Customer Reviews

Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things (New Report)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've never found another book like this one. It makes it extremely easy to understand, breathtakingly clear, how our choices to consume various products cause a chain of events which harm the environment. Do you know what was done to a river in Canada to produce the six-pack of aluminum cans you just bought? What part of the earth did your coffee come from, and what scary things were done to produce it? The authors never hector or nag, they just describe the origin of things you probably use every day, and let you contemplate them for yourself. The book is a quick and easy read, suitable for adults and teens alike. If I were a high school teacher or college instructor, this book would be mandatory reading for my classes.

Let me start by going backwards. In the appendix, the authors testify that this book is about the "greenest" on the market. With soy-based inks and nearly 100 percent of the paper content comprised of post- and pre-consumer waste, the book is a monument to sustainable production. Although they bemoan the "well traveled pulp" cover, no dioxins were co-produced alongside the book. To prove the book really is this cool, they painstaking tracked the web of connections involved in its production as far back as possible. After discussing every facet of the book, from guts and cover to printing, the only thing they were unable to determine was where half the cover's paper was produced. In all, this post-production analysis was stunning. The delicate web of causes and effects that entered into the books production should serve as a model to all those who would conceive the production of any product. Ideally, we should strive for this kind holistic understanding of production, consumption, and disposal before products every leave the design table.The actual content of the book is just as salient. What happens when millions of ordinary people like you and me go about our ordinary business, using lots of stuff? What ecological "wakes" do they leave behind, rippling outward across the world? This is the premise of the book, which is rather unassuming and commonsensical. The answers, however, are anything but mundane and commonsensical. The true stories of how things are made might leave you feeling overwhelmed or depressed. You might think twice about throwing that lump of sugar into your coffee -- and not only because it could add a few extra pounds and put you at greater risk of heart disease. You do so also in efforts to help restore the habitat of the Florida Everglades. Did the profound disconnect sink in yet? Not to worry, another 9 generic commodities with their own unique global "ripples" await you after picking up this book. They include you morning coffee, the newspaper, your T-shirts, shoes, that computer, the bike (and the car), those French fries, the hamburger that preceded them, and also the cola which will wash it all down. Although the imaginary North American whose daily consumptive routine this book tracks might not be you, do not then assume that these issues do not therefore concern you. The fact is, the consolidated effects of this consumption are harming much more than the Florida Everglades. They could potentially end all human reproduction. Perhaps you should read that last sentence again. We need to educate ourselves about this net ecological "wake" before the rooster tail of acid rain, rainforest destruction, ozone depletion, water depletion, air pollution, forest annihilation, energy exhaustion, pesticide inundation, sweatshop labor promotion, species extinction, waste production, monoculturalization, spiritual declination, heavy metal pollution creation, VOC smog accretion, and desertification leave us all wet and shivering in the cold."Well, what am I supposed to do bury my car?" you wonder. The book also offers hope. Consumption, whether we like it or not, is in end inescapable. Thus by understanding our impacts, seeking alternative solutions, educating the friends and the general public, and at the same time altering some our most unhealthy consumer habits, we can help move things in the right direction. If you are looking for more in-depth suggestions along these lines, check out "The Better World Handbook" (2001). It is my personal eco-bible. You can also get further eco-tips from the Northwest Environmental Watch website.

A real eye-opener.

j.w.k.

In "Stuff", Ryan provides a comprehensive description of the materials and processes used to produce, use, and dispose of a variety of everyday consumer products (automobile, hamburger, coffee, newspaper, etc.). He presents precise statistics on the quantity of raw and recycled materials, energy, and pollution caused by this production and consumption of each product. "Stuff" is concise and thoroughly researched.

While it's truly astonishing to learn the massive amount of resources used in production of these goods, the usefullness of "Stuff" is somewhat questionable. Ryan focuses almost entirely on the production process itself, only offering small "bubbles" (squares actually) at the conclusion of each chapter which present moderately helpful, but meager advice for reducing environmental impact.

"Stuff" is certainly interesting and informative; understanding all the minute details associated with the production of automobiles is interesting trivia. However there are other similar books which are more useful. After this book, Ryan subsequently wrote, "Seven Wonders" (among others), in which he presents seven common products that could profoundly improve the environment if used en mass. "Seven Wonders", is the mirror image of "Stuff" because he focuses on how to improve the situation, rather than the situation itself. I would also recommend (as another reviewer did) "The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices", by The Union of Concerned Scientists; a comprehensive guidebook that is both informative and practical. That said, while "Stuff", could be more advisory, it's still a highly informative resource.

Buy this book and distribute it widely. It's a bible for those interested in a more just consumption in society. People must know what underlies their purchasing decisions before they can be expected to choose more rationally. Stuff provides the information to end this disconnect. It is both well-written and well-researched.

I didn't know this book would be such a nice read...
After receiving it, I read it all in one sitting. The book chronicles a day in the life of a typical person (an American). Although it is about an American, I believe there is not much difference between any ordinary person in any developed country on earth. The impacts of this person's consumption of products, her actions are all examined from an environment viewpoint. Some people may think that the book is too amateur but that's precisely why it's such a good read. It's easy to understand but leaves a lasting impression on you. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in knowing more about how our everyday actions affect the world we live in.

This book does a great job of giving information about all of the different inputs required for lots of the different things we consume every day. It makes you consider many little things that you previously didn't think about, such as the environmental impacts of transporting goods, and water spent washing your clothes. For this simple reason it might be a good buy.

However, the book fails in its use of statistics, failing to give the reader a real sense of the environmental impact of different goods. This books barrages us with facts and figures about the production of certain goods. However, most of these numbers are given with so little background that it is difficult to determine how consuming each product is. After reading this book, I don't know whether eating a hamburger or drinking coffee really is that bad for the environment, even if I do know all of the materials necessary and pollution emitted from the production of these products.

If you'd like a more practical book that will help you be more responsible with respect to the environment, I recommend "The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices". This book actually gives suggestions for the most important things to consider to live in a manner that will minimize damage to the environment. If you would just like to learn about the different "ingredients" required for certain products, however, this book is good enough.

This is one fun and informative book and one I am buying for young as well as older friends. I sit here typing on a computer keyboard and because of the book I see things I never really stopped to see before. And with this comes questions and answers about how many people and natural resources does it take to make all the elements of this modern marvel. Not just the keyboard, monitor and speakers, but the people behind Amazon.com who are consuming coffee, flushing toilets, using lights and machines to process my order.

This is what the book is all about. Becoming quiet and looking around at everything we touch and consume and looking at the bigger picture and 'seeing' all the hands, and natural resources it has taken to produce the coffee we drink, water we drink, car we drive, magazines we read, lights we use, clothes we wear, and the list goes on.

At the end of each chapter, rather than leave the reader feeling like a glutton and bad, the authors have suggested better choices or alternative. Like writing about the average T-shirt and what it takes to make one to what it takes to care for one the authors suggest that one wash only full loads and don't wash after every use but when the item is actually dirty. T-shirts in summer cool the body better which means less AC use, and in winter extra layers of clothing means less heating costs.

Anyway, the book is one that even when I re-read it I discover something new that I hadn't read before. Will check out their other books as well.

I bought the "HTML edition" thinking that I'd save a tree and burn pixels instead. But the HTML is not the book; it is a very short essay. If you're expecting the same content as what's on paper, be warned.

This book takes a day in the life of a typical U.S. citizen, living in the Pacific Northwest, and examines the products they use in that day. It dissects the history of those products, how they were made, what processes they went through, where they were shipped from, where all the parts came from, and ultimately, the impact they have on the environment. Quite an eye-opener. Chock full of facts to make you reconsider driving your car, or eating a burger. For instance, it might be surprising to discover that to make just one quarter-pound fast food burger, almost 700 gallons of water are used in the process. Very factual and practical, this book is a great eye-opener for anyone who consumes. Without being preachy, it makes the undeniable case that our current level of consumption is not sustainable.

This book was extremely concise. It's easy to read and down to earth. I feel anyone who is not convinced of the overconsumption going on needs to read this. Excellent book.