Review by Choice Review
Brand is known for publishing The Whole Earth Catalog, beginning in the 1960s, but he has been active in a number of fields related to environmentalism ever since and has unimpeachable environmentalist credentials. Here, he argues against the conventional wisdom of most environmentalists, i.e., that the current steady migration to large cities is good for the environment, that nuclear power needs to be a major part of our future energy plans; and that genetically engineered organisms should be used, not banned. His arguments for these propositions are all strong, and do not rely solely on his opinions. Brand believes that global warming and some other environmental problems are serious. These issues are so serious, in fact, that the mitigation plans being proposed by the world's political leaders will not resolve them. Brand takes an engineering approach in trying to find the best way to address an environmental problem. The last part of the book considers a number of different cases where people in many parts of the world are doing just that. The work has adequate scholarly apparatus and is easily understandable. A must read for informed citizens. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All libraries. M. LaBar emeritus, Southern Wesleyan University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Many excellent environmental books make their way onto the pubic square with little fanfare, but surely trumpets and Tweets will herald Brand's jolting manifesto. Trained as a biologist and spectacularly well read and traveled, Brand is the entrepreneurial mastermind behind the Whole Earth Catalog, Wired magazine, and the Global Business Network. He now brings all his knowledge and creativity to the complex problems of climate change. Designating himself an ecopragmatist, he argues agilely that we must become benevolent ecosystem engineers and expand our definition of infrastructure to include both river and bridge. Nuclear power is the answer to our energy needs, Brand avers, and explains why at length, then does the same as he advocates for genetic engineering. Urbanization is the greenest form of human life, says Brand, and he even celebrates the ecology of the squatter cities that ring the planet's megalopolises. Here, Brand declares, human ingenuity triumphs; waste is eradicated, and opportunities arise. Brand's reasoning is lucid if disturbing, his perspective genuinely global and realistic. Drawing on his own fascinating experiences and writing with both finesse and moxie, Brand calls for responsible science instead of sentiment and fear, planet craft instead of politics. Loaded with information and paradigm-altering thought, Brand's mettlesome manifesto is a book to wrestle with, a power tool for change.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Brand, co-author of the seminal 1969 Whole Earth Catalog, compiles reflections and lessons learned from more than 40 years as an environmentalist in this clumsy yet compelling attempt to inspire practicable solutions to climate change. Brand haphazardly organizes his "manifesto" into chapters that address environmental stewardship opportunities, exhorting environmentalists to "become fearless about following science"; his iconoclastic proposals include transitioning to nuclear energy and ecosystem engineering. Brand believes environmentalists must embrace nuclear energy expansion and other inevitable technological advances, and refreshingly suggests a shift in the environmentalists' dogmatic approach to combating climate change. Rejecting the inflexible message so common in the Green movement, he describes a process of reasonable debate and experimentation. Brand's fresh perspective, approachable writing style and manifest wisdom ultimately convince the reader that the future is not an abyss to be feared but an opportunity for innovative problem solvers to embrace enthusiastically. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Brand, now a senior citizen, is best known as the editor of the counterculture classics Whole Earth Catalog (1968-85) and CoEvolution Quarterly. An ecologist by training, he has also written books and articles about the environment. His latest is a personal call to citizens and organizations to make every possible effort at managing further climate change. Brand makes a strong case for taking a pragmatic approach-beyond environmentalism-keeping some of our technological civilization alive while reducing our net carbon emissions to a minimum. The methods he promotes include urban density, vertical farms, nuclear power plants, and biotechnology. Referring to scientist James Lovelock's statements that climate change cannot be halted now and will turn many habitable regions into parched wasteland, Brand outlines visionary and risky geoengineering projects that may be deployed to mitigate global warming. Verdict Despite the occasional flippant comment, Brand's tough but constructive projection of our near future on this overheating planet is essential reading for all. [Six-city tour; see Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/09.]-David R. Conn, Surrey P.L., B.C. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A comprehensive, forward-thinking blueprint for sustainable living. Brand (Clock of the Long Now, 1999, etc.), who won a National Book Award for his groundbreaking Whole Earth Catalogue in 1972, provides readers with the most necessary survival tool in this era of increasing climate change: well-researched, accurate information and a guide with which to use it. Our ability to combat the greenhouse gases that threaten earth's delicate ecosystems have reached a breaking point, and only concerted, global efforts that have been properly analyzed for macroeconomic valueas opposed to, say, drilling for oil offshore or burning "clean coal"can stave off a further increase in global temperature that will precede a catastrophic climate crisis. The author proposes that a drastic re-evaluation of "green thinking" is required to accomplish this, claiming that the recent environmental movement is muddled in their message and has even been a hindrance to certain eco-alternatives, such as nuclear energy and genetic engineering. As people continue to migrate into cities and technology pervades even the poorest of slums, an agricultural revolution would offer a chance for farming to become a profitable urban enterprise and nature to reclaim rural areas. Brand writes with clarity, directness and wit, and despite his obvious partisanship toward environmentalism, he never proselytizes. His long career precedes him, and those who have followed his crusades over the years will find his admissions of error in some past argumentsspecifically the viability of nuclear powerrefreshing. Also inspiring is the sheer amount of knowledge he imparts on dozens of issues. He deftly reflects on the subtle differences in biotechnical, scientific, ecological, political and sociological arguments and refrains from tiresome parable. His message is clear. We have passed the point of no return where climate is concerned, and drastic, well-planned and innovative measures to combat total ecological collapse must be implemented now. Breathtaking in scope and implicationa must-read. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
