Customer Reviews

Green Rage: Radical Environmentalism and the Unmaking of Civilization

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I admire the old Earth First!. They had the repution for being over the top radicals, but in retrospect were they really all that radical? I don't recall anybody involved with Earth First! ever doing anything violent, even in self defense, and there were several instances where EF! people were physically attacked. There were tree spikings and vandalism that was attributed to them but the majority of the tactics they used were really just text book civil disobedience. The out and out criminal acts that were attributed to Earth First! turned out to be done by government agents in their bogus attempts to frame Dave Foreman. EF's main thing was the idea that forests and wildlife were just as important as human life and were more than something to be exploited and used for profit and enjoyment.

Although Green Rage isn't exactly that, it is probably the closest you will get to a manifesto for the old Earth First! before the founding members left and Earth First! became intertwined with bad left wing political causes and political correctness. Green Rage also serves as a pretty good history of the environmental/conservation movement. Highly recomended reading!

Green Rage is a must read for all human inhabitants of this planet. Mr. Manes lays out in plain Engish why the civilization complex is the greatest enemy facing every facet of nature, including humanity itself. Aside from laying out a scathing critique of modern civilization, Manes offers viable solutions to the ongoing rape of our planet. They are not easy solutions, but they are necessary.

Green Rage gives the reader a general overview of the environmental movement up to 1991 (the publication date of the book). Manes concentrates on radical enviromentalism but he also writes in detail about the mainstream movement also. His comparison of the two movements is a perfect method of proving the necessity of ecodefense. Other points discussed include (but are not limited to) ecotage, Adat (natural law), the downfall of humanism, and industrial collapse.

An important point that manes touches on very lightly is mankind' seemingly innate hatred of nature (or misothery). He mentons this unfortunate state of affairs and concedes that he has no explanation for it. Luckily two years later Jim mason wrote a book called "An Unnatural Order" (ISBN 0-8264-1028-6) in which he gives an exhaustive view of man's hated of and alienation from nature. These two books read together will give any reader a good picture of what must be done to save all of the species of the world.

Green Rage charts the American environmental activism movement from Alod Leopold through Dave Foreman and the Sierra Club to the more demanding activism of EarthFirst! and ecotage. A must read for anyone serious about the denfence of the environment against the onslaught of those who view our wilderness areas as a pile of commodities available to the highest corporate bidder.

Christopher Manes writes a manifesto for the Deep Ecology movement. This book must be read and carried out by every human being. A new way of living that is actually the way humanity has lived for millions of years is the ultimate goal. The means to this end is not just government regulation, recycling, or composting. Rather it is a revolution of the way we think, and the way we act with nature. Manes describes deep ecology, its importance, how it is carried out, how it has been repressed, and how civilization is man's (and nature's)worst enemy.

Green Rage is the best book on the market portraying the roots of our environmental problems. It gives an in-depth, personal account of the brave activists who are fighting to protect the Wild. Most important, the book cuts through the usual rhetoric about sustained development and "green" consumerism to get to the core problem: our spiritual disorientation that stems from being alienated from nature. The first-person stories it tells of ecowarriors and their battles against greed and stupidity (including detailed accounts of "ecotage" against environmentally destructive companies) are inspiring. A must-read for anyone not completely brainwashed by consumer society (and it might even convince those folks too). The fact that the book has been so prominently attacked by the apologists for the continued destruction of wild nature for economic gain (it's quoted extensively by appalled anti-environmental writers) testifies to its honesty and importance.

Christopher Manes gives a compelling rationale for the rise of radical ecology groups, specifically Earth First! which he was a part of at the time. The history of Earth First! as presented here is somewhat one-sided, both because of the author and because of the date it was published (1991). Earth First! around the time the book was published had undergone a split between the original founders of the group (the "misanthrope" faction) and newer elements based on the West Coast who wanted to incorporate Earth First! into the broader context of the feminist, peace, neopagan, and social justice movements. Manes was part of the former faction, which left Earth First! around the time his book was published; thus, his history of Earth First! is now badly dated and tends to concentrate only on the faction he was part of. (This faction left the movement they had originally founded and started a magazine called "Wild Earth" as well as a large number of grassroots wilderness groups which have become part of the mainstream ecology movement). The Earth First! of today is not the same group at all which Manes' book is about, but rather is aligned with urban anarchists, feminism, and neopagans. Nonetheless, this is an excellent book to read if you are interested in the history of, and rationale behind, Earth First! prior to 1991. For a more up-to-date analysis of Earth First! and the rise of the newer faction that took over the group, also read Dave Foreman's _Confessions of an Eco-Warrior_, Martha Lee's _Earth First!: Environmental Apocalypse_, and Susan Zakin's _Coyotes and Town Dogs_.

A persuasive and well documented argument for the radical green movement. It blends intelligent analysis of the situation with a passionate call to action.

The brief, passionate title of Manes' book certainly caught my eye. Unfortunately, Manes makes no convincing arguments on behalf of radical environmentalism in this tedious diatribe. Instead, he simply spouts empty rhetoric and a few conspiracy theories. Manes emphasizes his contention that civilization is on the brink of collapse due to our violent attitude toward nature. Do we need to change our attitude toward nature? Well, I think so. Will Manes' book convince anybody of this? I doubt it. If you want to read a good book about the Earth First! movement, read "Confessions of an Eco-Warrior," a homey but surprisingly articulate collection of essays by Dave Foreman, an on-again, off-again proponent of radicalism. The best I can say about Green Rage is that if you are into radical environmentalism, it will get you riled up. The worst I can say is that it does a disservice to the environment by being a waste of the paper it is printed on.

I read this book through an act of Congress which permits talking books for blind people. Every American should read this book- blind or with vision because of the truth that everyone knows but does not think about. There are other books to be read about the subject that are as good, Al Gore's book on ecology- earth in balance.