The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life [Paperback]

Bill McKibben (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2008

Powerful, impassioned essays on living and being in the world, from the bestselling author of The End of Nature and Deep Economy

 

For a generation, Bill McKibben has been among America’s most impassioned and beloved writers on our relationship to our world and our environment. His groundbreaking book on climate change, The End of Nature, is considered “as important as Rachel Carson’s classic Silent Spring”* and Deep Economy, his “deeply thoughtful and mind-expanding”** exploration of globalization, helped awaken and fuel a movement to restore local economies.
 
Now, for the first time, the best of McKibben’s essays—fiery, magical, and infused with his uniquely soulful investigations of modern life—are collected in a single volume. Whether meditating on today’s golden age in radio, the natural place of biting black flies in our lives, or the patriotism of a grandmother fighting to get corporate money out of politics, McKibben inspires us to become better caretakers of the Earth—and of one another.
 
*The Plain Dealer (Cleveland )
**Michael Pollan

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Collected here are 44 trenchant essays written for various publications over the past 25 years by an astute observer of contemporary life and the environment. In some, McKibben reflects on personal experiences; in others, he discusses the sources of his environmental activism. Many of the pieces deal with global warming—the subject of McKibben's first book, The End of Nature, and the folly of endless growth—the theme of his more recent Deep Economy. All have something to say that is worth hearing, but it is the collection's pervasive sense of hope for the world that sets apart these provocative, beautifully written essays. Though McKibben worries about consumerism and the environment, he sees reason for optimism, too, rejoicing in the simple spirituality he finds in his hometown church, the popularity of old-fashioned state fairs, the return of forests to the eastern United States, the transformation of a town in Brazil into a haven for pedestrians, the success of sustainable farming in Cuba and the recent involvement of evangelicals in the environmental movement. There are all sorts of sweet things in this world, McKibben writes, many of which are us, and many of which are not. Thankfully, McKibben has borne witness to them with grace and style. (Mar. 4)
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About the Author

Bill McKibben is the author of a dozen books, including The End of Nature, Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age, and Deep Economy. A former staff writer for The New Yorker, he writes regularly for Harper's, The Atlantic Monthly, and The New York Review of Books, among other publications. He is a scholar in residence at Middlebury College and lives in Vermont with his wife, the writer Sue Halpern, and their daughter.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 442 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.; First Edition edition (March 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805076271
• ISBN-13: 978-0805076271
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #463,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bill McKibben is the author of The End of Nature, Deep Economy, and numerous other books. He is the founder of the environmental organizations Step It Up and 350.org, and was among the first to warn of the dangers of global warming. He is a scholar in residence at Middlebury College and lives in Vermont with his wife, the writer Sue Halpern, and their daughter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bill McKibben Reader, December 27, 2008

By 

G. Reed (Carlisle MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life (Paperback)

Had heard McKibben talk recently in Concord MA, but had never read any of his writings. Found this book to be both well written and an excellent introduction to his position on sustainability. Has inspired me to read more of his works.

2 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Something old, something new, May 7, 2008

By 

G. Steen "bookee" (Baltimore, Md USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life (Paperback)

Excellent writing, some of it already in his new Deep Economy. Mckibben has the ability, now he needs to focus his attention on where the American community should be going now that everyone except Exxon knows that global warming is for real.