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The Human Age: The World Shaped By Us 1st Edition

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Diane Ackerman (Author)
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Diane Ackerman (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars 81 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0393240740
ISBN-10: 0393240746
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 344 pages
  • Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (September 10, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0393240746
  • ISBN-13: 978-0393240740
  • Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 1.2 x 9.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #207,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsA passionate, if unfocused, argument for a more nature-focused world view
By Michael J. Edelman TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on August 28, 2014
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
Diane Ackerman is concerned about how humans, after living at the mercery of the natural world for millions of years, have for the past century few centuries changed the world in radical ways. We are no longer at the mercy of weather, the tides, the winds, or even evolution, as our technology, and our hubris, have advanced through the years. Ackerman thinks we need to change how we look at the world, and concentrate more on using science to live in harmony with nature, rather than as a tool to overcome it.

That's certainly not a new thesis, of course. Aldo Leopold was writing about the need to live in harmony with nature in a modern, technological, world back in the 1920s, and there have been many since then. What Ackerman brings to the debate is a collection of of stories regarding how humans have used technology to replace, supplant, or in some case, work with nature. She talks about the military use of dolphins, aquaculture, artificial intelligence, evolution, biomass, solar energy, 3-D printing and dozens of other topics. Her range is great, and so is her passion, but in that range sometimes her focus is hard to perceive. What, exactly, Ackerman thinks the role of technology should be, beyond the fact that it shouldn't be harmful, is a bit vague.

Ackerman is a good writer, if a bit florid at times ("we not only bespangle the night, we broadloom the day") but for a science writer she's sometimes remarkably unfamiliar with science, and often speaks with just one person on any given topic. She doesn't seem to do any fact checking, either, otherwise she'd know arrows do not ricochet, and no one has made 3-D printed brass knuckles (although a plastic model has been made). Ackerman also tends to neglect the economics of the policies she or her interviewees propose.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsIf you’re looking to remedy a dystopian view of humanity and technology…
By Knits in Tardis VINE VOICE on October 3, 2014
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
Then _The Human Age_ is your little book of meditations. I’ll say something I don’t much in reviews: I haven’t made my way all the way through this yet, and certainly not in a linear fashion, because as much as Diane Ackerman works to give structure to her latest work here, it’s not that kind of book.

Ackerman’s prose can indeed run to the florid, as other reviewers have complained, but as much as I don’t go for the flowery stuff in general, I find her to be a pretty straightforward sensualist who notes the finer points of smells and sounds and textures because they are not something she is hardwired to ever ignore. I think it’s telling that she focuses in several pieces on Budi, the Toronto zoo’s adolescent orangutan who is so like a human child, and yet so not. As someone who has taken on the topic of how humans came to bring this planet to its current pass, and what more we might do – for good and ill – with our current capacities (read technology), she really, REALLY had ought to be more than a little discouraged and depressed. Instead, the author sees all the potential for us to remediate the damage we’ve done, at least in some measure, and…it’s weird.

It’s also necessary. We aren’t going to raise future generations to fix our mistakes if we bring them up on a diet of regret and resignation. Peering into vertical mariculture farms or the potential to actually bring back the wooly mammoths is just the thing to spark imaginations not yet dulled by real world experiences of avarice, short-sightedness, and inadequate political will to face whatever crisis du jour. (At this writing, it’s Ebola - in Liberia and potentially at home.)

I’m a little old for the more “formative” influences in Ms. Ackerman’s writing.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsWelcome to the Anthropocene Era
By Nancy Famolari on August 3, 2014
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
Apes playing with iPads, Japanese tourists visiting industrial sites, the great black marble that is the earth ringed with lights at night: all these are manifestations of the Anthropocene Era, the era in which man is the dominant force shaping the world.

The book is a series of essays each in a separate chapter ranging from nature to technology to the human body. I found each chapter well written, almost poetic. Whether you agree with her position that the way man has used and abused the environment is remediable not necessarily by using more technology but by modifying our behavior, including industrial and social behavior, she makes interesting points.

The ending chapters on the human body, particularly the factors we are beginning to understand in how our DNA influences what we become and the role played by the environment, were my favorite chapters, but there are other excellent sections ranging from the sea to outer space.

I highly recommend this book if you're interested in science, technology and the study of the human body. It's not a text book. It's an enjoyable read that gives you ideas to challenge the way you view the world.
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5.0 out of 5 starsPowerful And Tender
By Wilhelmina Zeitgeist VINE VOICE on September 5, 2014
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
"The Human Age: The World Shaped By Us" by Diane Ackerman contains beautifully, almost poetic essays on the treatment of the earth and all its creatures by humankind. I found myself thoroughly engaged with the author's writing drinking in the words like cool water on a long hike. Each essay caused me to pause in thought over what I had just read. Not thinking if I agreed or disagreed with the author but, what did I think?

My favorite essay was "Nature, Pixilated." I was beautifully crafted with vivid description so well worded I could see, feel, and hear what I was reading. Seeing the frozen landscape as my exposed skin catches the deep chill of winter. Hearing my footsteps making crisp, crunching sounds as I walk across the snow covered in a thin icy layer.

Imaginative words are interwoven with facts to present the aching world to us in a powerful yet tender way. Ackerman makes us care about our planet and its inhabitants. Not through force or anger but, she shows us with a love for all that we have the power to preserve or destroy.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsOne of her best yet. Fascinating reading and very poignant perspective...

as always, Diane Ackerman delivers ! One of her best yet. Fascinating reading and very poignant perspective of our present state of affairs. Read more

Published 16 days ago by rizlady
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

So beautifully written I'm sharing with my friends. New heights to adjectives!

Published 3 months ago by Margaret Guttieri
4.0 out of 5 starsA very readable book on a subject worthy of attention by our species

This book goes beyond the typical "humans are so samt that they dominate the world " or "humans are destroying the planet" worldview and instead makes fact-filled... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Shekhar Chitnis
1.0 out of 5 starsWriting like nails on a chalkboard

Like some other reviewers, i wanted to like this book, but her writing style is so florid it makes my eyes roll. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Bennett's mom
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Excellent book!!!

Published 5 months ago by Thomas Hitch
3.0 out of 5 starsjTake Your Time with The Human Age

The book should be read slowly and as a series of short vignettes or short essays instead of a conventional book. The ideas are worth reflecting on at a leisurely pace. Read more

Published 5 months ago by David Seligman
5.0 out of 5 starsI love the way she writes

I love the way she writes. It starts out rather depressing, but she is very optimistic about our future. I learned a lot reading this.

Published 6 months ago by Poopnickel
5.0 out of 5 starsIn line with a growing number of scientists, the ...

In line with a growing number of scientists, the author argues that humans are changing the earth on a scale too grand to underestimate. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Northern Californian
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

A great read!!

Published 6 months ago by Cliff H
2.0 out of 5 starsReturned for refund

15% into the book and didn't learn anything. I can deal with the flowery writing style but not with not learning a n y t h i n g. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Edgar S.

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