmentalists and business leaders and was the subject of much debate, stimulating discussion about our dependence on fossil fuels. Now in paperback, with a new afterword, The Long Emergency is set to reach an even larger audience.
The last two hundred years have seen the greatest explosion of progress and wealth in the history of mankind, much of it based on the exploitation of cheap, nonrenewable fossil-fuel energy. But the oil age is at an end. Life as we know it is about to change radically, and much sooner than we think. The Long Emergency tells us just what to expect after we pass the point of global peak oil production and the honeymoon of affordable energy is over, preparing us for economic, political, and social changes of an unimaginable scale. Riveting and authoritative, The Long Emergency is a devastating indictment that brings new urgency and accessibility to the critical issues that will shape our future, and that we can no longer afford to ignore.
Customer Reviews:
When the oil runs out, life as we know it will end...........2007-10-16
Well, there's no denying that there is a finite amount of oil in the earth, and when that runs out, we're in big trouble. Most of the "alternative means of energy" we now know about are poor substitutes (e.g. require more energy to produce than is obtained). Oil is also used to make fertilizers, plastics, and other modern products. Nuclear power might be used to keep the lights and heat on, but "you can't run a car with it". Having a well kept up railroad network would be helpful too.
In short, all of 20th/21st century technological advances and life style depend on easy-to-get oil. Add the effects of global warming and emergent diseases, and society (primarily United States society) will have to adapt. Anything that was made possible by cheap oil, from suburbs to skycrapers, to the Sunbelt and Southwest, will be abandoned. Farming, manual labor, and all those nearly-forgotten pre-industrial age skills will suddenly become valuable again. Automobiles, air travel, and even modern healthcare and education will, if still available, become the domain of societal elites. For the most part, people will travel less....much less....
Of course, how people will react to these changes will determine whether this future society looks like the Amish, a 16th century European feudal society with fancy guildhalls (not over six stories) in each city, or something out of Mad Max/Blade Runner....A lot of our social advances (civil rights, women's rights, perhaps even our whole Constitutional system of laws) may be considered luxuries and fall by the wayside as well. Kunstler in a couple of places envisions armies of angry whites causing trouble, perhaps Mexico (re)taking the Southwestern United States, Asian pirates off the coast of Seattle, etc. (He doesn't think that out-and-out slavery would coming back, though)
_The Long Emergency_ reads like a sequel to Kunstler's _Geography of Nowhere_, where he has very little good to say about the development of the American city, especially the suburbs. But while _Geography_ was mostly one criticism after another, the tone of _Long Emergency_ seems to be "Oil's running out? Bring it on. And don't look for technology to save your butt this time, you geeks. I can't wait for 18th Century society to come back". Rather analogous to the "Rapture Ready" evangelicals he denigrates. but instead of God whisking us away to a better place, Kunstler would like to use the social upheavel caused by the "perfect storm" of peak oil, global warming and emergent disease as a "dice roll" that would, hopefully, remake society into a form more to his liking.
I think the book is useful as a reminder to everybody that the end of oil is coming. If we don't want to all go back to the farm (and that's one of the "nicer" scenarios in this book), we'd all better think long and hard about the big part oil plays in our society.
Worth Purchasing for Yourself.......2007-10-13
I did something with this book I rarely have done before. I checked out a copy from the library. Read it. Then purchased a copy for myself.
The book is filled with information I know I will want access to in the future.
It really takes a book like this to give a handle on reality, in the face of the daily barrage of information that tells you something else is true. Just driving around in the suburbs with traffic going in this and that direction, building developments continuing, markets shelved with a huge variety of foods and supplies, all the signs that growth and prosperity will continue.
Kustler has brought together in this book the evidence of converging catastrophes that will completely change the viability of these growth and prosperity scenarios. I would much rather be alert to these impending changes, and adjust my lifestyle and life choices in gradual anticipation, than to be happily going about my business, and suddenly have to confront these realities without any advanced preparation.
A very important book..........2007-10-03
There are many reviews here and on the web so I will add only a small amount to the praise. "The Long Emergency" is a very important book since it grapples with the issue of how (and even examines if) western culture can proceed now that we have passed peak oil. I use the past tense since all indicators point to the fact that we passed peak oil at the end of 2005 - so there is a real state of global denial over planning and implementing changes to deal with this problem.
Kunstler guides the reader through the issue - our global reliance on cheap oil - and the ramifications of the fact that this stage of our development is now over. He deftly examines the geopolitical history of the production of oil and the impacts that this history will have shaping the future. He makes his case on the enormous issues that arise because everything is based upon the premise that oil is a cheap and infinite resource. That is, technology (and he nicely separates the concept progress from growth/technology) is dependent on cheap oil so there is no quick fix.
His real aim is to examine the possible outcomes of our lack of response, on any but a very small individual level, to the problems that now face us. This is why the book is so scary - no government action is occurring besides preparations for resource wars and keeping the soon-to-be-irate population under control (hundreds of millions are being spent on incarceration facilities!). Not a good prognosis for the future and a very pathetic legacy for future generations.
It is nicely summed up:
"Some other things about the global energy predicament are poorly understood by the public and even our leaders. This is going to be a permanent energy crisis, and these energy problems will synergize with the disruptions of climate change, epidemic disease and population overshoot to produce higher orders of trouble.
We will have to accommodate ourselves to fundamentally changed conditions."
We are shortly going to look back and wonder why we didn't act when there was still time...You should read this book so at least you know the facts for later years when you and your children are living like we did hundreds of years ago...
Must read, must share..........2007-09-21
This book provides a glimpse into our not-very-distant post-oil world. Realistic, without becoming negative. Fact-based and logical in every respect. The writing is never dull. Since buying this book, I've shared it with five friends. I also enjoyed Mr. Kunstler's book "Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape".
Mr. Kunstler was also very giving of his time in answering some questions I emailed to him after reading this book.
The Long Emergency by James Howard Kunstler.......2007-09-19
The Long Emergency is an eye-catching book with hits bright alarm-yellow cover and black and red title. It's a book about the future of the world, what's going to happen when we run out of oil, and what to do when this "Long Emergency" begins. The first part of the book goes into depth about when oil was discovered, how it was first used, when and how it was converted into the many products that use oil today. The reader learns what are the events that led up to the discovery of oil in the Middle East and the reason it is in its horrible state today.
After this enlightening history lesson, Kunstler goes on to explain that there is a specific oil production peak that will be reached, when half of the available oil would've been used up, and the other half -- which is harder to get -- will drive up gas and oil prices. According to a number of sources in the footnotes, this peak will be reached some time between the year 2000 and 2008. Kunstler says that they way we will be able to tell is through the oscillation of oil prices rising greatly, then dropping a little, then raising more, but only going down a little each time. Over the past year, this is exactly what has happened, and I'm pretty sure we're never going to see gas go below $2 again.
Kunstler goes on to point out that the supposed alternative forms of energy we're working on will be nowhere near to replacing the oil industry once we dispense with it. This is mainly due to the recent Republican Presidents, starting with Reagan who stopped most funding to alternative energy means and essentially killed the drive for it. Along with Bush Senior and our current idiot, they are all part of a white male arrogant group that believe we will never run out of oil, and it is merely a case of finding it in the earth, albeit by digging deeper and further (re: Alaska!); couple with this is these men's beliefs that the Rapture will arrive tomorrow and they'll be ascending to Heaven, leaving all their problems behind them. Though Clinton is also to blame for looking towards the future and working on prepare the civilized world for the inevitable.
Kunstler predicts all out pandemonium and chaos, worst felt in the United States, of course, where suburbia is in full force. When all the material goods and services we've taken for granted for so long collapse, and our society crashes around us, the Long Emergency will being. This is what Kunstler says. Though he provides little advice and assurance in how one can survive this event. Plus there's the fact that this nonfiction work doesn't have an index or bibliography at the end. I know all nonfiction works don't need this, but when it's a book predicting everything going to hell in my lifetime, I would at least like a list for further readings, or maybe some websites.
It will at least be interesting the see in the coming decades what will begin happening, and I know for now what I most want to get is a hybrid, because gas prices aren't going down ever again.
For more book reviews, and other writings, go to www.alexctelander.com
Amazon.com
Everybody knows the Dark Ages weren't really dark, right? Not so fast, counters archaeological journalist David Keys, maybe it's more than just a slightly judgmental metaphor. His book Catastrophe: An Investigation into the Origins of the Modern World, based on years of careful research spanning five continents, argues that sometime in A.D. 535, a worldwide disaster struck and uprooted nearly every culture then extant. Given contemporary reports of the sun being blotted out or weakened for nearly a year and a half, followed by famine, drought, and plague, it's hard not to think that so many reports from all over the world must be related.
Keys shows a keen grasp of both the written historical record from Asia, Africa, and Europe and the archaeological evidence from the Americas, and tells many tales of great havoc destroying old empires and laying the ground for new ones. Rome may have fallen, but Spain, England, and France rose in its place, while farther east, Japan and China each unified and gained strength after the chaos. Could an enormous volcanic eruption have had such influence on the world as a whole, and could the same thing happen tomorrow? Catastrophe makes no predictions, but leaves the reader with a new sense of history, nature, and destiny. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
It was a catastrophe without precedent in recorded history: for months on end, starting in A.D. 535, a strange, dusky haze robbed much of the earth of normal sunlight. Crops failed in Asia and the Middle East as global weather patterns radically altered. Bubonic plague, exploding out of Africa, wiped out entire populations in Europe. Flood and drought brought ancient cultures to the brink of collapse. In a matter of decades, the old order died and a new world—essentially the modern world as we know it today—began to emerge.
In this fascinating, groundbreaking, totally accessible book, archaeological journalist David Keys dramatically reconstructs the global chain of revolutions that began in the catastrophe of A.D. 535, then offers a definitive explanation of how and why this cataclysm occurred on that momentous day centuries ago.
The Roman Empire, the greatest power in Europe and the Middle East for centuries, lost half its territory in the century following the catastrophe. During the exact same period, the ancient southern Chinese state, weakened by economic turmoil, succumbed to invaders from the north, and a single unified China was born. Meanwhile, as restless tribes swept down from the central Asian steppes, a new religion known as Islam spread through the Middle East. As Keys demonstrates with compelling originality and authoritative research, these were not isolated upheavals but linked events arising from the same cause and rippling around the world like an enormous tidal wave.
Keys's narrative circles the globe as he identifies the eerie fallout from the months of darkness: unprecedented drought in Central America, a strange yellow dust drifting like snow over eastern Asia, prolonged famine, and the hideous pandemic of the bubonic plague. With a superb command of ancient literatures and historical records, Keys makes hitherto unrecognized connections between the "wasteland" that overspread the British countryside and the fall of the great pyramid-building Teotihuacan civilization in Mexico, between a little-known "Jewish empire" in Eastern Europe and the rise of the Japanese nation-state, between storms in France and pestilence in Ireland.
In the book's final chapters, Keys delves into the mystery at the heart of this global catastrophe: Why did it happen? The answer, at once surprising and definitive, holds chilling implications for our own precarious geopolitical future. Wide-ranging in its scholarship, written with flair and passion, filled with original insights, Catastrophe is a superb synthesis of history, science, and cultural interpretation.
Download Description
In A.D. 535-536, a climatic catastrophe occurred. It was of such mammoth proportions, it blotted out much of the heat and light of the sun for eighteen months and resulted -- directly or indirectly -- in climatic chaos, famine, migration, war, and massive political change on every continent. In other words, it altered history.
In this breakthrough examination, British archaeological journalist David Keys traces the identity and roots of this catastrophe -- continent by continent and virtually country by country -- showing how it is directly linked to the development of our modern world. The Plague, the rise of Islam, the fall of the Roman Empire, the movement of Asiatic tribes, the beginnings of the great South American empires -- Keys connects all these events that have previously been considered separate and shows us the far-reaching effects of incidents that first appear only localized. He makes us see history in holistic terms, as an integrated, planet-wide phenomenon.
In this fascinating, impeccably researched, and accessible book, Keys's innovative conclusions demonstrate how closely entwined global events truly are, and prove we must change the way we look at our past -- and thus, our future.
Customer Reviews:
My 100-word book review.......2007-03-28
In Catastrophe, author David Keys builds a convincing case for sudden climate change having occurred in the early 6th century, an abrupt dip in worldwide temperatures that would have had massive long-term consequences for civilisations all over the globe. Results could have included the weakening of the Byzantines, the downfall of Teotihuacan and the rise of Islam. This is a fascinating book, and the author's identification of a super volcano as the culprit is highly plausible. However, I think Keys possibly over-estimates this event as a shaper of our modern world, given the existence of so many other important factors.
A truly fascinating history.......2006-12-14
This is truly one of the most fascinating theories in ancient history. A volcano that shaped the modern world by forcing the migration of the huns, the crop failures in the Middle East that led to the rise of Islam and the start of the barbarian migrations towards Rome. It is almost too hard to summarize but if you believe that climate can change history than this is the book that will provide excellent evidence on that idea. Truly a masterpiece of an idea.
Looking for a catstrophe?.......2006-09-12
How much of human history has been shaped by catastrophic events? This exhaustively researched document seems like a natural place to find the answer. Unfortunately, the author's fascination with lurid details of human torture and dismemberment caused me to put the book down after just 60 blood-soaked pages. It's pretty clear that Mr. Key's interests in history do not run parallel to my own. I also found myself wondering about Key's qualifications as "Archaeological Journalist." I guess there are plenty of people who like reading tabloid-style history, and good luck to them, but I much prefer a calmer and scientific perspective of Derek Ager, in his book "The New Catastrophism, The Importance of the Rare Event in Geological History." -- Auralgo
FORCED CONCLUSIONS?.......2006-03-12
Mr. Key's authoritative research created a unique and new approach to the writing of history. His synthesis of science, culture and history was informative and entertaining. He identifies the volcanic eruption between Sumatra and Java in 535 that led to a climatic disaster that he believes helped create the modern world. He did convince this reader that the "Dark Ages were more literal than figurative." However, many of his historical conclusions were overstated. Chapters 19-29 lacked a depth of evidence and were too speculative. His constant use of words like "undoubtedly" made the reader question if he truly beleived his entire thesis? I concluded that he was at most one third correct, but ended in disagreeing that climate changes "alone" caused the birth of the modern world. I give it 4 stars for effort, but only 3 in its totality.
Interesting, relevant, but sometimes a bit stretched........2005-06-28
For the most part I found this book to be enjoyable, but it seems that Keys attempted in some areas to force his conclusion. Also, the same arguement seemed to be repeated far too often. Although I liked that the evidence of climate change was presented for essentially the entire planet, the conclusions at the end of each civilization were repetitive, simply restating the same thing (although, I suppose that was the point). I began to lose patience about 1/3 way through the book, but was able to persist through the conclusion. Perhaps it would have been better had Keys not spent so much time on minutae of Roman history and decline and had moved through the evidence quicker. The latter chapters on Asian and American experience were a little faster reading, likely due to the lack of minutae, largely due to the lack of records from which Keys could draw on. The final arguement on the causes of so much misfortune was compelling, but also left me feeling like our participation in the environment may all be for naught, since the Yellowstone caldera could explode at any moment, wiping us all out. I could not determine if this book wanted to be a book about climate change, history, or science.
Book Description
Why do catastrophes happen? What sets off earthquakes, for example? What about mass extinctions of species? The outbreak of major wars? Massive traffic jams that seem to appear out of nowhere? Why does the stock market periodically suffer dramatic crashes? Why do some forest fires become superheated infernos that rage totally out of control?
Experts have never been able to explain the causes of any of these disasters. Now scientists have discovered that these seemingly unrelated cataclysms, both natural and human, almost certainly all happen for one fundamental reason. More than that, there is not and never will be any way to predict them.
Critically acclaimed science journalist Mark Buchanan tells the fascinating story of the discovery that there is a natural structure of instability woven into the fabric of our world. From humble beginnings studying the physics of sandpiles, scientists have learned that an astonishing range of things–Earth’s crust, cars on a highway, the market for stocks, and the tightly woven networks of human society–have a natural tendency to organize themselves into what’s called the “critical state,” in which they are poised on what Buchanan describes as the “knife-edge of instability.” The more places scientists have looked for the critical state, the more places they’ve found it, and some believe that the pervasiveness of instability must now be seen as a fundamental feature of our world.
Ubiquity is packed with stories of real-life catastrophes, such as the huge earthquake that in 1995 hit Kobe, Japan, killing 5,000 people; the forest fires that ravaged Yellowstone National Park in 1988; the stock market crash of 1987; the mass extinction that killed off the dinosaurs; and the outbreak of World War I. Combining literary flair with scientific rigor, Buchanan introduces the researchers who have pieced together the evidence of the critical state, explaining their ingenious work and unexpected insights in beautifully lucid prose.
At the dawn of this new century, Buchanan reveals, we are witnessing the emergence of an extraordinarily powerful new field of science that will help us comprehend the bewildering and unruly rhythms that dominate our lives and may even lead to a true science of the dynamics of human culture and history.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Caos theory.......2007-06-14
I was unable to finish this book though it was recommended by a cousin. I just found that I got lost in all the formulas and expected outcomes. but I am sure that it is good research, just not for me.
Dissapointing ...........2007-01-09
It was well recommended to me but I found it quite boring and found myself fast forwarding through the chapters. It has an interesting theme - the cause of natural catastrophes - but for a science book I found it quite dissapoiting...
Good, but no answers really........2006-07-24
Its an interesting read. The reason I didnt give it 5 stars is that I have already read one of Marks previous books (Nexus) which has some overlap (not a lot) with this book. In fact it would be beneficial to readers to read the Nexus book before reading this one as what he writes about in that book really helps to understand this book.
I was really hoping for some more answers on how to predict things based on what Mark talks about but that is the essential outcome of the book, you cant predict things!
One of the best.......2006-05-28
This is the book that I would like to have written. Although being a popular account, it is scientifically accurate and carefull in its suggestions, always informing the reader what is consolidated science and what is scientific speculation.
In contrast to a previous review, I have read all the pages of this book. Since I am a physicist working in this very subject (self-organized criticality), I probably can say that if someone use the example of a Gaussian (bell shaped curve) to illustrate that the power laws discussed in the book are trivial, well, this person have not understood anything.
Gaussians have exponential decays, so they predict that very larg events (catastrophes) will occur with vanishing probability. For example, the heigh of people is distributed as a Gaussian. What is the probability of finding a 3 meter person?
Zero.
Distributions wich have power law tails, depending on the power exponent, may have no well defined variance or even average value. This means that there is no "average" earthquake, and that very big earthquakes (or other cathastrophes) are not "acts of God" but have a no desprezible chance of occur due to simple chain reactions of events.
I have introduced my students to ideas like critical states and modern physical thinking by using this book. So, I can recommend it to any reader without reserve. The emphasis by the author that critical chain reactions of events must be accounted by any view of History and Society is an important mind tool in our increasing interconnected (and, because it, prone to global chain reactions) world.
Much ado about nothing.......2006-03-19
I found this book incredibly boring. OK, I know this goes against the grain of other reviewers here. And I'll admit I'm only through the first 85 pages. But I already have that Ayn Rand feeling that the entire book is just going to rehash what's already been said.
I agree there are some interesting ideas, basically that we can't predict stuff very well. But here are a couple of examples of where Buchanan makes me suspicious that he really has the "Ph.D. in theoretical physics" stated on the back. The most egregious example so far, I think, is his statement on p. 85 that "take some really small number, such as .0001, change it by 10 percent, or even multiply it by 2 or 10 or 100 and you still have a very small number."
This, coming from a guy who has written page after page about scale invariance, seems just ludicrous. What on earth can he possibly mean by this nonsense??
Another example is his discussion of getting the friction issues wrong with the sliding blocks. Then he says, hey, but what about heat? (Bottom of p. 59). As if this great insight takes care of the problem of friction. How can a Ph.D. physicist make the mistake of thinking that heat is a new way of dealing with friction (duh?)
Another is his comment (bottom of p. 80) that the use of constants in the great differential equations of physics is some way mitigates the problem of tuning the blocks. He gives "c" in Maxwell's Equations and "h" in Quantum Mechanics, as examples of these. He writes "almost every good theory in the world has some numbers in it that have to be tuned to make the theory fit reality." But the "tuning" he's talking about with the sandpile and other games, has to do with the basic structure of the differential equations. "c" is a RESULT of Maxwell's Equations, not some "tuning" factor. It is true that the existence of Planck's constant is a fundamental feature of the equations, but its VALUE is simply a number that makes experimental observations work in SI units. Now Einstein's "cosmological constant" is much more like what Buchanan is talking about. But by this time one wonders if he really has a point here, or is just rambling on to cover up his hand-waving, and hoping he can get his book sold.
In my opinion, here is what this book is saying:
Let's take the example of the average temperature for my city on a given calendar date. The facts are these: the temperature over history for that date follows a bell-shaped curve. There IS a typical temperature. But the VARIATION of the actual temperature TODAY (i.e. a particular day) from the typical temperature is NOT very easy to predict. In fact, there is no TYPICAL VARIATION.
All we can say is that most days will have a small variation from the norm, and fewer days will have a larger variation from the norm. The "power law" concerns this variability. The larger the variability, the less likely it is to occur. If the average over time is 65 degrees, a lot of days in history will have had an average of 66 degrees on that date, and only a very few will have an average of 76 degrees on that date. Why is this fact worth writing an entire hold-your-breath book about?
Most days have no earthquakes. But when an earthquake DOES occur, we can't predict how big it will be. All we can say is that there will be more small earthquakes than large ones.
Well, duh!!
Yawn.
Average customer rating:
- Don't Read This While Hungry ...
- Really, Don't Do It
- What not to do in the kitchen
- Fun read!
- This just makes the rest of us feel better...
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Don't Try This At Home: Culinary Catastrophes from the World's Greatest Chefs
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury USA
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1596910704
Release Date: 2005-09-15 |
Book Description
DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME
Culinary Catastrophes from the World’s Greatest Chefs
A hilarious and heartening collection of kitchen disasters.
In this raucous new collection, over forty of the world’s greatest chefs relate outrageous true tales from their kitchens. From hiring a blind line cook to flooding the room with meringue to being terrorized by a French owl, these behind-the-scenes accounts are as wildly entertaining as they are revealing. A delicious reminder that even the chefs we most admire aren’t always perfect, Don't Try This at Home is a must-have for anyone who loves food or is fascinated by those who masterfully prepare it.
Ferrán Adrià on when lobsters go bad
José Andrés on asking for help
Dan Barber on talking to your fish
Mario Batali on the perfect risotto
Michelle Bernstein on the many uses of chocolate
Heston Blumenthal on the angriest maître d’ in England
Daniel Boulud on one thousand bowls of soup
Anthony Bourdain on beating up the customers
Jimmy Bradley on drinking games
Scott Bryan on too many salamanders
David Burke on hiding the laundry
Samuel Clark on cooking for royalty
Tom Colicchio on sneaking through customs
Scott Conant on the persistence of eels
Tamasin Day-Lewis on how not to store a pheasant
Tom Douglas on the strange destiny of snowstorms
Wylie Dufresne on birds of prey
Jonathan Eismann on the healing powers of electricity
Claudia Fleming on runaway meringue
Gabrielle Hamilton on second sight
Fergus Henderson on the far from ordinary
Paul Kahan on caller ID
Hubert Keller on tempting fate
Giorgio Locatelli on the art of the French ambush
Michael Lomonaco on feeding Pavarotti
Pino Luongo on summer school in the Hamptons
Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger on getting away with it
Sara Moulton on how to destroy a food processor
Tamara Murphy on the misuses of foie gras
Cindy Pawlcyn on eating at home
Neil Perry on unexpected showers
Michel Richard on how to rescue a wayward cake
Eric Ripert on getting to the kitchen
Alain Sailhac on salty coffee and solitary confinement
Marcus Samuelsson on the languages of gelatin
Bill Telepan on the Fish Guys versus the Meat Guys
Laurent Tourondel on rib-eye rush hour
Tom Valenti on the grounds for revenge
Norman Van Aken on Key West hi-jinks
Geoffrey Zakarian on a license to eat dangerously
Customer Reviews:
Don't Read This While Hungry ..........2007-10-18
I don't watch cooking shows on TV nor do I read gourmet cooking magazines or anything like that ~~ the names of the chefs in here don't mean anything to me. It's not personal. I just don't have the time nor the interest to read about them nor do I travel to eat at fine restaurants ... But this book is hilarious. It is one of the few books where I am lost in the giggles over the mishaps in the kitchens. And I love it.
I do cook and am a fairly good cook ~~ though not as good as these professionals are. I have messed up dishes often and have my embarrassing moments ~~ but not on the grand scale as these chefs. And I love the stories ~~ the wedding cake mishaps are my favorite ~~ especially Michel Richard's "Alibi" ~~ that one literally brought tears to my eyes. I can just see it all. Another favorite is "Our Big Brake" by Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. One that brought sighs to my heart is Paul Kahan's "(Not) Ready for My Close-up." Another one is Tamara Murphy's "For The Birds" ~~ I just lost myself in the giggles over a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches (Ah. A dream to come true would be having a chef cooking for me!).
To be honest, I don't think there's a story in there that I didn't like. They all are funny and very human ~~ it brings a touch of humanness to the world's greatest cooks. And since I like to cook, I can definitely relate to their stories. And I love all of their stories. I cannot remember the last time I had so much fun reading a book!!
However, don't read this while you're hungry ~~ some of their descriptions of food will make you hungry and if you're like me, that doesn't have a modern up to date kitchen or pantry ~~ you'll find yourself raiding something wishing that you can finally taste what they are famous for making. A Ding Dong just won't do it. But maybe it will spur you to become a better chef in your own kitchen ~~ knowing that the greats are just as human as we all are.
10-18-07
Really, Don't Do It.......2007-06-27
This book was so funny for we culinary types. I really enjoyed reading it, and learning new and funny things about some of my favorite chefs.
What not to do in the kitchen.......2007-02-13
This is one of the funniest books, I have read. I have lent it to many friends and we have had a good laugh at many of the stories. It's nice to see that professional chefs can also have disasters in the kitchen.
Fun read!.......2006-12-14
This book will make you chuckle!
This book is broken down into short chapters, --- each chapter written by a famous Chef and his/her experiences in kitchen mishaps.
Fun read!
This just makes the rest of us feel better..........2006-10-12
This is a must have for home cooks, would-be chefs, and people who just love the kitchen. In this humorous collection of stories, many chefs that have no reached the pinnacle of their careers share tales and snippets of life that include moments they were less than perfect. How many of us have ruined a dish by putting too much salt in the pot, or burned a turkey (or served one raw)? Turns out those sins are mild compared to some of the things these gods of food have done.
So many of the stories are just funny, you'll find yourself laughing out loud.
Sometimes when you watch cooking shows, or eat at a 5 star restaurant, it's easy to be intimidated by Chefs that seem to have perfected this craft. But this book will remind you that they have their off days as well, and that the gods of cuisine are just as human as the rest of us.
Highly recommended for everyone. Even if you don't cook, or aren't a foodie, this book is just funny.
Book Description
Environmental disasters. Terrorist wars. Energy scarcity. Economic failure. Is this the world's inevitable fate, a downward spiral that ultimately spells the collapse of societies? Perhaps, says acclaimed author Thomas Homer-Dixon - or perhaps these crises can actually lead to renewal for ourselves and planet earth.
The Upside of Down takes the reader on a mind-stretching tour of societies' management, or mismanagement, of disasters over time. From the demise of ancient Rome to contemporary climate change, this spellbinding book analyzes what happens when multiple crises compound to cause what the author calls "synchronous failure." But, crisis doesn't have to mean total global calamity. Through catagenesis, or creative, bold reform in the wake of breakdown, it is possible to reinvent our future.
Drawing on the worlds of archeology, poetry, politics, science, and economics, The Upside of Down is certain to provoke controversy and stir imaginations across the globe. The author's wide-ranging expertise makes his insights and proposals particularly acute, as people of all nations try to grapple with how we can survive tomorrow's inevitable shocks to our global system. There is no guarantee of success, but there are ways to begin thinking about a better world, and The Upside of Down is the ideal place to start thinking.
Customer Reviews:
Eloquent and timely.......2007-09-05
In this pathbreaking work Thomas Homer-Dixon illustrates the complex and tenuous relations between the human ecology and the natural systems upon which society, markets, and structures of governance are based. He warns that human populations, and their high rates of resource consumption, are rapidly outstripping the regenerative capacity of the planet. A principal contribution of the work lies in his argument that energy flows play a central role in the maintainance of economic and socio-political stability. Homer-Dixon's exploration of the role of energy in the collapse of previous political institutions is rather novel and deserves serious consideration.
Moreover, Homer-Dixon has a rare talent for weaving advances in the natural sciences into the policy literature and communicating advanced concepts to the reader with clarity and precision. His discussions of complexity, emergent properties, and panarchy are particularly illuminating. A wonderful read.
Reflecting in the fog.......2007-08-24
The key question in this book is raised in the very middle: "Why don't we face reality?" A major reason is that we are groping in a fog to learn what that reality is. Homer-Dixon likens our society to a driver careering along a country road in a dense fog. We can barely see what's ahead, but we're somehow confident that no mishap will befall us. We've gotten this far safely. As we drive, we're guided by the mantra of "endless economic growth". We have some idea where we've been, but remain uncertain about what lies ahead. Worse, we don't seem to care. Ignoring the warning signs indicating that all might not be well we continue along our course. In this excellent study of how our society is progressing and where it's likely going, the author clearly outlines the various options before us and what actions we can take to prevent serious disruptions.
The book is a call for preparation. Resilience is what our outlook and our policies should undertake to prevent disasters that we cannot handle. Having observed and reflected on these issues for several years, Homer-Dixon concludes that major difficulties lie ahead. We cannot avoid them - they're already here or loom in the near future. He lists some of the obvious ones: terrorism is now a part of life, climate change beyond our experience is already with us, and economic and social disruption causes have already been pinpointed. His model used as the basis of assessment is the Roman Empire. He cites three examples of what the Empire accomplished, the Colosseum, the road and aqueduct networks and the Temple of Jupiter at Baalbek, Lebanon. All these enterprises required immense amounts of energy, yet a society without engineering schools achieved them all successfully. It worked only so long as the energy was available and applied efficiently. Our schools taught us that the Romans built their imperium on slavery, but Homer-Dixon shows that concept to be false. Oxen pulled the 256 carts of material required by the Colosseum and free peasant farmers supplied the basic energy needs. The Empire collapsed only when the energy required failed. We need to understand what can be learned from that Empire offer, and Homer-Dixon demonstrates how pertinent the lessons are today.
The author's formula for assessment is EROI - Energy Return On Investment. We've been profligate in energy use, and it's future availability is a major concern of the his. "Peak oil" has been the topic of so many books and articles, it should be old news. The author notes how the petroleum industry and those dependent on it keep up a continuous barrage of denial propaganda to discourage us from believing that evident fact. The "globalised" economy was supposed to reduce the distinction between rich and poor. Not only is it having the opposite effect, but it's increasing the consumption of energy in the process. While a number of recent books stress the threats posed by environmental change, Homer-Dixon sees that as but one element in a far larger picture. He deals with a full range of pressures building up to threaten society. He likens them to tectonic stresses likely to snap unexpectedly at any time.
Unlike some books making forecasts or offering timetables of potential catastrophe, Homer-Dixon's more circumspect. He's more concerned with demonstrating that the kinds of "growth" we've experienced cannot endure. What and when surprise setbacks occur is of less importance to him than how we adjust to them. He's not addressing a small coterie of "movers and shakers" with this work His prose style is just short of that of a story-telling narrative. He means for all of us, taxpayers, policy-makers and even academics and scientists, to participate in the development and preparation of new sets of options for survival. We will all be effected by the unfolding events. While this may seem that the author's "Down" is inevitable and final, he prefixed it with "Upside" for a reason. His opening depicts the destruction of a city - San Francisco in the 1906 earthquake and fire. The city didn't collapse and die, but recovery meant a new approach to disaster planning. We must follow that example, or our collapse will be more severe. It will be global and possibly all-consuming. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Required Reading for all Who Care About the Planet.......2007-07-05
This brilliant, courageous, inspiring, multidisciplinary book unflinchingly examines the ominous, ever increasing tectonic pressures--population imbalances, energy shortages, environmental damage, global warming, and the widening gaps between rich and poor--that threaten to disrupt, if not topple, civilization.
Historical, ecological, political, economic, scientific, sociological and psychological threads are woven together in a fascinating, extremely readable analysis of the mess we are in, how we got here, what we can expect in the future, and what we can do about it.
Homer-Dixon does not provide magic bullet solutions to our problems because, in fact, none exists. He does, however, suggest four important actions, including boosting the overall resilience of our civilization, especially critical systems like energy and food distribution. Most importantly, he stresses the cultivation of the prospective mind, which includes an openness to radically new ways of thinking about our world and about how we should live our lives.
The author states that "when a social earthquake erupts--when the established order starts to crack and crumble--much depends on what happens in the period immediately following the initial shock." A mega-crisis has the potential to jolt people awake from their social conditioning, and can bring out the very worst or the very best in people. Homer-Dixon tells us to prepare for that moment, so the forces of reason, tolerance and compassion will prevail.
This book is not for those wanting to pretend that band-aide solutions from corporate-owned politicians will save us. This book is a zen-like slap in the face designed to zap denial, and awaken prospective, creative intelligence, so that bold new solutions to our planetary problems can emerge.
If I could, I would make The Upside of Down required reading for everyone on the planet. When it comes to defining the global crisis, it is by far the best of the following related books which I've recently read:
James Howard Kunstler, The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil,
Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-
First Century (2006)
Stephen Leeb, The Coming Economic Collapse (2006)
Chalmers Johnson, Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic (2006)
Sir Martin Rees, Our Final Hour: A Scientist's Warning (2003)
David Korten, The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community (2006)
Bill McKibben, Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable
Future(2007)
Raine Eisler, The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics
(2007)
Jerry Mander & John Cavanagh, Alternatives to Economic Globalization
(2004)
Paul Hawken, Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came
into Being and Why No One Saw it Coming (2007)
Lester Brown, Plan B2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a
Civilization in Trouble(2006)
Paul & Anne Ehrlich, One With Nineveh: Politics, Consumption and the
Human Future(2004)
An Excellent Read.......2007-05-17
This book dispels myths about global warming and sets the stage for what may or could likely happen. It's not just about global warming, that is just one consequence of how we choose to live. I'm not sure if Thomas Homer-Dixon has it all, but his book is very well researched and referenced. It reads well and one of those books that you don't want to put down, even if that is the upside of down.
The Upside of Down.......2007-05-07
Homer-Dixon suggests that the current state of the Western world in many ways mirrors that of Rome prior to its fall. He argues that the increasing complexities of maintaining such a society as Rome contributed greatly to its demise. Speaking to some of the complexities of today's world, he addresses such issues as globalization, desolving energy sources, socio-economic disparaties, terrorism, and others, Homer-Dixon.
The Upside of Down is a fine negotiation of the many issues involved. Homer-Dixon demonstrates the interconnectedness of global events and issues while remaining optimistic. He answers the exreme optimism of writers like Thomas Friedman without being alarmist. He has also made great efforts to make this readable. I would recommend The Upside of Down to anyone interested in globalization, global warming, energy resources and the like.
Book Description
Some 250 million years ago, the earth suffered the greatest biological crisis in its history. Around 95% of all living species died out--a global catastrophe far greater than the dinosaurs' demise 65 million years ago. How this happened remains a mystery. But there are many competing theories. Some blame huge volcanic eruptions that covered an area as large as the continental United States; others argue for sudden changes in ocean levels and chemistry, including burps of methane gas; and still others cite the impact of an extraterrestrial object, similar to what caused the dinosaurs' extinction.
Extinction is a paleontological mystery story. Here, the world's foremost authority on the subject provides a fascinating overview of the evidence for and against a whole host of hypotheses concerning this cataclysmic event that unfolded at the end of the Permian.
After setting the scene, Erwin introduces the suite of possible perpetrators and the types of evidence paleontologists seek. He then unveils the actual evidence--moving from China, where much of the best evidence is found; to a look at extinction in the oceans; to the extraordinary fossil animals of the Karoo Desert of South Africa. Erwin reviews the evidence for each of the hypotheses before presenting his own view of what happened.
Although full recovery took tens of millions of years, this most massive of mass extinctions was a powerful creative force, setting the stage for the development of the world as we know it today.
Customer Reviews:
Very informative overview of the Permian Mass Extinction .......2007-10-08
I found this book very easy to read. Mr. Erwin has a sort of sense of humor he adds to the book to take away from any text book monotony you may be afraid of. He is also extremely in depth and explains with seemingly little bias the many proposed possible causes and evidence (or lack of) for this mass extinction. There are also many diagrams and graphs to illustrate much of the pertenant information. I won't get too in depth with the contents, I will just say if you have any interest in the Permian, or any other prehistoric event, I suggest you read it.
Interesting topic, expert writer, frustrating book.......2007-03-23
I wish I could give this book three or four stars. Erwin is an expert in the area of the Permian extinction, and when he tries, he can write well. Unfortunately, he does not seem to try often. There are just too many sentences here that need to be read two or three times before their meaning becomes clear. The meaning of many of the graphics never become clear! And at the end of each chapter, I was unclear about what I had learned, and what I could expect next.
I finally gave up half way through the book. At that point, I was as confused about the Permian extinction as I was at the beginning, and I cannot even say I was confused at a higher level.
Perspective on Global Warming.......2007-02-22
A geologist's view of global warming puts things in perspective. The sky may or may not be falling, but it's happened before.
Splendid agnosticism.......2006-11-23
In Kentucky, there's a museum with a lifesize model of a dinosaur with a saddle on it. This is a hymn in fiberglass to young Earth creationism, the idea that the Universe was created about 6,000 years ago.
It costs $1,500 to become a charter member (family rate) of this museum. A much better investment would be $24.95 for Douglas Erwin's thriller about the Permian extinction.
More than nine-tenths of all species died out 251 million years ago. Erwin, a researcher with the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History and the Santa Fe Institute, finds the end-Permian "enigma far more compelling than the end of the dinosaurs," a relatively minor event from 65 million years ago.
For an event that Kentuckians think never happened, the end-Permian event left a lot of debris, of which the most interesting is in China. Until 20 years ago, the paleontological record there was unknown to the outside world.
What the evidence is telling us is difficult to say. Erwin says "Extinction" was "frankly written as a mystery story." In this one, the clever detective does not wrap up all the loose ends on the last page.
Instead, we learn that there are at least seven major theories of what might have happened. These range from a big meteorite to gigantic volcanic eruptions in Siberia to a climatic or biological or geological change that drove oxygen out of the oceans.
The first chapters set the stage. Life was very different in the Permian. There were reefs in warm oceans, and they contained corals, but the corals were only distantly related to those of today and they were not as important as crinoids and lampshells, animals that still exist in out-of-the-way places.
On land, flowering plants had not yet evolved, nor mammals, dinosaurs or saddles. In South Africa's Karoo basin, fossils remain of a fabulous, lost fauna.
There were widespread extinctions on land as well as in the sea during the end-Permian event, but it is hard to say whether the land extinction was as complete as in the sea, where 94 percent of species disappeared in a short time. Erwin's team and their Chinese collaborators have found evidence that it all happened in less than 160,000 years -- maybe a lot less.
It is also not proved that the big land extinction exactly coincided with the sea kill, but it seems likely. The land kill was a whopper, too. This was apparently the only time in history when a mass extinction had any real impact on insects.
Whatever the cause, it did set up the modern world. "Mass extinction is a powerful creative force," says Erwin.
Or did it? As they learn more and more of the details, scientists are also learning to question the easy assumptions of more innocent decades.
Evolutionary biologists are vigorously debating whether the animals and plants that dominated the Permian were already being outcompeted by the early forerunners of modern flora and fauna, or whether they would have maintained their control of resources.
Erwin, splendidly agnostic about this and other debates, lays out the questions but leaves the resolution for some other time. Perhaps not too far in the future. He notes that his 1993 book on the Permian extinction already is out of date in many ways.
In fact, after decades researching the extinction itself, he has now concluded that "understanding the recovery from the extinction poses a far greater intellectual challenge."
Some self-aggrandizing here..........2006-10-18
It is always gratifying to see popular books about science get rave reviews because we scientists benefit from public enthusiasm about what we do. Erwin has a chatty and disarming style that is a joy to read. Unfortunately, it is a public disservice to distort reality as Erwin has done in this book. In depicting his role in the whodunit, Erwin has liberally embellished his own contributions and those of his colleagues. After proclaiming for years that the extinction was unrelated to the Siberian volcanism, this book now implies that such a relationship was his idea. The whitewashing treatment of his team's blunder in misdating the extinction and related events is worthy of the most guileful politician explaining away some scandalous act.
As long as you don't mind the plethora of factual errors and self-promotional aspects, it is a fine book. Unfortunately, it will not weather history well.
Book Description
He challenged the greatest empire on earth with a ragtag bunch of renegades—and brought it to its knees. Empire of Blue Water is the real story of the pirates of the Caribbean.
Henry Morgan, a twenty-year-old Welshman, crossed the Atlantic in 1655, hell-bent on making his fortune. Over the next three decades, his exploits in the Caribbean in the service of the English became legendary. His daring attacks on the mighty Spanish Empire on land and at sea determined the fates of kings and queens, and his victories helped shape the destiny of the New World.
Morgan gathered disaffected European sailors and soldiers, hard-bitten adventurers, runaway slaves, and vicious cutthroats, and turned them into the most feared army in the Western Hemisphere. Sailing out from the English stronghold of Port Royal, Jamaica, “the wickedest city in the New World,” Morgan and his men terrorized Spanish merchant ships and devastated the cities where great riches in silver, gold, and gems lay waiting. His last raid, a daring assault on the fabled city of Panama, helped break Spain’s hold on the Americas forever.
Awash with bloody battles, political intrigues, natural disaster, and a cast of characters more compelling, bizarre, and memorable than any found in a Hollywood swashbuckler—including the notorious pirate L’Ollonais, the soul-tortured King Philip IV of Spain, and Thomas Modyford, the crafty English governor of Jamaica—Empire of Blue Water brilliantly re-creates the passions and the violence of the age of exploration and empire.
Customer Reviews:
accesible and intriguing tale of the man that changed the Western Hemisphere.......2007-09-13
A wonderfully well-written (flows perfectly and keeps the interest of the reader with brilliant description and exciting prose), this is the story of Henry Morgan and his historic role in the threshold of New World history between the old, honor-bound, religiously dominated Nationalism of Spanish control and the cut-throat, money-ruled, trade-dominated, mercantile rule of England. Henry Morgan, a patriot and a ruthless privateer, was a bloody genius, a democrat, and he embodied all that the pirates stood for in the New World: freedom, power, and riches--all for the taking by anyone not fettered by ideas of nobility and birthright. Henry Morgan is compared and contrasted with the average pirate (who he increasingly distances himself from) and the Spanish and British nobility. Fascinating and accessible. Grade: A-
The facts behind the legends.......2007-08-13
I'm not a history buff, but I really enjoyed reading what some of the legends about pirates are based on. In particular, I didn't know about Henry Morgan, and found reading about his exploits so enthralling, the book was difficult to put down. It was a nice touch to convert the pirates' takes into todays dollar equivalents. These guys were major players! Very enjoyable book.
Disappointing Read.......2007-08-08
I expected an engaging read about Henry Morgan, but found this writer's style not to be my cup of tea. I found it boring and gave up after 75, or so, pages. I recently finished "Einstein" and expected a similar narrative, but came away disappointed.
Private or privateer? .......2007-08-03
I've never been much interested in pirates, but I found myself enthralled with Stephan Talty's Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe That Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign.
Empire of Blue Water begins with the British trying to muscle in on Spain's hold in the New World by conquering Jamaica. At the time, Welshman Henry Morgan was a young sailor. But by the end of his life, he proved to be one of the most influential men in the Caribbean and helped to change the course of world history.
There was a thin line between being a private or a privateer, with Morgan being in the latter group. Privateering was actually invented by Henry VIII. This cash-strapped king offered commissions to sea captains to harass the French, attacking and capturing enemy ships. But unlike regular pirates, privateers gave a percentage of their "profits" to the crown. A romantic imagine exists today about pirates, but pirating was a very hard and dangerous life. But unlike most jobs, pirating was a "democratic institution." "The most important decisions were made from the bottom up." As for leadership, "the captain was only in charge when the crew was fighting, chasing a ship, or being chased."
Henry Morgan made a name (and a fortune) for himself by amassing large groups of pirates and staging four of the most daring raids of that period. They were against Granada, Portobello, Maracaibo and Panama. The Caribbean was akin to the Wild West in these days and Morgan proved to be a bold and brilliant leader. His cunning strategies allowed him to assess the weaknesses of the Spanish and to beat them at almost every turn. When England and Spain finally signed a peace treaty, pirating was outlawed. Morgan was one of the few who made a successful transition to private life, running his Jamaican plantation and becoming deputy governor.
There are fascinating tidbits of information in Blue Waters and I enjoyed how Henry Morgan and his exploits affected the world stage. Morgan had much to do with breaking the back of the Spanish Empire. "Without him, who knows what the map of the Caribbean and even the United States might look like." After 1713, Spain ceased to be a world power. Also, an earthquake in Port Royal four years after Morgan's death destroyed this Jamaican trade capital. Trade with Port Royal was then diverted through the American Colonies, never to return.
So, was Captain Morgan a bold, brilliant privateer or a "rampaging, torturing, thieving pirate?" Read Stephan Talty and decide for yourself!
Hooked from first page!.......2007-07-27
A very enjoyable, informative read. As someone who enjoys reading about this time period, I found this book to be extremely well researched and well written. The author captures the complexity of the time period and conveys it in a very engaging manner! I highly recommend "Empire of Blue Water"
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- Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith
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- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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