Customer Reviews

Listening to the Land: Conversations about Nature, Culture and Eros (29 Interviews)

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This book is comprised of interviews Derrick Jensen had with a diverse group of people that he saw as searching for answers to the question of why modern society was propagating a pervasive ecological destruction of the earth, and if there are ways to live more peacefully with the natural world. The interviewees include anthropologists, psychologists, theologians, and indigenous philosophers. Jensen uses the dialogue form instead of a single-voice narrative "in the hope the reader would experience the story for what it is - a communal effort at working through some of the greatest and most difficult questions ever faced by human beings." This dialogue form was at first distracting, since it lacked the tight organizational structure of written discourse and the argumentative authority of the single-voiced narrative. But as I became more accustomed to the dialogue style I saw that its weaknesses were also its strength. The personality and subjective aspect of the interviewer and the interviewees came to the forefront showing how that which was being discussed was shaped and colored by each of them and the interaction between them. This non-detached orientation helped to make the discussion about human/nature interaction more intersubjective, or less about something out there and more about something constructed by participating subjects in the drama of life. In terms of the interviewer, Jensen was trained in mineral engineering physics in the early 1980's but soon found himself miserable in his "not-too-meaningless", middle class technical job. His quest to find "other models for happiness" (page 2) is apparent in his interviewing style that maintains an intimate personal quality even while discussing abstract theoretical points. Within the dialogues he stays in the background allowing the interviewees to fluidly expound on his penetrating but concise questions. He also is able to do the difficult job of asking follow-up questions that complement and probe further, by building on the interviewees responses. What emerges is the sense of being witness to oral conversations that stir the heart, inform the intellect and inspire the spirit. The interviewees themselves are a "who's who" of the environmental field. From Earth First founder Dave Foreman we hear that "in religious terms... fighting to save biodiversity, the process of evolution, is a way for us to save our souls". The complexity of the fight and the man, come out later in the interview when he tells a story about going to Washington D.C. to be a lobbyist for the Wilderness Society. A senator took him aside and told him to put his heart in a safe-deposit box and replace his brain with a pocket calculator because only by quoting economists and engineers and being devoid of emotion would he have credibility. To this he said " But Damn it, I am emotional. I'm an animal, and proud of it. Descartes was wrong when he said, 'I think therefore I am.' Our consciousness, our being, is not all up here in the skullbox, its our whole body we think with...We need that green fire in our eyes. Somehow we've got to remember how to think like a mountain." (page 12) Mathew Fox, tells us of how his Creation Spirituality is about realizing that nature's laws are miracles, and that regaining the mystical awe in experiencing life creates a foundation of love within us, that if missing makes us essentially lost in the world. Then showing the cross pollination of ideas alive in these interviews, he quotes sustainable agriculture advocate Wendell Berry who says that "Perhaps the greatest disaster of human history is...the conceptual division between the holy and the world, the excerpting of the creator from the creation." (page 69) The Ecofemist, Charlene Spretnak, proposes a replacement for "mechanistic, dualistic, anti-nature, anti-spiritual modernity" (page 49) not with a nihilistic extreme relativity post-modernism, but with what she calls 'ecological postmodernism'. Based on being embodied and embedded in the natural world, her ecological postmodernism refutes the "death of subject" and the "denial of meaning" of postmodernism. She counters Foucalt's autonomous self with a self based on an interdependent communion with the universe. I regret that the length of this review limits me from going into more of the remaining twenty-seven interviews, but let me finish by saying that when I need spiritual inspiration or intellectual stimulation to enhance my work as an Ecological Anthropologist, this book of conversations will be one of the first places I will turn.

If there were any justice in the world, Derrick Jensen's book, "Listening to the Land, " would be a best seller, the hot book being read and talked about by just about everyone. In such a world, what would - just for example - President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and other "drill, cut and burn" true believers think of this book? One guess? They'd probably arrest Jensen under the USA Patriot Act and have the book burned on a pile of old-growth firewood! How about all these big-shot CEOs now on their way to jail (hopefully) for corporate wrongdoing? They'd probably try to figure out how to coopt Jensen into their corporate advertising about how "green" they are! Don't forget the Catholic Church bishops, who shuffled pedophile priests around and protected them from any reprimand over the years; they'd probably say that Jensen and his friends are all just a bunch of nature-worshipping atheist witches! And let's not let good ol' average "middle Americans" off the hook either, since it's their consumption and waste (which apparently knows no bounds), their actions, and their apathy, which allow a few powerful people, companies, and governments to trash the planet, the poor, and the vulnerable (both human and non-human) for their own power and profit.

Unfortunately, in this far-from-just world of ours, most people -certainly not our political or corporate leaders -- have never even HEARD of Derrick Jensen, let alone read "Listening to the Land." And, also unfortunately, most of these people would probably just dismiss Derrick Jensen and friends as a bunch of "tree-hugging, left-wing, anti-establishment nutcases." Well, given the level of violence, destruction, and mass extinction humans are currently wreaking on our planet, I'll take the "tree-hugging anti-establishment nutcases" over Bush, the corporate CEOs, the Catholic bishops, and the SUV-driving American suburbanites -- any day of the week!

What Derrick Jensen has courageously done here is to bring together around 30 leading theologians, environmentalists, Native American philosophers, psychologists, techno-skeptics and others in a fascinating series of interviews ("conversations" really) which provide a much-needed fresh perspective while bringing to bear tremendous energy, passion and focus on some of our biggest and most urgent problems. These people may care passionately about things, but they're definitely not a bunch of wackos. In fact, the more you read, the more you realize it's OUR SOCIETY that's wacko, not the "tree huggers."

Jensen is excellent at asking penetrating question and getting his subjects to speak their minds, although at times I wish I could have heard more of his voice as well (have to read his other books, I guess). By the end of "Listening to the Land," the level of thoughtfulness, eloquence, compassion, and wisdom found here fills us with understanding, sadness, righteous anger, and a sense that the world as it is currently constituted is just not right. Specifically, Jensen shows us how a lack of connection and harmony within the human soul itself - a result in large part of organized religion's teachings regarding man's "specialness," separation from all other works of creation (i.e., nature), and hence "dominion over the Earth" -- has bred a potentially fatal disease for both humans and non-humans. Jensen's conversations also make clear that something must be done about this situation immediately, and it ain't drilling in the Arctic or blowing the tops off of mountains in West Virginia (as the Bushies would have us believe), I'll tell you that!

If, after reading "Listening to the Land," you don't feel at all angry, disturbed, or upset, perhaps you're a corporate CEO or the White House Press Spokesman or something. For the rest of us, though, many of whom care about both our own lives as well as the world around us, this book is indispensable and deeply moving. I couldn't recommend "Listening to the Land" more strongly to anyone who cares about the world they live in. I admire and commend Derrick Jensen for his honest and powerful work; and I greatly look forward to reading his other books!

This book by Derrick Jensen was moving and inspiring. It presented a wide variety of viewpoints on environmental topics in a very personal dialogue format. This approach worked to reach the heart as well as the head. I found every section interesting and had a difficult time putting the book down.

This title is also informative and presents a full spectrum of opinions in original form from the mouths of the speakers who represent -- environmentalists, theologians, Native Americans, psychologists and feminists. In addition to reaching the heart, the material stimulates deep inquiry on the part of the reader. It is not in anyway superficial, quite the contrary!

The organizing principle of the book is the theme of loving the land and living in harmony with it. A thread that pervades every section is finding peaceful ways to live in harmony with the environment. It does not look to assign blame, but rather to seek peaceful solutions to the increasingly complex environmental problems that are plaguing all of us on the planet.

In my opinion, this is a must read for anyone interested in the environment or in reestablishing a deep connection to the land. If I could rate it a six I would. I got more from this book than I ever expected and have shared it with many people. I wish every voter and person having anything to do with making public policy read it, preferably on a camping trip.

Kudos to Derrick Jensen for coming up with the idea for this unique book. This is a very insightful and diverse collection of conversations with a variety of environmentally minded thinkers. These are structured as loose dialogues in which each thinker's ideas come to the fore. Not all of these discussions are strictly environmentalist (in the basic definition of the term), but all explore humanity's important connection with the Earth in myriad fashions. The discussions are very loosely arranged by discipline; with ecology, science, politics, economics, sociology, anthropology, and finally art and philosophy appearing as the book progresses.

This ordering of different disciplines leads to a few problems in flow. The book gets off to a rocky start with essays in hard ecology from activists, especially Christopher Manes, who can't accept the fact that humans are (at least temporarily) stuck in a non-ecological society. In the book's later stages things really slow down with poorly developed philosophies and quaint PC-isms. A low point is the scatterbrained mysticism/communitarianism of Dolores LaChapelle and Julien Puzey, while the environmental bookbinding art of Sandra Lopez is rather neat but too esoteric to be of much use.

But the day is more than saved overall by the powerful remainder of the book, in which the really articulate thinkers make their mark. Good examples are the musings on technology by Jerry Mander, the population economics of William R. Catton Jr., and the cultural analysis of Frederick Turner. A good side effect of this book is the attention it brings to the many under-appreciated and valuable books by these thinkers. And in every interview, Jensen does a marvelous job of acting less like an interviewer and more like a facilitator. He provides sharp comments and leading questions in an efficient manner, allowing each thinker to give their philosophy in ways that provide maximum insight to the Earth-connected reader.

If your a fan of Derrick Jensen's work you will definately see where he has gotten a lot of the foundations in his thinking.

This book is centered on the question if we we're not happy destroying the landbase that keeps us alive, and gives our inner world substance, than why are we doing it? Jensen than goes on to interview thinkers from many different fields to discuss this phenomenon.

This book is interesting and full of a lot of useful information. I find myself constantly going back through it and referencing interviews that I have found profoundly important.

Definately worth reading!

There are two sorts of "environmentalists": those who romanticize their vision of a make-believe perfect past, and those who look towards the future and real solutions. This book is for the former group. I'm a member of the latter.

This is the most unbearable book I have ever forced myself to finish, and I love reading about ecology and activism. This book was not what I was expecting, but I should have looked at the bios of the interview subjects (mainly neo-primitivists) before purchasing it. Barring a few bright spots, the overall tone is an attack on science, logic, and rationality, which are, apparently, evil tools of The Man.

This is not the kind of book that reaches out to the mainstream and seeks to engage and inform outsiders about actual ecological issues- it's primarily composed of "conversations" where Jensen and his interviewees congratulate each other for being so right-on. There is little nuanced critique here, it's mostly just page after page of vague technophobia and the repetition of how "everyone knows" that civilization and technology makes "everyone" deeply miserable.

Most of the interview subjects adhere to a wacky (pre-)historical revisionism that suits their fantasies/religions, like claiming that back when we were landless tribal people and everything was awesome, we didn't even have to hunt animals- we'd commune with their souls and they'd gladly lay down their lives for us so we could eat them. Huh?

(I can just imagine these people sitting around gushing, "Wasn't everything great when women were baby factories who often died in childbirth, stupid weakling differently-abled people perished, we were always filthy, and we'd die slow painful deaths if we got an infected hangnail? Gosh, if only I could live back then! I wish my life was a short, brutish existence consisting only of trying to survive the elements and microorganisms.")

There are countless places where interview subjects confidently, and without any evidence, refute well-established basic facts of biology, anthropology, and ecology, and Jensen excitedly nods and agrees with them. It's like reading a creationist pamphlet.

Prancing around on the solstices casting magical spells for the earth goddesses, or opining about how deeply unjust books are as an entire format because plants can't read books (!) are not solutions to real-world problems, or ideas that can GO anywhere. There are so many dead-end philosophies in this book.

If you're into woo-woo, spiritualism, fetishizing "the old ways" and indigenous North Americans, and you generally describe your life "goal" as the magical disappearance of civilization via communing with tree faeries and stuff, you will love this book.

If you're living in the real world of facts, science, action, and making the world a better place in measurable ways, try something else.

I like this book and re-read it occasionally. The reviews with individuals are helpful in gettin a semi-diverse opinion of the troubles of our world. Some interviews are definately better than others so do not expect all interviews to blow you away. I have marked 10 or so and come back to these occasionally in order to re-inspire myself.

LISTENING TO THE LAND is a wonderful collection of interviews by the outstanding author of A LANGUAGE OLDER THAN WORDS and THE CULTURE OF MAKE BELIEVE - quite possibly the two most important books I have ever read. Written before those books, LISTENING reads like a bibliography of Jensen's founding influences. The interviewees include: Arno Gruen, Thomas Berry, Matthew Fox, Jerry Mander, David Ehrenfeld, Charlene Spretnak, John Livingston, William Catton Jr., Robert Jay Lifton, Frederick Turner, Reed Noss, John Osborn, Paul Shepard, Sandra Lopez, Starhawk, Julien Puzey, John Keeble, Linda Hogan, Catherine Keller, Max Oelschlaeger, Terry Tempest Williams, Christopher Manes, Jeanette Armstrong, Dolores Lachapelle, Ward Churchill, Neil Evernden, Dave Foreman, Susan Griffan, David Orr and Peter Berg. Had this book included interviews with Wendell Berry, Sandra Steingrabber and Chellis Glendinning, it would have been perfect (in my opinion). But then nothing is perfect. As with everything this author touches, LISTENING is a must read.

In "Listening to the Land", environmental activist Derrick Jensen converses with Terry Tempest Williams, Ward Churchill, Starhawk, and other visionary ecological thinkers on a broad range of vital issues, like: ecofeminism, wilderness preservation, resource depletion, bioregionalism, and Native American liberation. For activists working to stop the corporate plunder of our planet, defend indigenous peoples, and protect endangered species, this book is an inspirational read. It will encourage you not only to resist the destructive forces of industrial patriarchy, but to live in deep relationship with one's landbase. The coho salmon, the panda bears, the monarch butterflies, the tropical rainforests, and the coral reefs depend on our love (just as we, in turn, depend on the living earth).

This book is very well written and a wonderful collection of essays. For anyone that enjoys a well written essay with regards to the future of our planet, the environment or the total disregard that so many humans currently have to the planet - this is an excellent read.