Book Description
In Dancing with Your Dark Horse, Chris Irwin, world-renowned as one of the most successful horse whisperers in North America, further explores the intriguing spiritual connection he has discovered between human and equine nature. Based on his more than twenty years of working with, training, and observing horses, Irwin explains how the characteristics necessary to building good relationships with horses can in turn be used to establish a positive balance between mind, body, and spirit in our own lives. Dancing with Your Dark Horse will help readers see that horses have a great deal to teach us about how to live happier, healthier, and more balanced lives.
Customer Reviews:
Good ideas and insights.......2007-09-25
Interesting ideas linked with inisghts into Chris Irwins personal life, trials & tribulations. Very readable.
Super-Natural Shaman.......2007-06-11
I can see how some might view this work as a book of Chris Irwin excuses. He bares his soul for the world to see, so when one only skims the surface and avoids going deeper, it appears shallow.
I was so impressed with this book that I immediately went on line to Chris's website and bought every single one of his traing DVD's (I train horses for living and I am always looking for ways to better communicate with them). It is so rare to find a person who connects to the horse the way he does. Yes, he's made mistakes, but I don't know anyone who hasn't. And, not once, did I read anywhere in the book, where he said that it was ok that he beat on Stella. He simply pointed out the events and his frame of mind that lead up to his unraveling.
This book touched my heart in ways I have never had a book do before. Chris is a "Super-Natural" Horseman (read the book and you'll understand the super-natural vs. natural horsemanship), who shares with the reader his path to hell and how he made it out. He's not a showman, or a salesman, he's a horseman on a shaman's path.
Namaste
Well written book of excuses.......2006-09-13
Chris Irwin wrote this book after beating a mare named Stella at a demonstration. He'd been working hard and shouldn't have accepted the invitation that day; he had been pushing himself too hard. The manager of the event set him up by sending three mares that didn't pasture together into the arena, and a fight broke out between the horses. Chris fueled the fire by reacting to the situation and beating Stella after getting the other two mares out of the ring. He nearly ruined his career as a result. And this book of excuses is his attempt at finding a silver lining in that situation.
If you want to hear about how Chris' life has unravelled... how a young man his age has been married four times in his attempts to overcome his dysfunctional childhood, then this story may peak your interest.
If you want to see a picture of Chris skiing, and a photo of Chris teaching his son to ride a bike, and a photo of Chris playing guitar and singing at a wedding, and a photo of Chris in his cowboy cocaine days in the 80's, and a photo of Chris when he was 15 on the rowing team in high school and won the championship -- then this is the dark horse book for you.
Every photo is "Chris this" or "Chris that" -- and most of the photos don't relate to the text. It felt egotistically motivated, and I began to realize that Chris' dark horse is his insecurity -- and he hasn't conquered it yet.
I'm very interested in learning about the spiritual connection between humans and horses; but this wasn't the book for me.
I respect everything that Chris Irwin has accomplished in his career, but he needs to forgive himself and stop making excuses, before he can stop dancing with his dark horse.
Be preprared for introspection and self-analysis.......2006-05-21
Well known clinician, Chris Irwin, met his match in Stella, a dark mare who refused to play games. She challenged Chris, forced him to decide what was most important to him, and then Chris, in the form of this book, shares his lessons with us.
Unlike most of the other books I've read, Mr. Irwin calls it as he sees it. He doesn't sugar coat the truth, that "natural horsemanship" is an oxymornon (there's nothing natural about putting saddle and bridle on the horse and forcing it to go counter to its natural instincts which tell it to flee), that somebody has to be the better horse, the boss, and that horses provide a mirror for our thoughts and fears. He provides food for the brain, stuff to think about, and in sharing his story, he brings the knowledge he's gained to others.
I found this book to be very thought-provoking. I find myself thinking about my relationship with my horse in a completely different light. Could it be my inner fears (of falling off, getting hurt again) are mirrored in her flighty nature? Perhaps by facing my own shadow self, my dark horse, that it will help our relationship? Mr. Irwin, through his prose, seems to think so.
I recommend this book for anyone seriously pursuing a relationship with their horse. From backyard ponies to professional trainers and riders, anyone can benefit from the information in this horse. And if you don't even own a horse, but am looking for a little soul searching, I'm going to recommend this book too. It is an amazing piece of work, and I am looking forward to reading Mr. Irwin's other titles.
Irene Adler, Nicole Wallace and...Stella?.......2006-02-07
Some have called Chris Irwin the Dr. Phil of equines. I guess I have always kind of thought of him as an equine profiler. His tremendous instinct for and knowledge of horse psychology is what makes him such an observant trainer and teacher. His second book opens with a humbling tale of a mare that brought him to his knees so to speak. A mare named Stella that bedeviled this excellent horse whisperer and sent him scrambling out of the round pen without his composure. Now if Mr.Irwin were a fictional character I would imagine Stella the mare would occasionally turn up at future clinics when he least expects her. Appearing once or twice in his videos and books. Squaring off with him in the tradition of Sherlock Holme's Irene or Bobby Goren's Nicole. But Stella is real and she forced Irwin to look hard at himself as a person and a horseman. That introspection weaves in and out of the theme of this book. Irwin's personal stories are combined with valuable training and riding advice. Probably some of the best guidance out there for equestrians. What I appreciated most about this book was the fact that spirituality and personal development were never ignored in the pursuit of excellent horsemanship. In fact it's vital. Read this book and discover how horses can aid you on your journey toward being true to yourself,toward healing, toward personal and professional achievement and better relationships. Someday I hope to have the great good fortune and privilege to ride in one of Mr. Irwin's clinics. Until then I have his book on my shelf as I strive to become worthy of my horse.
Book Description
The economy and global competitiveness are the bottom line for society and governments, or so says conventional wisdom. But what are the real needs that must be satisfied to live rich, fulfilling lives? This is the question David Suzuki explores in this wide-ranging study. Suzuki begins by presenting the concept of people as creatures of the Earth who depend on its gifts of air, water, soil, and sun energy. He shows how people are genetically programmed for the company of other species, and suffer enormously when we fail to live in harmony with them. And he analyzes those deep spiritual needs, rooted in nature, that are also a crucial component of a loving world. Drawing on his own experiences and those of others who have put their beliefs into action, The Sacred Balance is a powerful, passionate book with concrete suggestions for creating an ecologically sustainable, satisfying, and fair future by rediscovering and addressing humanity’s basic needs.
Customer Reviews:
A life changing, life enhancing read.......2006-06-12
The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place In Nature by David Suzuki offers a conceptual understanding of the human condition and an ecologically sustainable, satisfying and honorable way of life in the world enveloping us all in this day and age. Providing readers with a complete grasp of nature and its most fulfilling values, The Sacred Balance intuitively presents a new direction with which one might rightfully prosper in balance with nature and one's surroundings. As a unique and concise interpretive understanding of nature and each individual's placement amidst an ever-growing and progressing nature, The Sacred Balance is very strongly recommended as a life changing, life enhancing read.
Book Description
Most of the world's population now lives in cities. So if we are to address the problems of environmental deterioration and peak oil adequately, the city has to be a major focus of attention.
EcoCities is about re-building cities and towns based on ecological principles for the long term sustainability, cultural vitality and health of the Earth's biosphere. Unique in the literature is the book's insight that the form of the city really matters - and that it is within our ability to change it, and crucial that we do. Further, that the ecocity within its bioregion is comprehensible and do-able, and can produce a healthy and potentially happy future.
EcoCities describes the place of the city in evolution, nature and history. It pays special attention to the key question of accessibility and transportation, and outlines design principles for the ecocity. The reader is encouraged to plunge in to its economics and politics: the kinds of businesses, planning and leadership required. The book then outlines the tools by which a gradual transition to the ecocity could be accomplished. Throughout, this new edition is generously illustrated with the author's own inspired visions of what such rebuilt cities might actually look like.
Customer Reviews:
A pattern of urban design we will rediscover.......2007-04-09
EcoCities is a book I have returned to repeatedly and discovered new insights every time. Register is no utopian dreamer; he's addressing real problems in contemporary urban design and land use patterns that cannot be sustained in a lower-energy future. Register's personality comes through loud and clear in his writing--this is no dry treatment of the subject.
Through this book, Register helps us to envision with some specificity what urban landscapes light on automobiles but rich in biodiversity could look like. It's as if he's illustrating a series of before and after treatments of various spaces, but the before picture is now and the after is a future yet to be realized. Highly recommended reading for anyone who wants to help actively design their built environment towards sustainability.
One of the keys to Sustainability.......2007-01-12
Along with books like Natural Capitalism and Cradle to Cradle, Ecocities takes its place among the most important environmental tomes of our day. In a nutshell, Richard Register's vision (replete with a plan to get us there) could transform our world. In fact a structural response like ecocities (and smart growth) may be the best tools available to bring us to our only destination, sustainability. In his thoughtful book, Register waxes poetic on the environmental crisis we face, shares a grand vision for addressing the crisis -- while simultaneously improving our everyday lives -- and wraps it up with a road map for getting there. His many illustrations spark the imagination and are guaranteed to put a smile on your face. If you haven't read it, just do. Buy this important book now.
moderate environmental views.......2006-09-24
Here is an ambitious remit. Register gives a history of the development of cities. And he offers suggestions for what he calls eco-modern designs. That attempt to minimise energy consumption and maximise biodiversity. The former is an obvious laudable aim for any city and its occupants. Rising energy costs, due in part to ever increasing global industrialisation, can adversely affect everyone in a city. Reducing consumption is shown to involve such trends as more energy efficient cars.
But he also advocates a greater biodiversity within cities. More gardens, including on rooftops. Multiple benefits are offered. A more pleasant recreational environment. And reduced cooling costs for buildings.
Register offers a light leftist approach. He does not seem anticapitalist, unlike some radical environmentalists.
Amazon.com
Ed McGaa, an Oglala Sioux also called Eagle Man, here presents an environmental, personal, and global philosophy of balance. Using traditional Native American spirituality as a framework, Nature's Way is a call for a major change in the way people relate to the world. McGaa, who has studied under Sioux holy men Chief Eagle Feather and Chief Fool's Crow, begins each chapter by describing the qualities of an animal or plant that represents a particular value, such as the wolf ("one among many") or the eagle ("observation"). Personal anecdotes, tribal legends, and stories from around the world support each idea, and the book's somewhat rambling structure is very conversational. McGaa's ideas are not new, but they are well-presented. If we begin to live by the principles that are demonstrated by the world itself, he writes, we will then be in harmony with the world, rather than taking from it destructively. The book's final chapters outline problems such as global warming and overpopulation, which threaten the survival of life on earth. Nature's Way will appeal to readers seeking a hopeful spiritual approach for dealing with seemingly insurmountable problems. --Therese Littleton
Book Description
Now in paperback! US bestselling author of Mother Earth Spirituality returns with a call for a spiritual awakening to create a new global culture.
Beginning with the ways of the Lakota Sioux and branching outward, Sioux tribal leader Ed McGaa, known as Eagle Man, shows the error of using animals and the natural world as a whole for economic and political gain. He then offers everyday lessons and values gleaned from Nature that endure for all times and people.
In this call for spiritual awakening, McGaa explains how we can create a new global culture based not on dominance over nature for economic and political gain, but on values that endure for all times and all people. Nature's Way explores Native American belief systems, oppression of Native Americans by the dominant society, the desacralisation of Nature, and the complicity of institutional religion.
Taking on religion, politics, and culture, McGaa provides a template for readers – a path designed by Nature that anyone can follow. Using the lessons of eagle, bear, lion, wolf, orca, owl, tiger, buffalo, rat, deer – even the cottonwood tree, Nature's Way teaches all of us how we can overcome religious intolerance, treat women and men equally, preserve our environment, and live in peace.
Customer Reviews:
what an utter disappointment.......2007-02-03
5 stars for putting together anthropomorphism and spiritualism
0 stars for putting together anthropomorphism and geopoliticalism
I bought this book on the principles behind the title: native wisdom from anthropomorphism.
What it turned into was one mans attempt to use anthropomorphism to justify a political mind set.
For the first 1/3rd of the book, the author gets credit for achieving the purpose of this book. The rest of the book should be ripped out -- only then will this book achieve what it is suppose to be about.
A wake-up call for space ship earth.......2007-01-18
Ed McGaa has written a compelling book that combines Native beliefs in Mother Earth Spirituality and a wake-up call for the two-leggeds that dominate our planet. We ignore the signs of environmental disaster at our own peril. If you have any concern for our planet this is an important book to read and share. Eagle Man is a truly talented writer who is willing to tell it like it is. As Native peoples have always know, it's not about us and the greater glory of man, but it's about our relationship to all living things and ultimately the protection of mother earth. Mitakuye Oyasin (we are all related)
Beautiful Animal Analogies for Earth Ecology.......2005-04-27
This is an intensely important book for our time. As part Cherokee, I relate to the Native American outlook in living in harmony with the natural world, and I love the author's use of each of various animals as representing a particular sort of ability and outlook that modern man needs in order to sufficiently detach from a technological mindset that falsely looks to ever more technology to save us from the pressing problems that technology itself has created.
We need to remember that, during the recent Asian tsunami, various kinds of animals, including elephants, somehow sensed the approaching danger and fled to high ground before the waves struck the shores. This book is marvelous in its clever ways of catching our attention and helping redirect our attention to more natural ways of seeing and understanding.
I've waited years to find a book like this!.......2004-11-05
As a child I was never satisfied with the Christian religion I was exposed to. A vengeful God just didn't seem to fit, it didn't feel like truth. I've spent a lot of spare time studying religions and philosophies. Bits from some disciplines seemed to be right but I couldn't find the perfect fit for me. This book did! Although I'm rather pale, I must have the soul of an American Indian.
I was especially interested in his research that connected ancient Europeans with North American natives.
His reasons for why our world is out of balance are quite accurate, and unfortunately returning the balance in the near future doesn't seem likely.
Healing The Earth.......2004-10-25
Another good lesson. Wisdom creates Knowlege which leads to Understanding which can create the awareness that is needed to survive on a planetary scale. This is an awesome read to share with as many people as possible. Creates a good "thinking space".
Rates right up there with "Mother Earth Spirituality" but leads one into deeper thought and awareness.
Amazon.com
What's most inspiring about Earth in the Balance is who wrote it. It's a big deal, after all, that a sitting senator was willing to write, "We must make the rescue of the environment the central organizing principle for civilization." And that's not all. In his 1992 book, Al Gore also wrote:
I have become very impatient with my own tendency to put a finger to the political winds and proceed cautiously.... [E]very time I pause to consider whether I have gone too far out on a limb, I look at the new facts [on the environment crisis] that continue to pour in from around the world and conclude that I have not gone far enough.... [T]he time has long since come to take more political risks--and endure more political criticism--by proposing tougher, more effective solutions and fighting hard for their enactments.
And the buzz on the street is that Gore actually wrote those words himself.
When Earth in the Balance first came out, it caused quite a stir--and for good reason. It convincingly makes the case that a crisis of epidemic proportions is nearly upon us and that if the world doesn't get its act together soon and agree to some kind of "Global Marshall Plan" to protect the environment, we're all up a polluted creek without a paddle. Myriad plagues are upon us, but the worst include the loss of biodiversity, the depletion of the ozone layer, the slash-and-burn destruction of rainforests, and the onset of global warming. None of this is new, of course, nor was it new in 1992. But most environmentalists will still get a giddy feeling reading such a call to action as written by a prominent politician.
The book is arranged into three sections: the first describes the plagues; the second looks at how we got ourselves into this mess; and the final chapters present ways out. Gore gets his points across in a serviceable way, though he could have benefited from a firmer editor's hand; at times the analogies are arcane and the pacing is odd--kind of like a Gore speech that climaxes at weird points and then sinks just as the audience is about to clap. Still, at the end you understand what's been said. Gore believes that if we apply some American ingenuity, the twin engines of democracy and capitalism can be rigged to help us stabilize world population growth, spread social justice, boost education levels, create environmentally appropriate technologies, and negotiate international agreements to bring us back from the brink. For example, a worldwide shift to clean, renewable energy sources would create huge economic opportunities for companies large and small to design, build, and maintain solar panels, wind turbines, fuel cells, and other ecofriendly innovations.
Gore doesn't mince words when describing just how hard it will be to get out of this jam. Real hope is contingent on a swelling up of concern among the public--and fast. A year into the vice presidency, in an interview with writer Bill McKibben, Gore paraphrased a key passage in his book, "The minimum that is scientifically necessary far exceeds the maximum that is politically feasible." Ah, a political out. Some readers will ask of Gore: what has he done since publishing his book to advance the political feasibility of decisive environmental action? --Chip Giller
Book Description
A passionate and lifelong defender of the environment, Vice President Al Gore describes in this classic best-selling book how human actions and decisions can endanger or safeguard the vulnerable ecosystem that sustains us all. The book's groundbreaking analysis helped place the environment on the national agenda, summoning politicians, the media, and the public to attention and action. The message remains just as urgent today as it did eight years ago: while much has been accomplished, we must meet a global environmental challenge that reaches into every aspect of our society.
In brave and unforgettable terms, Earth in the Balance probes the roots of the environmental crisis and offers a bold and forceful vision of a new, more sustainable path. Having provoked international discussion upon its original publication, it continues to confront us with profound challenges. Human civilization must change its course if we are to heal our ailing environment and preserve the earth's ecology for future generations.
Vice President Gore describes in a new foreword to this classic what we have achieved and what remains to be done, and issues a clarion call to begin the millennium with an "Environment Decade." It is time to reflect deeply on the fate of our planet and commit ourselves to its future.
Customer Reviews:
Mr. Gore, what would we do without you?.......2007-06-09
Writing a book that promotes environmentalism on paper is like writing a book that condemns the killing of humans and binding it with human skin!
Looking back at a book that changed the world.......2007-02-28
In 1989, one U.S. senator began compiling information on a subject no other member of Congress wanted to look at-- the environment. He began bringing up the critical problem of climate change just when world scientists began to worry, at a time when the term "global warming" was foreign to members of Congress. Some politicians and lobbyists would've liked it to stay that way. To garner more attention to the crucial environmental problems that were being ignored by his fellow Congress members, he decided to write a book in order to spread the message of urgency to the general public. It worked and sparked a new interest in the environment. Earth in the Balance became the first book written by a sitting U.S. Senator to make the New York Times bestseller list since John F. Kennedy's Profiles in Courage (Wikipedia). That senator, of course, would go on to press some of the boldest environmental initiatives ever undertaken in U.S. government as an eight year vice president, Al Gore.
The winner of the 2000 election's popular vote and author/narrator of the recent An Inconvenient Truth book and documentary film, Al Gore has spent the greater part of his life on a mission to educate the public about environmental issues. In 1989, Gore presented his synopsis to a publisher, originally titled as "The New World War" (Maraniss 239). The book was unique in that it would not be ghost written and would not require the standard advance that most prominent public figures demanded. In fall of 1990, Gore began writing the book, which would result in a 711 page draft that would be later cut to just over 400 pages. "Portions of the manuscript came from speeches and op-ed pieces he had already written, and he was aided by a full time researcher and a hefty supporting group of scholars" (Turque 229). Included were many graphs, computer-generated mosaics, and pictures to firmly illustrate the environmental problems at hand. Gore had wanted the book to be like a tour around the Earth, in and out of its environmental problems. We see this same style even more so with his recent book An Inconvenient Truth, which consists mostly of pictures and graphs to best demonstrate the urgencies of global warming. Earth in the Balance, which included around 20 illustrations and pictures, was first published in 1992.
"We feel increasingly distant from our roots in the Earth," (1) writes Gore in the Introduction. "Are we so unique and powerful as to be essentially separate from the Earth?" (1) This is Gore's thesis question. The opening pages have resonance of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, which he directly alludes to on page 3, both bringing up the proven harmful effects of DDT and Agent Orange and paying tribute to the ever so influential mother of the environmental movement.
Early on in the book, Gore establishes his stance on faith and science. He never blames science or separates it from his faith. Conflict between the two happens to be a common misperception of people whereas most people believe it is either one or the other. Gore includes faith and science together and establishes in the Forward of the 1993 Plume edition, "We are people of faith and of science, who for centuries, often traveled different roads. In a time of environmental crisis, we find these roads converging." Eliminating this science vs. faith stereotype in the beginning invites everyone and brings them together, something politics certainly does not do.
In the first two chapters, Gore also emphasizes education of the crisis, something he has continued to do with his global warming lectures, which have now led to the training of more lecturers and a massive environmental initiative of education. An emphasis on global warming is also evident in the first two chapters when Gore writes, "The north polar cap has thinned by 2% in just the last decade," (23). Gore goes on to explain why the 600% increase in levels of atmospheric chlorine is one of the reasons why global warming and air pollution are already problematic.
The economy is the subject of Gore's tenth chapter where he brings up the power of industry and our relationship with technology. He mentions the genesis of Love Canal, which had devastating ramifications, all because industry was thinking about convenience and profit, and not about the future. These thoughts carry over into chapter eleven where Gore writes, "I wonder whether America's political paralysis might stem in part from the coexistence of two powerful but clashing media for communicating political thought" (211). Politics do end up being the ultimate problem in battling environmental problems, as Gore reveals.
The League of Conservation Voters described Al Gore as the "environmental Paul Revere," in reference to the success of Earth in the Balance (Turque 235). The book had garnered up so much well deserved attention that it was essentially the reason why Clinton chose Gore as Vice President from a list of 40 candidates.
When Gore had begun writing Earth in the Balance, he also had the desire to produce a television series based on his research. Many knew that "Gore would be an effective narrator, more educator than politician" (Maraniss 246). This series never got off the ground because Gore turned to concentrate on his position as Vice President where he helped strengthen the Safe Drinking Water Act, adopt the toughest smog standards ever, accelerate the cleanup of the worst toxic waste sites, expand Americans' right to know about environmental hazards in their communities, and preserve millions of acres of parks, monuments and wilderness" (White House). Researchers at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government examined the environmental policy record of the Clinton/Gore administration and "determined that environmental quality improved overall during the decade" (Research Matters).
As we near 2007, our environmental problems have grown worse because of a turn for the worse. Our foreign, economic, and domestic policies are no better. What we need is leadership. Al Gore warned us of the political consequences to the environment. His warnings are in writing in Earth in the Balance, if we should ever look back in regret and wonder. A must read for anyone who cares about a safe, healthy environment and a better future. A must read for every American.
An excellent example of alarmism, inappropriate interpretation and outright misrepresentation.......2006-07-11
With all the fuss being made over - An Inconvenient Truth - the movie and book by Albert Gore Jr., it is appropriate to review his 1992 book: Earth in the Balance. This review will cover two key aspects of this book: his so-called couple between carbon dioxide and temperature; and his extremism.
Gore discussed the carbon dioxide (CO2) - temperature relationship on page 94. He showed a graph of temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentration plotted versus time over a span of 160,000 years. With the exception of one point, his graph comes from chemical analysis of two mile deep ice core samples from Antarctica and Greenland, which is valid and exciting scientific data. Gore has called the data behind this chart as the most compelling evidence of a correlation between CO2 and temperature change.
Both variables exhibit a saw-tooth profile. The graph for each variable is of a similar shape, and appear to move somewhat in parallel. Based on such a chart Gore made the claim that CO2 concentration and temperature have moved in lockstep over this period. The word lockstep is far too strong for a simple visual correlation. The implication is also made that the change in CO2 concentration precedes the change in temperature, and hence is the cause for the change in temperature. However, it is impossible to tell this from such a graph. Indeed one could just as easily claim the reverse.
The behavior of these two variables represent the change in each variable due to the changes in other major variables, particularly the orbital parameters of planet Earth as it travels around the sun. Yet Gore is basing all of his conclusions on his eye-balled correlation.
Further, this data is highly compressed and displayed over a space little more than two inches in width in his book. The basic time unit is estimated at 2,500 years per point. A single tic on this graph--say 1/32nd of an inch in width--would represent 2,500 years of history. Thus a mere 1/32nd of an inch would represent the huge number of weather events over 2,500 years, averaged to a single point.
The second problem with this graph is the last point shown. This is not part of the scientific record. Rather it is one scenario projection, out of dozens of scenarios, of the future CO2 level. This step is particularly egregious as this point brings the graph height to seven inches, on a graph that would only be two inches tall otherwise. This is pure distortion and misrepresentation.
This critique is a perfect example of Gore gaining some validity by "cherry picking" valid scientific data, but simplifying it, extrapolating it and misrepresenting the situation until it literally has no meaning.
On a second subject, some of the writings by Gore are quite disturbing. Several quotes are examined.
* In the first quote he equates the dangers to the environment to the dangers of nuclear war. "Nuclear war is an apocalyptic subject, and so is global environmental destruction."
Can this be a truly sound judgement of the state of the environment after years of the EPA, after years of automobile fuel and exhaust improvements and after billions of dollars of environmental control investments in all our utility and manufacturing industries?
* The next quote broadens the doomsday view to the ecology. "Today the evidence of an ecological Kristallnacht is as clear as the sound of glass shattering in Berlin."
Again can this be viewed as a precise, sound and fair diagnosis of the ecological situation? In this quote he equates Americans' use of natural resources with Nazism. He goes on "...the environmental crisis is so serious that I believe our civilization must be considered in some basic way dysfunctional. "... In this terrible century... we have witnessed some especially malignant examples of dysfunctional civilization: the totalitarian societies of Nazi Germany under Hitler, fascist Italy under Mussolini ... in psychological terms, our rapid and aggressive expansion into what remains of the wildness of the earth represents an effort to plunder from outside civilization what we cannot find inside."
Yes, in Gore's mind, our society's embrace of what he calls consumptionism, resembles Nazi Germany society's embrace of totalitarianism.
* Next he contrasts the richness of nature to the emptiness of industrial civilization. According to Gore we live in an "inauthentic world of our own making. "Life can be easy, we assure ourselves. "We need not suffer the heat or the cold; we need not sow or reap or hunt and gather. "We can heal the sick, fly through the air, light up the darkness, and be entertained in our living room by orchestras and clowns whenever we like." Further into this quote he observes this false world was created by people to distract people from their psychic pain. He asserts that the world of leisure, air conditioning, industrial agriculture, modern medicine, and home entertainment is not good in itself. "It is but a fleeting sideshow." Finally he claims that only by somehow awakening from such in-authenticity will the cycle of psychic pain and environmental plunder be broken. It is not quite clear how Gore, who grew upo in a hotel, earned credentials to decide what is authentic in life and what is not.
Gore seems to have come up with the following modus operandi. First he will proclaim an unprecedented environmental catastrophe is at hand. Next he will indicate only a handful of ignorant and unqualified dissenters oppose this assessment. Finally he would indicate that such dissenters are preventing him from moving ahead to solve this problem.
As noted above Gore has a strange streak of extremism in his makeup. He clearly is not happy with our society. He equates environmental activists to resistance fighters. But does not this group of activists include eco-saboteurs? Clearly Gore does not limit his concern to just the environment, but declares that we are in a midst of political, informational, inner-spiritual and deep philosophical crisis. He, I believe,claims to be the sole author of his book and to have put his heart and soul into it. He seems to believe in his book and all its comparisons of our society with Nazi Germany's or to the former USSR's. All of the above quotes and comments have earned him the extremist tag.
No where has this been better exposed than in a 1995 column by Tony Snow. In this essay Snow contrasts statements by Gore to those of the Unabomber. Snow noted that the vision advocated by the Unabomber sounds much like that stated in Gore's 1992 manifesto. The difference between the Unabomber and Gore is that Gore wants to achieve this via massive government bureaucracies, while the Unabomber would achieve this through mail bombs.
Al Gore's penchant for alarmism, inappropriate interpretation and outright misrepresentation in 1992, is surely food for thought as one reads his latest book or sees his movie.
Remarkable undertaking by a blessed man.......2006-07-09
I approached this book with preset cynicism for two reasons. One, the author is a politician who was bitterly defeated by a much less qualified candidate. So, I expected a book filled with revenge and pity. It does have some, yet could be forgiven. Secondly, Al Gore's performance during his presidential recount was that of a drugged man out of touch with reality. Only after he accepted defeat, was when his spirit lit up.
Glancing through this book would erase every feeling of misgiving. The man has indeed done great work to raise global awareness about the eminent danger of environmental crisis. He spared no effort in his crusade for overcoming inaction and indifference to the environment. He started with his sister's smoking problem and got the reader's attention of how smoking had claimed the life of a beautiful and talented lady because of the public ignorance about the danger of smoking in the 1960's. There is an impressive ad from those days that reads "Most doctors smoke Camel".
In his campaign to raise environmental awareness, Al Gore relied on his personal and political assets to depict his major concerns in vivid and colorful photography. Those were taken by satellites, airplanes, nuclear submarines, and on-foot travel. No single aspect of the impact of global warming has been overlooked. It depicts the effect of global warming on mosquito habitat and disease transmission, on urban flooding, on arctic polar bears and Antarctic penguins, on skin cancer and hurricanes,etc. He did that with tables, diagrams, charts, and pre- and post effect images.
Gore's blessing with a wealthy and influential father and successful political career are brought to the benefit of mankind through this magnificent undertaking. No more, one could hold a grudge towards his presidential failure that paved the way for Bush's disastrous blunders. Mr. "Bore" might not be politically popular, but his mission on sparing the delicate balance of the Earth environment is remarkably unique. His latest imitation of how Bill Clinton talks effectively and scores brilliantly is obviously a transient state. Let Gore be Gore, may the environment be spared!
The book is designed in a boyish style like those high school projects. It contains full ads that span two pages, different font colors and forms, lacks uniformity of display, and shows unfocused, yet driven authoring, whose passion outpaces his organizational skill. His personal stories and photographs of his family and childhood present the innocence and naivety of adolescence. Those are also the traits that let him tackle such controversial and hypothetical topic that bears uncertain dates for occurring in real life, yet might strike with eminent hardship to mankind.
Mohamed F. El-Hewie
Author of
Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training
A Truly Inspired and Insightful Book.......2006-05-25
Since this book was first published in 1993, the negative effects of our human resource use/abuse, population demands, pollution and global warming have increased substantially and one can only guess what our world would be like had Al Gore become President as the popular vote wished for.
Would Gore's grasp of human caused climate change and his dedication to implementing corrective measures have helped reverse global warming? Would Gore's insight into socio-political-economic-environmental sustainability help guide humanity to a more rational relationship with our beautiful Earth home and it`s resources? Hopefully, Gore will run for President in 2008 and succeed- our nation and world desperately need wise leaders like him.
After reading this book I was left with the feeling that it would be great if all politicians were required to demonstrate at least half of Gore's eco-literacy before taking office, what a fair, just and sustainable world this would be!
In the meantime, Gore has actively been spreading the word about the deleterious effects of global warming and the need for sustainability and good stewardship in our relationship to Earth. His latest projects are the film documentary and book "An Inconvenient Truth" about global warming.
Average customer rating:
- Tim Lebbon Is Brilliant.
- I started it as a joke
- Not What I Thought It Would Be
- I couldnt finish it.
- For too long, Mankind has taken advantage of Nature...
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The Nature of Balance
Tim Lebbon
Manufacturer: Leisure Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 General
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
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The Rising
ASIN: 0843949260 |
Book Description
One morning the world does not wake up. Millions lie dead in their beds, victims of their own dreams of falling. There are survivors . . . but the world they emerge into is changing rapidly. Humanity is no longer the dominant species. Now, Nature has the upper hand.
Customer Reviews:
Tim Lebbon Is Brilliant........2007-05-21
Tim lebbon has made a fan out of me from the first book I read of his in the late 1990's, and continuing on to such a promiseing career, I know own all of his books (or the ones I could get my hands on).
With all of TIm's books, The nature of Balance brings it!
It's a vivid journey to the great unknown.
If you don't read Lebbon, you're missing out!
I started it as a joke.......2006-09-15
I read this book in 3 nights. That had never happened to me before this book, and I don't understand what these people who didn't like the book are talking about, and the only thing I can think of is "you're way too dramatic". Maybe you should quit drinking and start on some Prozac or something.
I started to read this book just to make fun of a friend of mine who had bought it at a drugstore, and I'll admit it, in the beginning the descriptions felt really dumb and campy, but the whole thing grew on me right after the first body explosion, how jacked up would it be to explode just because you fell asleep?, and by the time I was done with it I wanted to do a comic book on it. I think the reason why some of the characters get where they do is due to the fact that they don't care so much for what's happening. My jerky and dorky critic fellows, if you care too much about the distress of things around you you will be most definitely dead in no time. Besides, have you ever stayed up for longer than 48 hours? You won't care about sh8t by the time you get to the 28th hour.
Now, literature is the most personal of all art forms, because they bring up to the surface everything that is hidden inside our mind in a way that only we can understand. So saying that a book is bad is just as bad as a "bad" book. Just keep your "bad" opinions to yourselves and tell others what is good about what you read. Not everyone is as smart and intellectual as you.
Not What I Thought It Would Be.......2005-07-04
This novel was just bad. I gave up about 150 pages in. And I don't usually do that. The characters were horribly fake, doing things that no real person would ever do. A lot of "oh my God, look at all these dead people, I think I'll go for a walk." and "Wow, weird stuff is happening, time to go have a chat with this girl." The dialogue was stale and fake. The plotline sounded so interesting, but it was a horrible let down. Could've been so much more. Not recommended.
I couldnt finish it........2005-04-06
I thought I was really going to enjoy this book, but I put it down after 150 pages. I thought the premise of the story was really interesting, but I hated the characters. They were to wooden, and I didnt care what happened to them.
I also have to say I didnt like the writing style either.
I will give other books by Mr Lebbon a try, but I cannot recommend The Nature of Balance.
For too long, Mankind has taken advantage of Nature..........2004-08-08
Now, Nature is about to strike back.
It happens in the form of horrible nightmares--hiddeous "falling" dreams, which kill off most of humanity in a single night. Those who survived where either asleep, managed to wake themselves up in time, or landed on a snowbank.
But the survivors now find themselves stranded in a new, dangerous world. Blane, a man always in tune with Nature, feels he holds a secret to what happened...Holly, a hard and rugged woman, is determined to survive...Paul, a Nature lover all his life, finds himself bewildered by the sudden change of plans...Peer, a young woman with an inner strength, knows that she too has a large role in this new future...Mary, once a victim, now rises up to power through violence...and Fay, a striking woman with a hideous secret, is the very imbodiment of evil itself...
Tim Lebbon has woven an incredible thriller. Eccentric and macabre, yes, but it is still a great horror/sci-fi thriller. "The Nature of Balance" is a fun, thrilling read about humanity's mistreatment of Nature, and what would happen if Nature tired of it...
Average customer rating:
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Axial Stones: An Art of Precarious Balance
George Quasha
Manufacturer: North Atlantic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Sculpture
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Artists, A-Z
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1556435754
Release Date: 2006-07-24 |
Book Description
George Quasha’s extraordinary sculptures unite natural stones in a state of breathtakingly improbable balance. The stones are not altered physically or bonded in any way; rather, Quasha discovers an unknown axis that brings them into radical alignment. The stones "learn" this state of levity in contrast to their ordinary state of gravity, resulting in a new art form that feels alive with its own individual energy and personality. Here, 37 axial stones are displayed in dazzling full-page color photos. The accompanying text explains not only how the stones were found and eventually came together, but explores the aesthetic, philosophical, spiritual, and practical implications of an art of danger and impermanence. "Action pages" document the process—the repeated setting up, balancing, losing balance, and falling—until the full axial stone is born: a whole being greater and more real than the sum of its parts.
Book Description
"There is no need to settle for an ordinary life when and extraordinary life lies within. I know this because I have had both," says Maureen Moss, author, life coach, and seminar leader.
In The Nature of Bliss, Moss takes us on the journey to the extraordinary -- back to our true natures, to bliss. This magical journey effects profound healing on both a personal and global level.
The Nature of Bliss shows us how to harmonize the five elements of bliss -- balance, love, integrity, sexuality, and soul. Personal accounts of transformation and a series of Inner Explorations throughout the book aid in this process.
From The Nature of Bliss
- BALANCE is achieved when you walk in the light of a truth that is far past what the mind presently knows.
- "Am I loved and do I love well?" In each moment that you touch your own heart, you will come to know more about LOVE.
- Great freedom and a deep connection to the Universal Pulse emerge when you live your life with INTEGRITY
- Understanding the Divinity of your SEXUALITY and the pure power of your sacred sexual energy opens your heart and allows you to come ever closer to the heart of God.
- There is a price and a prize in heeding the message of the SOUL. The price: your life as you have known it will never be the same. The prize: your life as you have known it will never be the same.
Customer Reviews:
Superbly written & spiritually enriching.......2002-08-04
Bliss stands for "Balance, Love, Integrity, Sexuality, Soul". In The Nature Of Bliss, a self-help book by business woman, community activist, and motivational speaker Maureen Moss that deftly takes the reader on a metaphysical journey to their own personal harmony. A superbly written, spiritually enriching, "reader friendly" volume, The Nature Of Bliss is enthusiastically recommended reading for readers of all faiths who are searching for their own inner self realization.
Life Changing Views on Living a Fuller Life.......2002-07-03
Maureen describes the wonderful balance on the "seesaw of life" that can be achieved through the blending of love, integrity, sexuality, and soul. Her examples from her own life experiences help to connect the content of this book to the real business of living life to the fullest. The "Inner Exploration" exercises throughout the book help to anchor the principles of this message by providing a road map for coming back to your own authentic nature of bliss. A wonderful text that could be augmented with a workbook to coordinate the learning described throughout the book. Maureen has been guided to share her awareness that love is a spiritual act that commits us to a way of behaving in everyday life that recognizes the interconnectedness of us all. A wonderful guide for living a balanced life of integrity and love.
Book Description
"Consume and compete!" The message of the economic treadmill is loud and constant. But in this seminal work, David Suzuki argues that the real bottom line, and society's challenge today, is not debts and deficits, but the need to live full and meaningful lives without destroying the Earth's biosphere, which supports all life.
Suzuki explores the physical, social, and spiritual needs that form the basis of any society that aspires to a sustainable future and a high quality life for its citizens.
Those fundamental requirements are rooted in the Earth and its life support systems. They are worthy of reverence and respect; they are sacred.
Customer Reviews:
an eye-opener.......2005-04-26
It is hard to say whether all Suzuki's facts are absolutely valid or not, especially when his discussion turns to what the Earth's true carrying capacity for humans is - but that is slightly beside the point here. The most important part of environmentalism is to wake people up and make them realize the effects that their everyday actions have on the world around them. Suzuki does this by explaining 1) how everything in this world is connected, 2) pollution of one area will invariably affect another area, and 3) we really do not understand all the elements needed for the proper functioning of the environment. This should make any person reflect on their own actions. The world's environmental problems (which in turn are deeply connected to human problems) will not be solved by governments' imposing regulations and all this Kyoto b.s. (not that Kyoto is bad... it's just a very small step and it is disgusting to see that both USA and Canada are stalling), change will only come when each individual makes sure their OWN actions do not make the situation worse. Buy organic when you can afford it, reduce or cut out meat entirely from your diet (I think 80% of farmland is used to keep livestock alive), buy local products, recycle, compost, reduce energy consumption. This isn't hippy crap - hippies never had that much self-restraint - this is about being a responsible person so that your grandchildren will be able to go outside and play without gas masks. Suzuki's book was what opened my eyes when I was 17... and it should do the same for most reasonable people.
Excellent, enlightening and a "should read".......2005-03-25
This is an excellent and enlightening work about the general state of the planet, humanity as a species, where we belong on the planet and what it means to us in terms of sustaining us as a species for the long run. Well-written and divided into chapters which could be summarized as humanity, air, earth, water, fire, community, love, spirituality and balance, this book paints an accurate state of the world picture with facts as well as metaphors. It always presents its concern about the greater picture without losing sight of the details. A great balance of general science and spirituality, with just enough facts and personal stories of many to make the points convincing, this book also is threaded with impacting and eye-opening quotes and poetry from a variety of sources and people. A superb book, overall, from someone who has seen a lot of what he wrote about. This book should be on the curriculum for senior year high school so that the future generations can get a good grasp of the world as they become contributing adults in that world which they will own and determine, more impacting than ever, for future generations. No matter how much or how little they will get from it, every bit helps at a time when that is truer than ever in the past from every one of us living today. Don't get me wrong, though, it's not the book that's profound. It's what you do with what you learn from it which will be.
for a sacred balance..........2004-12-14
While Mr Suzuki is an interesting educator, and hopefully a concerned citizen, I do question some of his facts. If everyone here wants a true sacred balance, read from both sides of the fence...pickup eco-imperialism by paul driessen, and the skeptical enironmentalist by bjorn lomberg. I'm not saying to take their stuff as gospel, but at least read them.They are eye openers... and both are extremely referenced and researched.One of them is endorsed by the the actual founder of Greenpeace, and the other is written by a former greenpeace member.
Seamless, just like its subject.......2004-10-02
John Muir wrote something like "if you try to isolate one thing in nature, you find that it's connected to everything else." (Sorry for the paraphrase, but I can't find the original quotation.) Suzuki's book puts us back in the natural scheme of things (where we belong) and finds the inevitable threads to physical health, mental health, spiritual wellbeing, and, by inference, a public policy agenda. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
Sane Science.......2004-10-01
Humanity is creating problems of a size and magnitude unprecedented in Earth history. We are razing the forests, causing mass extinctions, and have befouled earth, sky and water with with deadly toxins. While clinging to faith in science and progress, deserts quietly creep in on our venerated civilization. Within the human economy (community sounds too hospitable) as well, we see signs of collapse: some "800 million people go to bed hungry every night; and in wealthy industrialized nations, chronic unemployment, violence, social alienation, drug abuse, crime, unhappiness and the disparity between rich and poor appear to be rising. The sense that something is wrong is pervasive... People seem to feel helpless and pessimistic about the future." All of this, it must be added, in an era that many historians and pundits tout for "unprecedented scientific and technological progress." Suzuki believes that, although abundant with information and technique, we lack a working worldview and have utterly disconnected ourselves from the living planet. "What we need," he says, "is a new kind of science that approaches the traditional knowledge of indigenous communities." What we need is a new story, sense of place, deep connection and meaning - and that's exactly what this book provides. Suzuki's life-affirming narrative explains who we are, where we came from, and our proper place is in this complex, interdependent world. A beautiful blend of ancient wisdom and modern scientific thought, The Sacred Balance provides nothing less than the complete picture.
A MUST READ
j.w.k.
Book Description
The Howell Equestrian Library is a distinguished collection of books on all aspects of horsemanship and horsemastership. The nearly fifty books in print offer readers in all disciplines and at all levels of competition sound instruction and guidance by some of the most celebrated riders, trainers, judges and veterinarians in the horse world today. Whether your interest is dressage, show jumping or Western riding, or whether it's breeding, grooming or health care, Howell has a book to answer your needs. Get to know all the books in the Howell Equestrian Library: many are modern-day classics and have achieved the status of authoritative references in the estimation of those who ride, train and care for horses.
The Howell Equestrian Library
Customer Reviews:
Horse Gaits, Balance and Movement.......2007-09-14
This book is very complete with information and diagrams for all parts of the horse and how they move. Well written and a great resource to refer back to. Lots of detail on muscle groups and what they do. If you are interested in bio-mechanics, this works! I do lots of ground work with dressage horses and rehab for injured and arthritic horses. This resource is particularly helpful for me.
Informative and easy read.......2007-04-18
I would recommend this book to anyone looking to fully understand the basic gaits, movement and conformation of the horse. There is information on the natural gaits of the horse and how a rider can enhance or hinder the horse's movement and balance. The format will assist both novices and advanced equestrians. It is written in easy-to-understand language. The information is also very accessible simply by browsing through the illustrations. This book would be a great addition to any horse enthusiast's library.
A must for every horse lover!.......1999-05-06
Yes, Ms. Harris did the sketches. Her sketches really capture the movement of the horse and enables you to breakdown the gaits and jumping actions to see what is really happening. Utterly fascinating!
A must buy for the serious horseman.......1999-03-18
An excellent presentation of the elements of balance in the horse's movement at various gaits. The illustrations (Did Ms Harris do them?) are grand and support the text very well. It is an excellent resource.
Books:
- Dead of Night
- Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can't Stand Up to the Facts
- Design for Ecological Democracy
- Duck for President (New York Times Best Illustrated Books (Awards))
- Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit
- Encyclopedia of Stress, Four-Volume Set, Volume 1-4, Second Edition
- Environment and Humanity. (DANTES series # 72) (Dantes Subject Standardized Tests)
- Environmental Geography: Science, Land Use, and Earth Systems, 3rd Edition
- Everglades
- Flying South: A Pilot's Inner Journey
Books Index
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