Nature's Web [Hardcover]

Peter Marshall (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this compelling search for a new environmental ethic, Marshall ( Demanding the Impossible: The History of Anarchism ) traces the development of human attitudes about nature from ancient times to the present. He notes that ecological thinking draws on science as well as philosophy and religion. In the first section, Marshall examines major religions--Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam--and their views of and effect on nature. In the second section, he turns to the scientific and industrial revolutions that changed our perceptions of the universe. Finally, Marshall surveys facets of today's ecological movements, including deep ecology, social ecology, eco-feminism. He calls for a libertarian ecology that demonstrates reverence for life and its diversities. A sound environmental ethic, he observes, requires imagination to appreciate the needs of other beings and things.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In this encyclopedic book, British educator Marshall explores the ideas regarding humanity's place in nature embodied in major religions and philosophies as well as the challenge to traditional anthropocentric world views offered by contemporary environmental ethics. He begins with ancient cultures and proceeds chronologically through the rise of scientific thought, the Enlightenment, and the Romantic Movement to our current ecological crisis. Marshall devotes separate sections to individual philosophers, scientists, and environmentalists, summarizing their ideas and commenting on how these relate to his overall theme of humankind as an integral part of nature's nonhierarchical web of being. In the closing chapters, Marshall presents his own philosophy of libertarian ecology. There is a wealth of information here, yet it is difficult to determine the audience to whom it might appeal. Scholars will find Marshall's analyses too cursory to support the certainty of his observations. Readers without an extensive background in the history of ideas may be overwhelmed by a text that rushes forward from one topic to the next, cramming difficult concepts and unfamiliar terms into a few pages or paragraphs. While some academic libraries might want this for its comprehensiveness, this is not an essential purchase for most collections.
Joan S. Elbers, formerly with Montgomery Coll., Rockville, Md.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 513 pages
• Publisher: Paragon House (April 20, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557786526
• ISBN-13: 978-1557786524
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #808,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Much Less Than Meets the Eye, October 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Nature's Web: Rethinking Our Place on Earth (Paperback)

Marshall's book has all the trappings of an accessible academic tome and a quick skim at the bookstore suggests great potential.

But in my opinion, Nature's Web falls way short of delivering on its promised comprehensive historical review of ecological thinking around the world. The book is limited in what it reports. For instance, the chapter on Buddhist ecological thought focuses almost exclusively on the Zen vision and does that only piecemeal, not thoroughly. School of thought represented the Buddhism of Southeast Asia is mentioned in passing only. And Tibetan Buddhist is virtually ignored. It would be as if Marshall wrote a chapter proportedly on Christian ecological thought, then focused heavily on Gnosticism, and forgot to mention that there is also a Christian church based in Rome, for instance.

For an excellent review of ecological thought, see instead Interpreting Nature: Cultural Constructions of the Environment, by I.G. Simmons