The Dream of the Earth (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This first volume in a new series, the Sierra Club Nature and Natural Philosophy Library, explores human-earth relations and seeks a new, non-anthropocentric approach to the natural world. According to cultural historian Berry, our immediate danger is not nuclear war but industrial plundering; our entire society, he argues, is trapped in a closed cycle of production and consumption. Berry points out that our perception of the earth is the product of cultural conditioning, and that most of us fail to think of ourselves as a species but rather as national, ethnic, religious or economic groups. Describing education as "a process of cultural coding somewhat parallel to genetic coding," he proposes a curriculum based on awareness of the earth. He discusses "patriarchy" as a new interpretation of Western historical development, naming four patriachies that have controlled Western history, becoming progressively destructive: the classical empires, the ecclesiastical establishment, the nation-state and the modern corporation. We must reject partial solutions and embrace profound changes toward a "biocracy" that will heal the earth, urges the author who defines problems and causes with eloquence.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"This volume quite possibly is one of the ten most important books of the twentieth century." -- Dr. Donald B. Conroy, President, North American Conference on Religion and Ecology --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Sierra Club Books; 2 edition (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578051355
• ISBN-13: 978-1578051359
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #45,530 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book may change the way you look at the earth., April 15, 2000

By	G. Merritt (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Dream of the Earth (Paperback)

A friend recently recommended this book. In this deep-ecology classic, Berry examines man's relationship with the earth. He explores our mistaken beliefs that we are separate from the planet, and that it exists solely for human destruction, pollution, exploitation and profit. He encourages us to take responsibility. This book forever changed the way I will look at our world. Read it. Then read Wes Nisker's "Buddha's Nature" (1998/2000) to learn, from a buddhist perspective, how to put Berry's "dream" into everyday practice.

G. Merritt

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fine Guide To Earth/Universe Connectivity, February 12, 2004

By	Bugs "Patrick" (Los Angeles, Ca.) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Dream of the Earth (Paperback)

Thomas Berry has put together in this one book what a thousand other writers have attempted and that is: a complete format for human perception of reality that should and can pervade through all our earthly activities, esp. religion, politics and economy. Let Earth and it's biolgical processes teach and guide us to a rational, sustainable, regenerative, healthy existence.

There are many potent passages all through this work and I picked out one that I felt was inclusive of the gist of the book.

..."This universe itself, but especially the planet Earth, needs to be experienced as the primary healer, primary commercial establishment, and primary lawgiver for all that exists within this life community. The basic spirituality communicated by the natural world can also be considered as normative for the future ecological age."- Page 120

This is an excellent treatise on reverence for the creative life forces that sustain us and treat us daily to a plethora of interactive life processes and our need to acknowledge this gift by treating it with the awe and respect it deserves.

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be required reading for college first-years, February 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dream of the Earth (Paperback)

"Dream of the Earth" should be considered a definitive work of 20th century, but, sadly, it has been overlooked by most of the populace. So powerfully written and earnest in some places that I was actually moved to tears, this book serves as a final plea and loose guide on how to save the planet - and with it, ourselves. In a broader sense, the book serves as a history of the human condition, how we came to be in the fix we are in today, and what massive, cultural changes need to take place in order to retain the last scraps of our mythic, extraordinary being.

Most see the coming ecological cataclysm (the next 50 years) as impossible to avoid or as nonsense. It is neither of those things. If this book doesn't drive you to change your lifestyle, nothing will.