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The End of Nature | 
 enlarge | Author: Bill Mckibben
Publisher: Random House
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 129436
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 226
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.7 x 6.9 x 1.1
ISBN: 0394576012
Dewey Decimal Number: 304.28
EAN: 9780394576015
ASIN: 0394576012
Publication Date: September 23, 1989
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Product Description
Reissued on the tenth anniversary of its publication, this classic work on our environmental crisis features a new introduction by the author, reviewing both the progress and ground lost in the fight to save the earth.
This impassioned plea for radical and life-renewing change is today still considered a groundbreaking work in environmental studies. McKibben's argument that the survival of the globe is dependent on a fundamental, philosophical shift in the way we relate to nature is more relevant than ever. McKibben writes of our earth's environmental cataclysm, addressing such core issues as the greenhouse effect, acid rain, and the depletion of the ozone layer. His new introduction addresses some of the latest environmental issues that have risen during the 1990s. The book also includes an invaluable new appendix of facts and figures that surveys the progress of the environmental movement.
More than simply a handbook for survival or a doomsday catalog of scientific prediction, this classic, soulful lament on Nature is required reading for nature enthusiasts, activists, and concerned citizens alike.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 Endgame? November 19, 2007
If you haven't stumbled into Bill McKibben's work, do. He is very good at asking questions and clearly explicating his search for answers. THE END OF NATURE explores the unavoidable truth that the wild only exists at the whim of humankind these days. Whether we micromanage a game park, use a wetland as a water filter, or call an area "wilderness" and more or less keep our hands off, everything everywhere is impacted by our activities. A thoughtful and not unhopeful book, this one will make you see "nature" differently.
 To Be Honored But Not Necessarily To Be Read July 26, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
The good news: "The End of Nature" was a truly prophetic book when it was published in 1989. Eloquent and well-intentioned, it was one of the first books aimed at a general audience to discuss global warming and deep ecology. It may even have influenced public opinion, if not public policy.
The bad news: "The End of Nature" is meandering, journalistic, and full of 20-year old science. Even worse, it's main Big Idea doesn't seem true. McKibben believed that man's ability to change the climate would eventually make it impossible for anyone to see nature as quasi-sacred and independent of human meddling. In reality, man's respect for nature will surely increase, not diminish, as the earth warms up. Coastlines will disappear, hurricanes slam into cities, and summers sizzle. Whatever else global warming will do, it will humble mankind.
The bottomline: "The End of Nature" has earned a place in the canon of environmental literature alongside classics like "Silent Spring." Every environmental library should have a copy of it. However, there's no compelling reason why general readers in 2007 should devote much time to it.
Classic June 19, 2007
As relavent today as it was in 1989 and when combined with Deep Economy gives you something to ponder.
Rave for 'The End of Nature' May 13, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Bill McKibben's beautifully written and cogently reasoned analysis of how humans are damaging the world we share with all other life is must-reading. He shares with readers a respect for Nature---truly wild, untouched Nature---that is personal, emotional, reverential, and spiritual. That respect is contagious. We need to hear voices like his. His book strengthens our will to take the difficult but essential steps to slow global warming. He urges us to be good stewards of the earth.
 Wonderful Book, A Little Outdated November 9, 2004
13 out of 16 found this review helpful
This would've been a five-star review if this book were about 10-12 years newer than it is. In some ways, McKibben's extended essay on global warming has aged very well. His central thesis that nature is ended (not destroyed but removed of majesty or even neutered) by the overwhelming pressures of human industrial society and human overpopulation is as relevant now as it ever was, the truth of this argument more evident every day. And global warming, the central thread of his argument, is even more pressing today, even though we in the United States are doing even less about it. Though some of his worst fears have yet to come true, the reality of global climate change is bad enough, as underscored by the recent report on rapid climate change in arctic regions.
In other ways, though, the book seems dated. A lot of what McKibben writes about is uncertain. "It could be that in 50-100 years..." or "our models are very uncertain but..." and so on. The last 15 years have seen a lot of research in this area and a a great deal of refinement of our climate models, such that we know have a much more certain picture of the realities of climate change. This is real. It is happening, and it's happening quickly. Unfortunately, the greater uncertainty in our understanding of this at the time McKibben was writing undercuts his message somewhat, that we must learn to curb our desires and live more humbly if we wish to avoid the worst consequences of global warming. Were his argument bolstered by more modern research, I think he would have a much easier time outlining some real steps we as a society could take to deal with global warming.
Still, the issues McKibben raises and the ideas he presents for how we can deal with them are as pressing now as they were in 1989, perhaps even more so. Anyone who is at all concerned about global warming, the environment, or even just living beyond the next 30 years or so would do well to read this book.
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