Book Description
The World Café process has been used by tens of thousands of people around the world to tackle real-life issues. Based on seven key principles, it begins with small, intimate conversations at café -style tables; these gatherings then link and build on each other as people move between groups and cross-pollinate ideas. In this way, Café learning enables even very large groups to think together creatively in a single, connected conversation. This complete resource explains the Café concept and provides readers with the tools they need to get started. Each chapter opens with stories from business, education, government, and community organizations, each a dramatic example of how leaders are using this process in the real world. Such stories underline the Café 's immediate, practical implications for meeting and conference design, strategy formation, knowledge creation, and large-scale systems change. The book includes a foreword by best-selling author Margaret J. Wheatley, an afterword by author Peter Senge, and real-world stories of the Café process in action at Hewlett-Packard, the nation of Singapore, and the University of Texas.
Customer Reviews:
World Cafe: An Introduction.......2007-05-11
This book gives a nice overview of World Cafe's. Good introductory text. This is really a book about setting the stage for good conversations that are meaningful and productive.
World Cafe: Makes Complex Conversations Easy.......2007-04-10
Full of clear and sensible information about how to manage complex conversations and consultations with large and diverse groups. A pleasantly 'unacademic' approach to achieving good results.
An excellent description of World Cafe.......2007-01-10
World Cafe is a technique or process for having large group discussions which are emerging and not too controlled. It's based on the fact that if you create the right environment that useful discussion withh be created. What is this envronment like? It's like being in a nice cafe, small round tables, candle light and people who are pasionately about their subject. How do you create an environment in which that can happen, that's what The World Cafe is all about.
World cafe is based on 7 principles and the book is structured according to these seven principles. The seven principles are "set the context", "create hospitable space", "explore questions that matter", "encourage everone's contribution", "cross-pollinate and connect diverse perspectives", "listen together for patterns, insights and deeper questions", "harvest and share collective discoveries".
Each chapter explains one principle and then is followed by one or a couple real-life stories which relate to the principle.
The book is well written, though I found the format somewhat confusing and could have used a little move overview structure in the beginning. I've loved the "creation stories" and some of the real-life examples. However, some of the real-life examples were boring to read. The structure and some of the real-life stories make me rate this book 4 stars and not 5 starts.
I love world cafe and the ideas behind it. I've personally used the world cafe with good results. However, depending on your situation, similar techniques like Open Space Technology might be better. Knowing about world cafe, joining them and facilitating them have been fun and this book has helped me in having a better understanding of and about them.
Cafe work is the most exciting work that I have done.......2006-10-21
For those of us whose practice is founded on conversation, learning and using World Cafe processes is so exciting. Participating in a cafe is just as powerful. Cafe work has the potential to bridge the gap between people who just do not understand each other. It has the potential to heal, create learning, creative change, and change the world. This book not only walks the reader through cafe work, it provides examples that bring the work to life. Cafe work is life changing and I highly recommend that even if you have never tried cafe work, go to the web site [...] and review how to use cafes and then yes, buy and read the book.
Excellent book.......2006-03-07
This book amazed me with its thorough and readable approach to a process that is at once simple and profound. Read this and you will learn how the cafe process has worked worldwide to bring people together for meaningful conversation. People who host cafes in the style explained in the book are able to create an atmosphere in which everyone can feel heard, can deeply listen to others and then halp weave the ideas together. I plan to use it for my workplace as well with community groups.
I also send copies to several friends who are facilitators in the corporate world.
Book Description
"Top-ranked annual books on sustainable development."—GlobeScan survey of sustainability experts
In State of the World 2007, the Worldwatch Institute's award-winning research team focuses on the urbanization of our planet to provide policymakers, strategic planners, researchers, students, and concerned citizens with comprehensive analysis of the global environmental problems we face, together with descriptions of practical, innovative solutions. This report will show what is needed to foster sustainable cities on a planet where urban areas are home to half the human population and a far larger share of natural resource use.
Written in clear and concise language, with easy-to-read charts and tables, State of the World 2007 presents a view of our changing world that we, and our leaders, cannot afford to ignore.
Customer Reviews:
The truth can be convenient.......2007-02-08
Especially when the issues are surveyed in Worldwatch's annual review.
A comprehensive and constructive look at the global urban environment.......2007-02-07
This year's "State of the World" by Worldwatch Institute focuses on the global urban environment: water and sanitation, transportation, agriculture and farming, energy, natural hazard risks, pulic health, economics, and environmental justice. Each chapter lays out trends and statistics demonstrating some of the hazards the world might be facing with the current trends towards urbanization.
However, the book has a largely positive and constructive tone, with extensive use of examples and case studies of locales using innovative methods for protecting the environment and even attempting to reducing pollutants that might be global in their impacts. Case studies span the world - from Los Angeles to Timbuktu. The "city" provides a structure for problem-solving.
The book overall is comprehensive, with excellent writing and editing - some chapters are replete with data while others are written in a sweeping "big picture" context with long-term recommendations for future directions. This is a great resource for researchers, policy-makers, students, and anyone interested in understanding the risks and opportunities for the urban landscape.
Average customer rating:
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ASIN: 019282080X |
Book Description
Most of today's decision makers will be dead before the planet suffers the full consequences of acid rain, global warning, ozone depletion, widespread desertification, and species loss. Most of today's young voters, however, will be alive. In this, perhaps the most important document of the decade on the future of the world, the urgency of changing certain policy decisions, some of which threaten the very survival of the human race, is made abundantly clear. The World Commission on Environment and Development, headed by Gro Harlem Brundtland, Prime Minister of Norway, was set up as an independent body in 1983 by the United Nations. Its brief was to re-examine the critical environment, to develop proposals to solve them, and to ensure that human progress will be sustained through development without bankrupting the resources of future generations. In Our Common Future, the Commission serves notice that the time has come for a marriage of economy and ecology, so that governments and their people can take responsibility not just for environmental damage, but for the policies that cause the damage. It is not too late to change these policies; but, it warns, we must act now.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting, but . . ........1997-12-13
While the topic of this text, sustainable development, is interesting, the text is not. The first chapter provides most of what is necessary to understand the commission's findings. The 300+ pages which follow are filled with too many examples, which disrupts the flow of the book.
Amazon.com
Paying his own way, Mark Hertsgaard set out on a world tour in 1991 wondering what people thought of environmental problems. Earth Odyssey is his result, a sweeping and provocative work of travel and serious reporting that covers 19 countries and reveals, with often stark reality and vision, the legacy and prospects for our global environment.
Hertsgaard focuses on and reveals much of his story through the people who guide him and whom he meets along the way. After touring a state-owned paper factory in Chongqing, China, and seeing billowing clouds of chlorine and foaming rivers, Hertsgaard hears his guide and interpreter Zhenbing mourning for his country. In Sudan, Hertsgaard visits areas of extreme famine and poverty, where "the environment is no abstraction" to the people who live there. Through interviews with Vaclav Havel, Jacques Cousteau, and Al Gore, as well as research and philosophy about the roles of industry and technology, the global environmental picture is etched skillfully chapter by chapter. When at Africa's Lake Turkana, Hertsgaard delineates in clarity and detail the evolution of our species and the history of technology to build perspective on our current lifestyles, values, and environmental problems.
Earth Odyssey is not only a good book, but an important one--even essential--grasping the true human predicament as we face a worldwide environmental breakdown.--Byron Ricks
Book Description
Like many of us, Mark Hertsgaard has long worried about the declining health of our environment. But in 1991, he decided to act on his own concern and investigate the escalating crisis for himself. Traveling on his own dime, he embarked on an odyssey lasting most of the decade and spanning nineteen countries. Now, in
Earth Odyssey he reports on our environmental predicament through the eyes of the people who live it.
Earth Odyssey is a vivid, passionate narrative about one man's journey around the world in search of the answer to the essential question of our time: Is the future of the human species at risk? Combining first-rate reportage with irresistible storytelling, Mark Hertsgaard has written an essential--and ultimately hopeful--book about the uncertain fate of humankind.
Customer Reviews:
A good balance between environmental statistics and personal narrative.......2005-10-07
This book does a great job in bringing down to human scale otherwise abstract concepts like global warming, overpopulation and resource management. Anyone who enjoys reading travel stories and learning about the impact our current state of development may have in future generations will enjoy reading Earth Odyssey.
sobering thoughtful book about our planet.......2005-07-28
Excellent review of factors which influence our environmental survival. Very easy to read. Hertsgaard puts a human face on many of these issues by including stories of people he meets on his journey. Good index.
Shows that environmental stories are human stories.......2005-03-21
Journalist Mark Hertsgaard sets out on his own to circumnavigate the globe, recording a broad array of environmental woes along the way.
As much as this book focuses on the environmental problems we face, the writing returns again and again to the people that Hertsgaard meets along the way. His characterization of the individuals that he meets are presented in a narrative style that really brings those people to life. We can understand, after reading the book, why the Chinese government has such an abominable record, and the Chinese people make a compelling argument that environmental concerns must come second to financial concerns. The fact that we can see this is a "long walk off a short pier" doesn't change the fact that China is caught between a rock and a hard place.
Hertsgaard presents many human stories that are, in their way, more interesting than the environmental problems he explores. His on-the-ground visit to a polluted river, for example, is almost exactly what I would expect. The river is dirty, the water ugly. But the interpreter who accompanies him on part of his visit to China provides far more surprising, and interesting, reading.
Hertsgaard also ends on a ray of hope, presenting some of the solutions that have yet to gain widespread acceptance, but which demonstrate that a sustainable future is available, should individuals and governments muster the willpower to implement it.
Overall, I was impressed with the writing and the attention to detail that Hertsgaard displays. I'm not sure if every trip that he made paid off, in terms of providing insight via a ground-level look at some of these issues, but overall, he has given us all something to think about.
An Environmental-Issue Must-Have.......2005-01-07
This is a heart-wrenching and eye-opening tale of our earth's health, yet the book maintains throughout a sense of hope in humanity's abilities. I believe that all priviledged developed-world citizens should read this to understand how the "other half" of the world's inhabitants are forced to live. Hertsgaard created here a smooth and flawless read that never becomes tedious.
Our environmental crisis.......2003-11-16
Investigative reporter Mark Hertsgaard spent six years traveling around the world, gathering material for this book. This is not strictly a scientific treatise (although he conducted extensive research into his topics). Rather, he reports through the eyes of the people who live in the environmentally damaged places he visited. The theme of the book is how technology has both benefitted and harmed the planet and its inhabitants, and how greed continues to threaten our existence. His accounts of wanton destruction of nature in the 19th century make the reader gasp with dismay over the short-sightedness of our predecessors: the damming of a mighty river and its magnificent waterfall; the murder of the largest, oldest sequoia on earth. (Two of the examples which brought me to tears.) The horror is: the destruction, the contamination, and waste are still happening. And not only at the hands of totalitarian regimes or ignorant third-world peasants, but due to the callousness of greedy American corporations and government lobbies. The conclusions of Chapter Three, "The Irrisistable Automobile", will come as no surprise to most American readers, although the images of the perpetually gridlocked traffic-jams of fume-choked Asian cities astonished even this rider of Southern California freeways. Statistics of the predicted explosion in automobile sales world wide are especially ominous. This book was published in 1999 and exposes the hypocrisy of the Clinton administration in paying lip service to environmental issues while simultaneously caving to the demands of the powerful fossil fuel lobby. If Chapter Three is gloomy, Chapter Four, "To the Nuclear Lighthouse", is utterly terrifying. The account of Hertsgaard's visits to the most blighted areas of the former USSR is preceeded by a dismal, just recently uncensored history of the Soviets' worst nuclear disasters. While everyone knows about Chernobyl, few people knew about the radiating of the Siberian region of Chelyabinsk. Few, that is, other than the hapless residents who've been suffering its effects for years. With the aid of his translator, Russian author and photographer Vlad Tamarov, Hertsgaard conducted a relentless expose' of the deliberate coverups of "incidents" at nuke plants and shipping lanes, which irreversibly poisoned crops, fisheries, and even the water table. Even more worrisome than the damage already done are Hertsgaard's reports of poorly inventoried and practically unguarded nuclear stockpiles in volatile republics such as Kazakhstan. The American reader who attributes Soviet environmental crimes to Communist cruelty is in for an ugly shock -- Hertsgaard then documents identical coverups by our own government, of similar "incidents" on our own soil! From Russia, the author journeyed to China and Africa to report on overpopulation and its adverse effects on nature, health, and standards of living. The bleak narrative ends on a hopeful note: "Sustainable Development and the Triumph of Capitalism". Since the publication of "Earth Odyssey", the Bush administration has all but declared war on the environment, so even that fleeting hope now appears elusive.
Book Description
All Americans must read this book in order to truly understand the reasons why radical Muslims like Osama bin Laden and his followers have declared war on America and the West. Furthermore, only this book accurately describes the severity of the threat they will continue to pose, with or without bin Laden’s leadership, to our national security.
To win the war against terrorism, the author argues that we must first stop dismissing militant Muslims as “extremists†or “religious fanatics.†Formulating a successful military strategy requires that we must see the enemy as they perceive themselves—highly trained and motivated soldiers who fervently believe their cause is righteous. The author describes how militants throughout the Islamic world are enraged by what they believe is Western aggression against their people, religion, and culture. Though bin Laden declared war on America years ago—not once but twice—the author argues that American complacence in the face of such violent threats stems from the increasing secularization and moral relativism of American society and culture. Even if bin Laden is brought to justice, the author warns, the dangers posed by radical Islamic militants will not disappear, and we must be prepared for a protracted war against terrorism. This important book will make a major impact on how America thinks about its enemy and itself.
Customer Reviews:
Something to keep in mind.......2007-02-13
A professor of mine was once discussing the economic motivation for terrorism in a course designed to look at social ills around the world through the lens of economics. He abruptly stopped, half-way through the middle of a sentence, solemnly looked above his reading glasses at the students in the class, and said one of the most interesting things I remember from the class. "I am an academic," he said. "When speaking of these events, I am not making a moral judgment on them. I am simply looking at them through the lens of an individual trying to understand something for the sake of dealing with it. That does not mean that I condone or am complicit in the action, but it does note my character. I am trying to understand it, and that is something very different from simply labeling it."
Often, when I see that people are attacked for books that delve into such topics, it is usually an ad hominem attack meant to discredit them as unpatriotic or complicit with the enemy. Whatever their reasons, the attackers forget that to conquer your enemy, you must understand him. Only then can you fully realize the most effective tactics in dealing with him. Maybe the rest of us can learn a little bit by people like Michael Scheuer.
How radical Islam operates.......2006-04-23
Any studying Islamic terrorism and the current war must understand Bin Laden, his movement, and how radical Islam operates. There's no better place to do this than with the latest revised edition THROUGH OUR ENEMIES' EYES: OSAMA BIN LADEN, RADICAL ISLAM AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICA. Here is a treatment which analyzes his ideology, its translation to terrorist activities, and its potential for future conflict. Chapters provide a strong focus on Bin Laden's character traits, various exiles, impact on other nations, and instigation of jihad. A 'must' for any who would understand the roots of Bin Laden's organization and ideas.
Just a comment on a review.......2006-04-20
One review here states:
"The one peeve I have with the author, as with so most of the pseudo-journalists today, is that he consistantly referred to the Muslim god "Allah" as "God." Indeed, most of the time you read or hear an English translation of an Arabic source, "Allah" is usually rendered "God." It has to be pointed out that "Allah" is not the same person as "God." All that has to be pointed out to prove that point is that Allah has no son named Jesus Christ, though I could go on and on about the distinctions. Christians and Muslims do NOT worship the same Being."
Actually, Muslims DO believe they worship the same god as that revered by those they call the 'people of the book' - just that Mohammad's revelations were the last and final word on matters (superceding all others).
The Muslim call to prayer begins "la allah illa Allah", which means EXACTLY, "There is no god but God". I hear it five times a day from a hundred mosques in this city.
Frightening Assessment.......2006-03-18
I titled this review "Frightening Assessment" because if the author is correct, which I tend to agree he is, the war on terror is going to last a lot longer than any of us have imagined, or else end in quick defeat when the liberals completely sell us out to the enemy.
The author makes the point that Osama Bin Laden, while being a charasmatic leader, is not the real problem. The problem is that we, like it or not, are fighting an ideology that presents itself as a religion, and ideology/religion is absolutely devoted to the destruction of Western society. The problem is like the mythical Hydra: cut off one head and two more will spring into its place. In other words, this war will continue long after Bin Laden is roasting in Hell.
With that said, what will ultimately defeat us is not the enemy directly, but our lack of understanding of who the enemy actually is and why they hate us. Until we recognize that we will be severely, possibly fatally, handicapped.
The one peeve I have with the author, as with so most of the pseudo-journalists today, is that he consistantly referred to the Muslim god "Allah" as "God." Indeed, most of the time you read or hear an English translation of an Arabic source, "Allah" is usually rendered "God." It has to be pointed out that "Allah" is not the same person as "God." All that has to be pointed out to prove that point is that Allah has no son named Jesus Christ, though I could go on and on about the distinctions. Christians and Muslims do NOT worship the same Being.
Why do I make that point? That very issue is at the heart of the misunderstanding that this same author so aptly discusses.
Bin Laden's sycophantic "critic".......2006-03-14
As this book is re-released, readers should be well aware that Michael Scheuer is the perfect example of the miserable state of American intelligence services - thankfully, he no longer provides analysis for the CIA, now it's the general public that gets to read his "intelligence". A great example of his extraordinary incompetence was provided on March 12, 2006 when he suggested to Ian Masters on KPFK, Los Angeles, that the attack on Samarra's Golden Mosque was more likely carried out by the Israeli military than by al-Qaida. From this text, as with his most recent pronouncements, it is indeed difficult not to conclude that Scheuer is absolutely besotted with bin Laden.
Book Description
What do a drought in New York and an earthquake in Seattle have to do with a "nanotube" a few billionths of a meter long at the University of Tokyo?
Our Molecular Future reveals a striking new possibility: We are on the verge of being able to protect ourselves from nature's worst attacks. Tools such as carbon nanotubes may help us cope in ways that until now have been described as science fiction.
If we succeed, we might solve a troubling question about scientific research: Why risk it? Why risk powerful new technologies that may destroy us?
With compelling evidence, Douglas Mulhall shows that the answers to such questions may be found by focusing on what the environment does to us, rather than only what we do to the environment.
His book shows where our technologies might be heading, what may stop us from getting there, and how to use the benefits to minimize the downsides.
The good news is that we may enter a future that's so fantastic, it's unbelievable.
The bad news is that many of us don't believe it, and so we may not be ready to cope.
By revealing the threads that tie our fate to new technologies, this book helps us get ready.
First, we have to ask the right questions. Mulhall emphasizes that this book defines those questions, rather than pretending to have quick or detailed answers.
Here are examples:
Molecular technologies aren't just confined to a few university think tanks. Nor are they confined to an elite among the superpowers, big business, or government. Their roots are embedded in the fabric of our industries, research institutes, and military. They are found in wealthy and poor nations alike. The foundations for these technologies are so pervasive that it's hard to describe them without starting an encyclopedia.
Our Molecular Future condenses this knowledge and gives us broad overviews of who's doing what, where. By so doing, the book shows us why these technologies pose such deep challenges to conventional thinking about business and environment.
Yet, how vulnerable is this technological juggernaut to being thrown backward or blasted down the wrong path by nature's violent attacks?
In ninety seconds, the Great Kanto Earthquake annihilated Japan's centralized economy in 1923. It was so severe that the country was in no shape to weather the Great Depression. Such instability helped open the door for a military government. After the military took over, war in Southeast Asia—and then the Pacific—broke out.
Might this recur today? What about similar such risks in America? What if the largest earthquake in America's history was to hit again? Surprisingly, it didn't occur in San Francisco, or on the quake-prone West Coast. Our Molecular Future reveals the location and the implications.
Property loss is increasing worldwide, due to unrestricted development in risky hurricane and earthquake zones. Perversely, this can actually improve economic conditions for some sectors in the short term, by fueling construction booms after disasters. Such short-term rebounds are often generated by insurance settlements.
Yet underneath, a cancer grows. This foundation for economic stability—insurance—is collapsing. Our Molecular Future reveals the depth of the situation.
To inoculate ourselves against nature's occasional tantrums, and avoid collapse of the insurance industry, we may have to construct powerful molecular defenses. Yet, these defenses themselves may threaten our existence, due to their potential for abuse. Some say that the risks outweigh the potential gains.
So, if it's such a risk, why go there?
Evidence suggests there may be no alternative. Our Molecular Future explains why.
By tracing disruptions of the past and advances of the present through to technologies of the future, it becomes more than a book: it's a whole new field of study; a multifaceted approach to our past, our present, and our potential futures.
Because of this, the book appeals to a wide range of readers.
Read it if you are...
...striving to understand the molecular world that we may soon live in
...wondering about your job prospects or health care in an age of disruptive technologies
...looking for ways to cope with climate extremes or natural disasters
The book also has special relevance if you're one of these individuals:
A business or economics student: Here are ideas about what startups might flourish in a molecular economy. "Genetic computing" may make most manufacturing processes and patents obsolete. Moreover, new industries might emerge from our capacities to cope with natural hazards.
A lecturer or student in environment, natural science, and ethics. The book is a valuable supplement to course materials:
--For environment, it identifies challenges to the Precautionary Principle and the doctrine of sustainable development.
--For natural science, it summarizes new discoveries about naturally occurring climate changes and ecological disruptions that are changing our views about the stability of the natural world. --For scientific ethics, it gives an overview of the ethical questions associated with development of powerful new tools.
An executive positioning your company for the approaching molecular era. Here is information about startups that might flourish in a molecular economy.
An insurer or corporate manager who plans disaster recovery strategies. This summarizes natural risks and technologies that may alter the way that businesses prepare for them. A health care provider. Research into nanobacteria and robotic surgery may alter the way we treat disease. A scientist confronted by environmental opposition to your technologies: Here's one way out of the impasse between the life sciences and environmentalists. An environmentalist who forecasts how technology might alter the ecology: Molecular technologies and natural changes may upend the Precautionary Principle and the doctrine of sustainable development.
The book also has an extensive index and endnotes, with links to authoritative Web sites.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book about Nanotechnology........2005-06-07
I have just finished reading this book, and i must say wow! This is a amazing read from start to end. The book goes over what Nanotechnology is now, and what possiblities are there in the future. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading about Nanotechnology.
Get up to speed on nanotechnology and your future.......2005-03-27
If there is a better book that can get one up to speed on the ramifications of nanotechnology, then I'd like to know about it.
The media does a poor job on covering nanotechnology. Forget the media; read this book instead.
The author was on the Art Bell show recently. Three hours was not enough time to do this book and subject justice.
Art Bell fans will love this book. It covers many of the catastrophe scenarios that Art and George Noory talk about.
Art and George spend little time talking about nanotechnology. Again, read this book and you'll enjoy their next show on nanotechnology even more.
If you believe this book, then nanotechnology will change your life like nothing that has ever come before.
It's like reading a science fiction novel, only minus the fiction.
Lets use these technologies to save our future.......2003-04-15
If I had to sum up the main theme of this work, I would say it's about preservation of the human species. A large portion of this work is devoted to how humans (or our progeny) can avoid extinction by natural and man-made disaster. All other discussions seem to lead to this point in one form or another. The author believes that the underlying technologies in the title can and perhaps will provide for our salvation if we play our cards right.
The author has done his research and has a large source of information to draw from. This book gives the reader a good overview of real scientific advancements as well as other insights from prominent leaders and theorists in these fields. There are ample notes and anecdotes to give the reader the option to pursue more detailed information on the topics.
A few parts of the book drag due to some repetitiveness and some of the discussions don't appear to have a firm scientific base and don't seem too plausible, especially if you have decent scientific knowledge in the particular subject. If you are a scientist or engineer with some expertise in the fields you may find that some theories lack a firm foundation. However one theme that comes with the author's optimism is that throughout history, even the most prominent experts have been proven wrong through natural progressions and even breakthroughs!
This work is not incredibly deep or profound though quite entertaining and at times it appears to feel more like a novel than a documentary of the future. It is suitable for readers of all walks of life.
The 21st century will not frighten the horses........2002-09-03
For optimists and those who find life in the 21st century a complete source of exhiliration, and for those who are indulging themselves in the dizzying pace of technological advancement, this book is sheer delight. Speculative in some points, and gaurded in others, the author has written a book that takes the reader through a future that is not far distant, and a future that is now. Genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, nanoscale computing, and robotics are here, right now, and advances in these areas show every sign of being explosive.
The author asks us to imagine a conversation between a farmer in the year 1899 and a person who rolls up in an early automobile. The driver tells the farmer what is ahead in the next decades, such as playing golf on the moon, his children being able to drive themselves faster than a locomotive, his cows milked using machines, etc. The author then replays the same conversation but with a farmer of the year 2001, he automobile is replaced by a flying car: golf will be played on Mars, and egg hatcheries will be designed by computers that do a better job then humans, agriculture will be replaced by food synthesizers, etc. With these hypothetical conversations, the author asks us to take stock in our skepticism that the future he outlines in the book it too far-fetched.
He is certainly correct in his reasoning. There are too many instances of "famous last words" when it comes to the future of a particular technological development. If one takes cognizance of the many developments that are now occuring simultaneously, it would be hard to tell exactly which ones are going to prevail. For example, when it comes to the enhancement of human capabilities, I see a competition between genetic engineering and artificial intelligence arising in the future. Both are strategies to improve human mental and physical capabilities, but are essentially different ways of course to meet these ends. The marketplace, and not government, will hopefully determine the outcome of this competition, but it, may disappear entirely if new methodologies, up to this time unknown, dilute the efficacy of these approaches.
In addition, human factors engineering, which is not really emphasized in the book, may determine the outcome of particular technologies. Voice recognition and command in computers for example, may be too annoying to actually employ in the workplace, if open cubicle environments are still in place. The resulting noise level of everyone talking to their computers might be too irritating. Federal and state health requirements also have a repressive influence on the employing of new technology. With the growing hostility towards genetic engineering, governments will be stepping up their regulations and this might dampen the ever-growing amplitude of 21st century development.
The author is aware of these attitudes towards technology, and so he attempts to offer a different sort of justification for employing them, particularly nanotechnology. Much space in the book is devoted to the use of this to combat natural disasters, such as asteroids, earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamies, and radical climate changes. Many of his proposals for using nanotechnology to do this are interesting, such as "utility fog", which allows material objects to change shape at arbitrary time scales, food fabrication using molecular biosynthesis and robotic replenishment, and the intelligent product system (IPS), which allows maximal compatibility with the environment. In addition, the author envisions the deployment of millions of nanosatellites that will probe the solar system in order to find rogue asteroids that threaten our planet. Once found, the asteroid will be dissassembled layer by layer to a size that nullifies its threat. The residue will then be used as raw materials for space-based colonies.
The author is also realistic in his appraisal of just what it is going to take from a financial perspective to develop the technology which he envisions. Such developments can be accomplished, and the financial and time scales involved, coupled with the physical dimensions of the technology, are the justification for his optimism. He does not use "inevitability" arguments to justify future technology developments, but instead realizes, correctly, that such developments are subject to human volition. We can halt or move forward, the choice being completely our own.
Robo sapiens, Robo servers, and Homo provectus, may be on the way the author states. He asks us if we are ready, and he asks us to consider the answers to the employment of new technologies ourselves, and not leave it up to our government or religious leaders, who themselves are explaining it to us inadequately, he argues. Religious institutions are centuries behind, companies are selling products and services but are not structured to serve our interests, and scientists are too involved in their projects to consider how their discoveries will impact human life on Earth.
The author encourages the reader to get involved, or invent, institutions or strategies that will mesh with the technological advances that are confronting each one of us. I cannot speak for the author here, but he seems to be incredibly optimisitic. This is refreshing, for this indeed is the most exciting time to be alive. We should all constantly attempt to improve ourselves and others with the knowledge we have available. With genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, highly sophisticated mathematics, robotics, and nanotechnology, we have precisely the right instruments, at precisely the right time, to participate in and build the greatest century yet for the human species...
Nanobacteria, NanoMedicine, Nanotechnology, Oh My!.......2002-09-01
Doug Mulhall is a bold, fluent & brillant writer that is able to communicate with both lay persons and scientists alike....a must read! His description of nanotechnological developments lead us by the hand into the future gently, then exposes the potential harsh realities and wonders that will be available to us. With his command of writing, he explains difficult concepts by making them real. I particularly appreciated him writing about an exciting startup, NanobacLabs Pharmaceuticals that has developed nanobiotics to fight nanobacterial infections. The read led me to a physician that wrote a prescription for NanobacTX that appears to be eradicating my heart disease! I not only enjoyed the book, but he may have ultimately saved my life.....sign me, GRATEFUL.
Amazon.com
The future can exist only if humans understand how to commune with the natural world rather than exploit it, explains author and renowned ecologist Thomas Berry (The Dream of the Earth, The Universe Story). "Already the planet is so damaged and the future is so challenged by its rising human population that the terms of survival will be severe beyond anything we have known in the past."
This may make him sound like a scolding, doomsday prophet, but Berry is an optimistic soul, hopeful that humans will rise to the challenge of cherishing the natural world in the third millennium. "Our future destiny rests even more decisively on our capacity for intimacy in our human-Earth relations." Berry predicts. From this premise, Berry reveals why we need to adore our blessed planet, while also examining why we are culturally driven toward exploiting nature. Because Berry has a science background as well as a spiritual orientation (he is the founder of the History of Religions Program at Fordham University), he brings a balanced and fresh voice to social ecology. Even though he writes for the masses, Berry is by no means a lightweight--chapters include "Ecological Geography," "The Extractive Economy," "The Corporation Story," and "Reinventing the Human." --Gail Hudson
Book Description
Thomas Berry is one of the most eminent cultural historians of our time. Here he presents the culmination of his ideas and urges us to move from being a disrupting force on the Earth to a benign presence. This transition is the Great Work -- the most necessary and most ennobling work we will ever undertake. Berry's message is not one of doom but of hope. He reminds society of its function, particularly the universities and other educational institutions whose role is to guide students into an appreciation rather than an exploitation of the world around them. Berry is the leading spokesperson for the Earth, and his profound ecological insight illuminates the path we need to take in the realms of ethics, politics, economics, and education if both we and the planet are to survive.
Customer Reviews:
Pompous and grandious.......2007-02-21
I am a strong supporter of environmentalism which is why I strongly object to this book. This book only reinforces the impression that environmentalists are self-righteous and out of touch with other humans as well as reality. Instead of referencing current events, or any statistics to support his sermonizing,Berry spends his space name dropping. It is painfully apparant that he is more interested in sounding erudite than remaining coherent. His attempts to sound erudite are undermined by his tendency to reuse words with inappropriate frequency. The book would have been far more effective as a one or two page pamphlet but unfortuantely it was drawn out to be 102 pages of repetition. It is not even on recycled paper.
Spelling Out A Dire Need For Change.......2005-04-22
This review is long, and my apologies, but this book is potent and spells-out what is one of the most important subjects of the 21st century- our drifting from physical reality and responsibilities and the need to wake-up and realize this dilemma and how we can accomplish that possible , but daunting task. Thomas Berry does this with eloquence and wisdom here and this is truly, a "Great Work"! Thank you, Mr. Berry!
In his earlier book, "The Dream of the Earth", Thomas Berry so eloquently stated the need for humanity to realize what a beautiful foundational life-support gift we have in planet Earth and the need to treat it with the profound sense of respect and good stewardship it deserves and needs in to order to provide a healthy life-sustaining platform.
An understanding of the dynamics of Earth's resource cycles and regulatory systems can teach us how to live sustainably and regeneratively- most importantly, carrying that understanding into the formation and dissemination of religion, politics and economy.
We see God's handy-work, i.e., the blue prints and operating system for Earth through the dynamics of Nature's regenerative, life providing bounty and we then see what is required to maintain this perfect system. Indeed, we are entering the "Eco-zoic" faze of our existence- the realization and implementation of an ecologically sustainable reality.
So how could Berry top that beautiful piece of work? Almost ten years after "The Dream", he comes out with "The Great Work", a powerful and compelling continuation of the earlier theme of a beautiful Earth with attentive humans at the helm and with proper stewardship, only now with an exacting historical dialogue of how the Earth formed, settled and eventually became a biological life-support system and where we, as humans have lost our original awe and respect of God's creation through the many distractions of living in a human only, "civilized" and complex material world, forgetting our interconnectedness to all life.
This separation has culminated in an insane, parasitic and cancerous existence not only for us humans, but for all life on this planet. Isn't it curious that cancer of our bodies is one of our biggest worries and nemesis? Mass over-population, pollution, unsustainable resource use and habitat destruction have left us in a burn-out, dire mess. Our sense of economy is no "economy" at all, rather a predatory take all shark frenzy fully supported by governments through corporate purchase and manipulation and misguided `human only' pseudo-religious zealotry.
An un-Godly, reckless "Manifest Destiny" attitude of anthropocentric endeavors has been prevailing since the industrialization of our societies exploded on the human scene, blinding us with delusions of superiority, yet to the detriment of our shared and threatened environment.
Exactly in the middle of this fine book, is a chapter called
"Ethics and Ecology". Here, Berry relates our combined human sense of making like nothing is wrong on spaceship Earth (a closed-loop eco-system) with a parallel to the tragedy of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. A course was set and could not be deviated from, regardless of the warnings of known dangerous icebergs ahead. An attitude that the Titanic was a perfect, fool-proof and unsinkable human manifestation prevailed.
The Titanic parallel underscores our misguided human notions that we can control Nature and that we are on a safe course in our activities on Earth. We see our creation of the Titanic (the micro), but not the big picture (the macro), i.e., Nature along with it's icebergs, etc., but especially, the need for our attention to it's requirements for a safe, healthy existence.
As Berry states, our "extractive" (exploitive, parasitic) economies have become "terminal" economies (dead-end) and need to be reformulated to sustainable/regenerative economies for the continuation and enjoyment of life- only in a more sane and quality existence.
For those that don't think it can be done, it would be educational to look at the turn-around of attitudes and subsequent successes of corporations that have been able to wake-up to what sustainable/regenerative/eco-friendly formats offer in terms of long lasting, profitable returns, let alone peace of mind. A good outline of that can be seen in the book, "Natural Capitalism" by Hawken and Lovins.
Further, religions need to continue with their return to the inclusion of all Creation and away from the current deviation of anthropomorphism. Understanding the dynamics and importance of interconnectedness with all of God's Creation is a matter of survival now and should not be interpreted as "Nature Love" vs. "Biblical Dogma". It's all one reality. Berry gently opens our eyes to this!
The consideration of an all-inclusive creation- man and nature in harmony instead of man vs. nature- both created by God to coexist, is also touched upon in the 'great work' of Chet Raymo's books "Skeptics and True Believers", sequealed by his "Climbing Brandon"- in a sermon by Saint Columbanus, there is in part: [Those who wish to know God, he says, "must first review the natural world."]. Indeed, a good place to start!
There is a good bibliography in "The Great Work" that provides a multitude of resources for further research and education on sustainable awareness and consciousness.
Entering the Ecozoic Era.......2004-10-12
With the wealth of works statistically portraying the growing threats of climate change, it's almost refreshing to encounter someone seeking a "soft" approach. Berry recognises the obstructions in transforming a polluting and morally corrupting economy to a less harmful path. He points to a change in attitude we must all make to prevent catastrophe. Yet, it's not difficult, he argues, to reassert a more direct tie with Nature such as we enjoyed in our ancient past. What was once there, but lost, can be recovered. It merely takes some will.
In Berry's view, the Cenozoic Era, used by geologists to encompass modern times, is coming to a close. Technology and the spread of humanity into nearly every environmental niche have changed conditions too drastically for the older appellation to continue. The burning of fossil fuels, deforestation over vast areas, huge fishing nets scooping up masses of sea life, and blindly occupying or modifying habitats has led to the extinction of countless species. What aspects of life characterised the Cenozoic are no longer there to give it definition. And there's worse to follow if we fail to heed his advice. Learn to do better, he cautions.
Berry restrains his religious background and spiritual leanings to address the larger crisis of the Earth's survival. There are no lofty appeals to a "spiritual" aspect of the planet, but he's sharply critical of the materialist outlook that's destroying it. He insists we consider the Earth as an integrated system, which is a realistic view, given our current piecemeal exploitation practices. He urges a broader outlook from his readers. This requires entertaining some novel ideas and encounters with unexpected people. Indigenous peoples are a good source of wisdom in Berry's view. However, it's their knowledge he seeks, not the return to an aboriginal lifestyle.
The application of knowledge to solve problems in our society is generally conceded to the universities. From this, Berry concludes that appeals to government or business are essentially wasted effort, unless they understand the impact of their policies. He suggests that instead of radical environmental protest to save species and habitat, it is the universities who must be enlisted in the cause. For one thing, the academic arena provides the means of acting as a feedback loop with each cycle increasing the information dividend. The new findings make their way to the public to support changes in policies. Although this is obviously not a rapid means of change, Berry finds it the most self-sustaining one. Once the process begins to unfold, we will be entering the Ecozoic Era with a firmer grasp of our impact on the planet. "The Great Work" is thus learning how to move from a human-centred to an Earth-centred set of values. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
One of the Great Prophetic Minds of our age!.......2003-06-16
Tom Berry has been called the "Bard of the New Cosmology" and so he is! His thoughts challenge those rooted in authoritarian structures and flatland awareness. His views challenge those who find extreme security in their myths and dogmatic positions. These people have made a career of striking back with an authoritarian thunder when challenged with a more comprehensive unfolding of the Cosmos. Berry's explication brings science and religion together without authoritative fiat rooted in dogma--what Ken Wilbur calls "Deep Religion." Deep religion honors the developmental spirial of conciousness and the EXPERIENTIAL awareness that mystics are privy to and speak of so eloquently and forcefully. Berry's book brings the enviornmental crisis in focus and calls for human transformation of every aspect of human unfolding: political, educational, corporate, sociological, and religious. It is no wonder those who remain rooted in the systems of the Earth's demise so forcefully attack this Great and surely Prophetic Man.
One of the two or three most important works I've read.......2003-01-08
Most people who love the Earth and fear its demise will relate to and devour this book. You may labor at times, but the fruit is abundant. You'll understand more clearly the deep causes in our cultural evolution that have put the Earth at risk. The solution is an immense undertaking, but Berry reminds us there's hope, and that we aren't alone. The human community, and more importantly, the larger life/Earth/Universe community, is available and at work, in us. How can it not be, when it was those communities from which we came? The developing universe, as Berry writes. When you adequately understand the causes of the problems, when you can identify them both outside and within, you move in a better direction. Berry provides an un-numbered, un-listed direction, one that is heard with more than the rational mind. Yet, he articulates better than I could have imagined. He gives an immense hope and guides toward that most important of all energies at this time, the psychic energy necessary for confronting and walking forward, for preparing oneself for real action, real work. That is a big thing. If you have wrung your hands at the seeming impossibility of correcting the wrongs done to the Earth, read this book. Berry doesn't give you concrete things to do, his words work into your creative area, your reflective mind, your spirit.
The folks who reacted negatively in review of this book missed the point or had other expectations. They almost kept me from purchasing The Great Work. I'm glad I bought it. It's one of the two or three most important works I've read.
Amazon.com
The problem with the world today, says Neil Postman, is that we've become so caught up in hurtling towards the future that we've lost our societal "narrative," a humane cultural tradition that creates "a sense of purpose and continuity"--in other words, something to believe in. "In order to have an agreeable encounter with the twenty-first century," he asserts, "we will have to take into it some good ideas. And in order to do that, we need to look back to take stock of the good ideas available to us." He finds rich source material in the Enlightenment, the salad days for philosophers such as Goethe, Voltaire, Diderot, Paine, and Jefferson, "the beginnings of much that is worthwhile about the modern world." Yet Building a Bridge to the Eighteenth Century is a call for cultural progress, not regression: "I am not suggesting that we become the eighteenth century," Postman notes, "only that we use it for what it is worth and all it is worth."
Chief among the values Postman cites is the development of the intellect; it plays a part in many of his recommendations, from the cultivation of a healthy skepticism towards overhyped technology to sweeping educational reforms that include replacing grammar instruction with logic and rhetoric and introducing courses on comparative religion and the history of science. He also lashes out at postmodernists who start with the premise that language "is a major factor in producing our perceptions, judgments, knowledge, and institutions" and conclude that language is therefore tenuously connected to reality at best. Enlightenment thinkers knew that language molded perception, he notes, but they also believed that "it is possible to use language to say things about the world that are true" and "to communicate ideas to oneself and to others." Postman is excessively curmudgeonly at times, as in his reference to philosopher Jean Baudrillard as "a Frenchman, of all things," or his remarks on the ancient Athenians: "I know they are the classic example of Dead White Males, but we should probably listen to them anyway." But for anybody with a stake in the culture wars, or who wants to apply the lessons of philosophy to the modern world, Building a Bridge to the Eighteenth Century will make for provocative reading.
Book Description
In
Building a Bridge to the 18th Century, acclaimed cultural critic Neil Postman offers a cure for the hysteria and hazy values of the postmodern world.
Postman shows us how to reclaim that balance between mind and machine in a dazzling celebration of the accomplishments of the Enlightenment-from Jefferson's representative democracy to Locke's deductive reasoning to Rousseau's demand that the care and edification of children be considered an investment in our collective future. Here, too, is the bold assertion that Truth is invulnerable to fashion or the passing of time. Provocative and brilliantly argued,
Building a Bridge to the 18th Century illuminates a navigable path through the Information Age-a byway whose signposts, it turns out, were there all along.
Customer Reviews:
Essential reading for educators in history.......2007-08-10
Postman makes an extremely compelling argument that our best source for assistance for moral and intellectual decision-making lies in the 18th century, not the historical aberration that was the 20th century. I won't summarize the points here, if what I said above makes sense, don't delay, read this book! You won't regret it. This is a clear, concise and accurate read that entertains along the way.
How the past can improve our future.......2007-04-06
Neil Postman, longtime professor and eventual chair of the department of culture and communication at New York University, sadly died in 2003 at the age of 72. Bridge is his final book, and it deals with the same universal themes found in his earlier 20-odd works: language, reason, education, childhood, and the idea of progress.
Despairing over post-modernists who claim words don't stand for anything real, he makes a case for reading and writing. Indeed, he feels if we don't come up with a meaningful narrative for our world, we're toast.
It is no accident, Postman is a huge fan of the two Thomases: Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, particularly Paine.
Note: Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense and The Crisis. Common Sense sold as many as 600,000 copies, which would be equivalent to a run of 60 million copies in the United States today.
During the 18th century we were sewing the seeds for the end of monarchy and, eventually, slavery. Dr. Postman states that "men of the mind" in those heady days thought knowledge should be useful. Such Renaissance Men were known as philosophes, i.e. philosophers using their minds for great and just social causes.
Now consider the modern era, and the so-called information revolution. The pervasive imagery of video and computer media work often to undercut the logical, serial narrative form of print. Reading, books in particular, requires active intellect, constantly evaluating statements, considering context, weighing consistencies, etc.
Too often we succumb to the easier means of getting information... from perceptual streams of video images and sounds, serving to reinforce the perceptual-emotional method of awareness: "see something, have an immediate, often extreme emotion one way or the other."
For example, a large number of Americans see footage of the World Trade Center towers falling and have an immediate animosity toward Arab men. Alternative explanations to the official story, no matter how logically unassailable, are simply blocked from consideration. A society relying on emotions bred from controlled media images is Orwellian... and doomed.
Dr. Postman also has insightful observations on the loss of childhood to technology. He doesn't "rail against the machine," so much as ask questions of the necessity of every shiny new thunderpig widget that comes along:
"What is the problem to which the supersonic jet is the solution?" -- pg.43.
...
For my complete review of this book and for other book and movie
reviews, please visit my site [...]
Brian Wright
Copyright 2007
A brilliant case for the value of the humanities in the modern age.......2006-05-28
In _Building a Bridge to the 18th Century_, Postman raises a number of excellent questions about the issues and challenges of the post-modern age. In doing so, he tackles technology, education, and our sense of "progress."
Postman transparently states that he is not a fan of email, the internet and television. For this, the title of "luddite" (a perjorative for those who reject "modernization") initally seems appropriate. Postman addresses this and rejects it. I would agree with him on this; he is not opposed to technology per say, but rather is opposed to technology for its own sake. This argument is the basis of his book.
Essentially Postman forces us to ask, "what is the utility of the technological advances we are making?" In responding to this, Postman finds the answer in the philosophes of the 18th century - Lock, Rousseau, Diderot, Jefferson, Franklin, Voltaire - stating that without some purpose for the greater good, we end up serving technology, rather than having technology serve us.
The effects of this "unexamined life" are profound. As we read less and watch more, interact more with machines than people, and lose our sense of skepticism taking the word of experts and scientists without challenge, we are essentially returning to a "pre-Enlightened" age intellecutally reminiscient more of the middle ages than the modern age, to our misfortune.
There is much here to mentally wrestle with. The intellecutal depth of the issue made easier by the lucid writing of Postman. It is a provoking read that I recommend.
Not a Luddite.......2001-11-23
Somehow Postman has been accused of being a luddite. I'm not sure how he got theis reputation. He is certainly critical of present excesses, but as this book shows, he merely - and justly - questions current ideas that have degenerated to produce dubious advantages. he has no objections to technology or science but, he argues, there is aneed to revert to a more humanist (which also implies liberal in the good sense of the word) approaches to temper the way technology is creeping intrusively into our lives. In philosophical terms he argues against cultural relativism and its older brother deconstruction - i.e. Derrida, Lacan. in this he is joined - though he does not mention it - by several leading physicists and, indeed, Fashionable Nonsense by Sokal confirms this. Like many greek classical philosophers, from Plato to Epicurus, postman excercises healthy doubt and merely questions the present. Not all change is good. I also found the book to be very well written, erudite and humorous.
Postman Delivers!.......2001-10-22
This is my third Postman book and I am still enthralled in the reading of his works. Mainly, I believe, because he writes with a particular verve that I find lacking in many of his contemporaries. His discourse covers a wide range of topics, some of them superficially, but all of them intended to support his thesis: children are losing their childhood; and meaning needs to be revived in language, education, narrative, and culture. He is iconoclastic.
Even though it is possible to read his book in a cursory manner, don't fault the easily accessible work as trite. Postman's criticism is erudite, precise and well-articulated.
I hope he doesn't stop writing. His voice needs to continue.
Book Description
In November 1998, eight visionary recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize gathered on the grounds of the University of Virginia for two days of extraordinary dialogue. From the words of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Archbishop Desmond Tutu's riveting description of chairing South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, their conversation ranged from familiar international-relations issues to areas traditionally excluded from such discourse, like the need for personal transformation and community organizing.
From the laureates' speeches and exchanges, the veteran journalist Helena Cobban has drawn a powerful, prescient vision of our shared global future. Unlike other recent books on global change, The Moral Architecture of World Peace is based on the heroic stories of nine individuals, from as varied backgrounds as Rigoberta Mench Tum and Jody Williams, who base their view of world peace on personal strength and public activism, not economic trends.
Each chapter contains one laureate's version of a shared message: that peace is grounded in the personal and spiritual as well as the economic and military dimensions of global interconnectedness. When the Dalai Lama speaks of the need for inner as well as external disarmament, he is asking for a greater commitment than the most complicated nuclear arms treaty. Along similar lines, the Northern Ireland peace activist Betty Williams tells of her hope to disarm "the landmines of the heart," the bitterness that lives on in war survivors that can be more destructive than physical scars. Jody Williams and Bobby Muller, 1997 laureates, sound a concordant note in the story of their successful campaign to win an international treaty banning landmines.
Former Costa Rican president Oscar Arias Snchez, architect of the five-nation peace accord in Central America, challenges citizens of rich western countries to recognize the gap between their luxury spending and the amounts needed to fund basic human services in other parts of the world. Indigenous-rights activist Rigoberta Mench Tum and East Timorese representative Jos Ramos-Horta both lament the human and social costs paid by what Ramos-Horta calls, sorrowfully, the world's "expendable peoples." Harn Yawnghwe, speaking on behalf of the Burmese democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was refused the right to travel by her government, talks of the tough issues of preparing for a transition to postauthoritarian rule in a country that has been run by a military junta.
As Helena Cobban articulates, these leaders all seem to subscribe to a broader set of truths that are not necessarily self-evident: that human beings can easily become locked into self-perpetuating "systems of suspicion and violence" at any level, from the interpersonal through the international; that when one is inside such a system, it can be hard to see it and to recognize one's own role within it; but that each one of us has the capacity to make a leap from self-centeredness toward greater understanding. "Try to change motivation," the Dalai Lama urges.
But while these laureates' stories are primarily of personal and political triumph, they also tell of great sacrifice, conflict, and pain. Bobby Muller's passionate exchange with Archbishop Tutu on moral accountability versus reconciliation, and the self-examination of Ramos-Horta, who reflected that his own East Timorese independence movement may have hurt the chances of United States' intervention to prevent Indonesia's brutal invasion of his country, point toward the new kinds of challenges we face in the next century.
From the candor, eloquence, humor, and differences expressed by these inspiring people, Helena Cobban has skeHChed out a new international paradigm of peace.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful volume.......2003-11-19
This book provides thought-provoking insights into a group of amazing women and men whose activism gained them the title Nobel peace prize laureate: His Holiness the Dalai Lama (Tibet), Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Betty Willians (Northern Ireland peace activist), Jody Williams and Bobby Muller (international treaty to ban landmines), Oscar Arias Sánchez (former Costa Rican president and architect of a peace accord in Central America), Rigoberta Menchú (indigenous-rights activist), José Ramos-Horta (East Timorese independence activist), and Aung San Suu Kyi (Burmese democratic leader), who had to be represented by Harn Yawnghwe as she remains under house arrest.
What I really liked is the way Helena Cobban, the author/editor (it is difficult to separate the two roles in this case), wove together pieces of the speeches these people made at a two day conference at the University of Virginia with their personal interactions and exchanges. The latter were in some instances far more revealing of both the similarities and differences in how the laureates view peacemaking than were their more public comments, as they meant grappling with really tough issues of trade-offs in situations where no action seems exactly "right.".
Another strength of the book is that it doesn't gloss over the difficulties and sacrifices involved in doing peace work. These women and men have often experiences great personal challenges because of their activitism. This has led them to a variety of conclusions about, for instance, moral accountability versus reconciliation and the importance of personal transformation.
This will be my holiday gift for several friends and family members who care about our shared world and the personal, spiritual, economic, and political challenges that peacemaking raises.
Book Description
"Civilization is a term used by literary circles, historians, and publicists to describe a superior level of accomplishments of certain nations. After many later attempts to refine the definition, references are made to the difficulty posed by the physical environment and nature's physical challenges, which had to be overcome because they presented a danger to the human race.
"Astonishingly, ignored was the importance of morality and the influence it exercised on the way humans treat each other within the framework of a social setting.
"For the actions of men and women, if unhindered in the struggle for self-preservation and seeking material prosperity to attain the desired level of creature comforts, give rise to self-made obstacles in their quest to defy the natural order. We humans are the cause of hazards to our existence created by overpopulation, environmental degradation, and injecting various toxic substances into the food supply; we are the designers of an unbalanced economy whose stratification favors the well-to-do to the detriment of the disadvantaged, keeping most in a state of turmoil; we are the contrivers of religious systems, some of which are responsible for the most unnatural crimes committed by humans against humans; last but not least, we are the instigators of mass slaughters resulting from wars fought in anger, causing ever increasing casualties and destruction reaching totally destabilizing magnitudes. These acts bode ill for civilization.
"Humanity, that flawed creation of a flawed nature, in bondage to survival instincts and a virtual slave to circumstances beyond its control, nevertheless possesses the capacity to free itself from some of the burdens imposed by the natural order to rise above the gravitational pull confining all living species. We must discover that our welfare and that of society depend on the rejection of the natural order, so as to be freed, however moderately, from nature's evolutionary competition and the struggle for the survival of the fittest, an order totally in conflict with morality. For the aims of morality are antithetical to nature's imposed scheme of things, reflecting the conflict between our aims and nature's designs." —Arthur Blech
Customer Reviews:
Must Read.......2005-11-26
Want to know how humankind got to be the way it is today? Want to know how to fix it? Then read this book. Arthur Blech clearly points hout how our civilization got to be the way it is today, and how to fix it step by step. This is a very interesting book and a must read.
If you care then you must read.......2005-11-26
This is a book that everyone that cares at all about our world and humankind as it is now and wants to change and make a difference. Arthur Blech talks about the things that made our world the way it is today as well as tells us exactly how we can change it. All I can say is that this book is a must read for EVERYONE.
Read This Book, Save the World.......2005-10-15
Arthur Blech's latest book, Toward a New Civilization, is a welcome light in a world darkened by humankind's incessant march to self-destruction. Blech ably describes the sins of our past that affect our present...and then offers a clear roadmap for our future.
This is a very important book, one that every politician and policymaker ought to read post haste before it's too late. Anyone with an interest in bettering humankind will find this a great read full of viable solutions.
Books:
- The Wretched of the Earth
- Theory and Practice of Water and Wastewater Treatment
- This Moment on Earth: Today's New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future
- Tornado Watch Number 211 (Tornado Watch)
- Toxicology and Ecotoxicology in Chemical Safety Assessment
- Tropical Nature: Life & Death in the Rain Forests of Central & South America
- Turning of the Tide: How One Game Changed the South
- US Army Survival Manual: FM 21-76
- Watersheds: Processes, Assessment and Management
- What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause (TM): The Breakthrough Book on Natural Hormone Balance
Books Index
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- The Cambridge World History of Food
- Snakehunter
- Shanghai Diary: A Young Girl's Journey from Hitler's Hate to War-Torn China
- Redefining Black Film
- Solid State Electronic Devices
- Small Wonders: Nature Education for Young Children
Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time
Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations, and Society
Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future
Solving Tough Problems: An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and Creating New Realities
Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World
