Customer Reviews

The Better World Handbook : From Good Intentions to Everyday Actions

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Most of us want to do what is right but lack the proper information to realize our deepest values in action. We want to save the rainforest, purchase products that are ecologically sound, end war, famine, and every other ill that plagues humanity. However, we lack a clear understanding of how our everyday actions shape the world. This highly informative book will help you express your values in action.

The "challenges" this book outlines include: economic inequality, Third World debt, corporate sweatshops, war, militarization, the death penalty, media violence, natural resource depletion, air pollution and climate change, ecosystem destruction, overpopulation, lack of democracy, money in politics, media monopoly, inequality of women, racism, heterosexism, inadequate hHealth care, prisons, advertising overload, commercialization of childhood, materialism and overconsumption, fragmented communities, and finally a certain loss of our humanity.

Not to worry, though, there is no reason for cynicism. The authors are young, vibrant, and optimistic about social change. The is no pessimist's rant. In fact, section one, "the cycle of cynicism," actually deals this problem head on, offering many hopeful alternatives.

The rest of the book is action-oriented. Included are hundreds of small things we can implement in our everyday life: including pracical advice on banking and investing, shopping, food, personal lifestyle choices, friends and family, community, home, work, media, politics, travel, and involvement with organizations.

The variety and quality of the recommendations show extreme breadth of research and awareness on the part of the authors. The amount of references is staggering: including links to organizations, further reading suggestions, alternative media venues and action allert email lists.

By far and away the most practical and informative resource available for those interested in living an ecologically and socially ethical life, "The Better World Handbook" is nothing short of a bible for the new millennium. Pick up a copy and start living in accord with your values today.

Mahatma Gandhi said that we must be the change we wish to see in the world (p. 1). This is also the premise of THE BETTER WORLD HANDBOOK, which demonstrates that you don't have to be a Ghandhi, Mother Teresa, Cesar Chavez, or Martin Luther King, Jr. to make a positive difference in the world. By turning our good intentions into everyday actions, even ordinary people can make a profound impact on our local and global communities.

The authors of this definitive, 291-page handbook are college instructors and Ph.D candidates at the University of Colorado, Boulder. (Okay, so some Boulder residents believe that the rest of the planet rotates around our city. But when it comes to serious issues of land development, diversity, endangered species, public smoking, chain stores and restaurants, shopping malls, alternatives to SUVs, and recycling, there is indeed much for the rest of our country to learn from this very special community.) THE BETTER WORLD HANDBOOK first identifies the problems facing our planet. For instance, while "we have become a nation of sleepwalkers" (p. 1), the wealthiest 20 percent of the world's population earns 30 times as much income as the poorest 20 percent (p. 13). The average American CEO makes 475 times as much as the average worker (p. 13). The richest 1 percent of Americans own almost as much wealth as the bottom 95 percent of the U. S. population (p. 14). The average American consumes as much energy as two Germans, six Mexicans, twelve Chinese, twenty-nine Indians, or 117 Bangladeshi (p. 25). Air pollution kills nearly 70,000 Americans every year (p. 25). Development results in the extinction of 137 species each day, while the world's population grows by 212,000 people a day (p. 26). Our children watch 20,000 to 40,000 commercials on television every year (p. 42).

After confronting these alarming statistics, in an easy-to-read format, the HANDBOOK then reveals how we can make the world a better place through our actions involving money, shopping, food, friends and family, community, work, transportation, and travel. For example, the authors encourage us to vote, invest in socially responsible companies, take a daily walk, get to know our neighbors, ride a bike to work or take the bus, work less, shop locally and buy less stuff, eat organic foods and less meat, watch less tv, volunteer, recycle, and appreciate others. They even go so far as to offer suggestions for our personal transformation, cultivating emotional and spiritual well-being, maintaining physical health, and taking time for reflection in our lives. Offering us words to live by, THE BETTER WORLD HANDBOOK is sure to become a trusted resource for anyone hoping to change the world through the power of one.

G. Merritt

The Better World Handbook is an inspiring and refreshingly different kind of "how-to" guide for people seeking to embody their hopes for a more just and caring world. By touching on all the major areas of our daily activities, authors Jones, Haenfler and Johnson ably negotiate the interconnectedness that describes our personal, economic, environmental and political relationships. I was impressed both with the Better World Handbook's comprehensibility and with the logic of its organization. Straighforward subject headings, relevant chapter introductions, and an easy-to-understand presentation of opportunities for personal and collective action define the book.

Some readers may label the book as "progressive" and dismiss it because of its advocacy of a number of social change organizations that might also be labelled as such, but I think the book can prompt any of us--wherever we are on the religious or political spectrums--to explore the various aspects of our lives with a view towards justice and sustainability.

The book also tends to be counter-cultural even while meeting the reader right where s/he is, integrated into the dominant culture. The Better World Handbook frequently sheds needed light on many of the disintegrating and unhealthy forces of our modern society. I liked the margin notes and text boxes scattered throughout the book that provide compelling facts and statistics, lending weight to the authors' arguments for the suggested courses of action in each chapter.

One part of the book that I especially liked but was disappointed not to see more of was the inclusion of the authors' personal stories and experiences. In the chapter on travel, for example, co-author Ross Haenfler relates his experience, while travelling in the American Southwest, of choosing to buy a hand-woven rug directly from a Navajo woman rather than through a retail tourist shop in the area. I would have enjoyed hearing more from Ross and also from the other authors about the personal experiences (both positive and negative) they've had while trying to put their own suggestions into action. This might have helped bring the authors further into dialog with their readers.

The Better World Handbook is a wonderful and timely book. I wish to thank the authors for the huge commitment they have made to this project; it is a gift to all of us who hope for a better world and wish somehow to be signposts of that new reality.

Brian Ladd
Boulder, CO

December 8, 2001

Want to make a difference but don't know where to begin? Try reading "The Better World Handbook" by Ellis Jones, Ross Haenfler, Brett Johnson, and Brian Klocke. They offer a variety of actions on issues like poverty, environmental damage, and free trade that you can incorporate into your life. What's great about this book is that you can pick and choose what works for you at the moment - there are suggested actions that may not seem doable now but you can probably do later. You don't have agree with each issue the authors describe and suggest actions for, and the authors make a good attempt at avoiding a self-righteous tone. I have notes and have highlighted what actions I can manage, and will keep referring to this list (probably on the new year's eves to come).

The authors first explain our culture of cynicism and define the 7 most common traps that prevent people from taking action on issues they care about. I found this especially revealing as I have often caught myself in one or more of those traps. They then describe the seven foundations of a better world (economic fairness, comprehensive peace, ecological sustainability, deep democracy, social justice, culture of simplicity, and revitalized community) and have a list of references on each foundation. What follows are numerous actions regarding money (e.g. banking), shopping, food, personal living and relationships, community, home, work, media, politics, transportation, and travel. Some of the website links they include are not up-to-date, so I strongly recommend doing a search on the organizations mentioned and trying to find similar links and organizations.

This book is a starting point and can inspire other actions that are not included in the book. Reading "The Better World Handbook" is an invaluable first step to realizing that one person can really make a difference.

I LOVED this book. It gives all kinds of good practical advice on how every day actions really CAN make a difference. It cites a lot of other great books too that you can read in further detail about the things that are mentioned in the book which i really appreciate.
When I first read this book I was a student activist who thought that i always needed to do BIG things to change the world. Some of the little things that i would do made me feel different from the rest of my friends and make me feel like i was not doing enough. This book affirmed some of my decisions and made me feel serious about doing more.
This book is a good guide to actually living to make the world a better place! There are a lot of issues in the book that can and MUST be further researched but I think that the authors do a wonderful job at encouraging you to actually do so by suggesting books and websites to get you started. Its good for what it is: a guide to how to live. And it can point you in great directions for further more academic exploration of the issues that are presented.
I will say that I have used this book as MY BIBLE to living. I would suggest this in addition to Sojourners magazine to those who want to look at these same issues from a Christian perspective

Thank you Ellis, Ross and Brett.
This book is the ultimate resource for the cultural creatives. It's listing of traps and actions offers real solutions to todays' problems and accomplishes it's goals without guilt. The authors make it evident from the beginning that nobody can do everything but that everybody can do something. Pick a category in your life that you want to make an improvement in, and the book offers solutions for that area; indeed you may discover that you have been working for a better world already. Finally, somebody has put it all together in a format that even I can understand.
Again, thank you Ellis, Ross, and Brett.

This book is an inspiration. It's seems like it was catered specifically to me. I am always wondering when I purchase something, even "natural" products, whether or not they are actually contributing to a better world, or whether they just claim to be environmentally responsible for commercial reasons. This book provides this information in an easy, accessible way, and saves me what would have taken thousands of hours of research. But the best part is that it's fun! It has inspired me to take actions and has allowed me to contribute to a better world in ways I never would have thought possible, and without having to change my life. I feel more informed, more responsible, and more empowered. If we all read this book, we would be living in a better world.

These three were all professors of mine at the Univeristy of Colorado, Boulder and they profoundly changed my world views. I even added a second major in Sociology because of the energy and optimism each left with me. The handbook is put together beautifully, it's easy to find what you're looking for in any category. This book helped me find websites that matched what I was looking for in a career, something I thought I'd never find! Bravo to Ellis, Ross and Brett for a job well done!

This book has been such a great tool in getting college students motivated. I took Sociology from Ross Haenfler this semester and it was AMAZING. We used this book as one of our textbooks and this past week everyone in the class agreed that THIS is the one book that won't be returning to the book mart. It has such valuable advice to get out in the community, city, world and make a difference. If you want to make a major change or even just learn how to recycle properly .. this is the book you need to read. BUY THIS BOOK!

I am a sponsor for an environmental club at my school and we use this book as our basic resource for information, for ideas to promote environmental awareness within the school, and as an easy buying guide for environmenally friendly products. It is an easy tool to use and I like all the useful information in one readable location.