This was the last Whole Earth Catalog published. It was published in 1998.
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75 of 79 people found the following review helpful
By David Perry
Format:Paperback
If you weren't there, then this review is for you. The Whole Earth Catalog was not so much a catalog, as a service reviewing stuff, and ideas, and movements in the late sixties and early to mid seventies. You could not be a hippy without a copy of this book, or an environmentalist, or any number of things. But the real purpose the book had was to open the minds of the many to the most ragged edge of contemporary thought. For example:
Richard Buckminster Fuller- 'Bucky' Fuller was fairly obscure outside of the acolytes of the whole earth catalog. The same could be said of a hundred other big thinkers, from Paolo Soleri (arcology) to Gregory Bateson (crack in the cosmic egg)to Jerzy Grotowski to Allesandro Jodorowski. The WEC is the who's who in hip thinking.
Swiss Army Knives- I swear, the WEC put a swiss army knife in the pocket of every hippy on the planet. (some of us still carry them today) Synthesizers (if you are a synthesizer head, read Walter Carlos's essay about them. Garden Tools, hand operated winches, drywall screws and other tools too numerous to mention.
Nomadics- I had never even thought of the idea of being a portable lifestyle until the WEC. Now I am old and a homeowner, but I am still nomadic.
and so on. The WEC (of which this is a reprint) was followed by the LAST WHOLE EARTH CATALOG (that's the big seller) the Whole Earth Epilog, and the Millenium Catalog. The Point Foundation (who published the WEC) also published a magazine, originally called the Co-Evolution Quarterly (or CEQ) which then became the Whole Earth Software Review, and then The Whole Earth Review, and then just Whole Earth. They went out of print, finally in 2003--having brought us thousands of pages on every topic imaginable. The spirit lives on in the WELL (Whole Earth Lectric Link) a venerable online community of smart people (now hosted on salon)
I grew up in Huntington Beach, California. In the sixties the WEC put me onto an entire world of stuff and ideas not available locally. My friends all read the catalog, we all exchanged gifts found in the catalog. We all wore anne kalso earth shoes, levis, chambris work shirts and had long hair. We all read dan o'neill comics, we all laughed at the firesign theater, we all sang folk music. Today we are computer programmers, social workers, architects and college professors. We DID change the world, in so many ways. If you weren't there you don't see the changes, you just see the world as it is. This book is fantastically important, but I doubt a modern young person can even hear the melody.
take pleasure in the ordinary, and in nature
discover new ways to see the events around you
metaprogram your own reactions--your own reality
get out of trouble, get past the bad time
help others if you can,
persevere
Richard Buckminster Fuller- 'Bucky' Fuller was fairly obscure outside of the acolytes of the whole earth catalog. The same could be said of a hundred other big thinkers, from Paolo Soleri (arcology) to Gregory Bateson (crack in the cosmic egg)to Jerzy Grotowski to Allesandro Jodorowski. The WEC is the who's who in hip thinking.
Swiss Army Knives- I swear, the WEC put a swiss army knife in the pocket of every hippy on the planet. (some of us still carry them today) Synthesizers (if you are a synthesizer head, read Walter Carlos's essay about them. Garden Tools, hand operated winches, drywall screws and other tools too numerous to mention.
Nomadics- I had never even thought of the idea of being a portable lifestyle until the WEC. Now I am old and a homeowner, but I am still nomadic.
and so on. The WEC (of which this is a reprint) was followed by the LAST WHOLE EARTH CATALOG (that's the big seller) the Whole Earth Epilog, and the Millenium Catalog. The Point Foundation (who published the WEC) also published a magazine, originally called the Co-Evolution Quarterly (or CEQ) which then became the Whole Earth Software Review, and then The Whole Earth Review, and then just Whole Earth. They went out of print, finally in 2003--having brought us thousands of pages on every topic imaginable. The spirit lives on in the WELL (Whole Earth Lectric Link) a venerable online community of smart people (now hosted on salon)
I grew up in Huntington Beach, California. In the sixties the WEC put me onto an entire world of stuff and ideas not available locally. My friends all read the catalog, we all exchanged gifts found in the catalog. We all wore anne kalso earth shoes, levis, chambris work shirts and had long hair. We all read dan o'neill comics, we all laughed at the firesign theater, we all sang folk music. Today we are computer programmers, social workers, architects and college professors. We DID change the world, in so many ways. If you weren't there you don't see the changes, you just see the world as it is. This book is fantastically important, but I doubt a modern young person can even hear the melody.
take pleasure in the ordinary, and in nature
discover new ways to see the events around you
metaprogram your own reactions--your own reality
get out of trouble, get past the bad time
help others if you can,
persevere
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This was a special issue of the Whole Earth Review to celebrate 30 years of change. It's amazing how much of the original material is still interesting and to realize how far ahead of the curve Steward Brand was.
I found the real value in the new interviews with people who were the leaders in the 60's and 70's about what they think is important now. The two viewpoints, 30 years of maturity as it were, makes this more than just a trip to the past. If the WEC/WER didn't change your mind, you weren't paying attention.
36 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you were a sudent at the time of Still Nash and Young, Chicago Transit Autohority, "Jesus freaks" and protests against Vietnam war you must have bought the original version of this book. Full of facts, names, adresses, direct advice on sensitive subjects. It was our bible. This book is full of practical and inspiring solutions for free people like you and me.
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