A coherent, well-written challenge to the status quo that guides readers who want to stop and reverse the effects of climate...
A wide-ranging indictment of modern society and its lack of sustainability.
In this book on climate change and the future, Boyd (Energy and the Financial System, 2013) draws on philosophers from Plato to Foucault as well as scientific research to indict modern society for its inability to plan for a sustainable future. He also offers suggestions for overcoming inertia, apathy, and active resistance to achieve a world that will survive. In clear, measured language, Boyd contends that one of the primary drivers of civilization’s problems, along with inequality and resistance to change, is shortsightedness, as in the acceptance of post–World War II economic gains: “Many mistook this fleeting phenomenon, created by a certain set of circumstances combined with cheap energy, for a long-term trend.” He goes on to point out this pattern of humanity’s shortsightedness in the context of weather patterns, industrial agriculture, and financial behavior. Boyd faults contemporary societies for failing to take a long-term view of their infrastructures, citing the conversion of working waterfront districts into housing in New York, London, and Toronto as a trend whose consequences will be felt as transportation costs increase. The book devotes a chapter to debunking myths propagated by those who do not see climate change as a dire threat, and he challenges the science behind the international goals for carbon emissions and temperature change in a thoroughly footnoted section. Boyd’s conclusion is summed up in one of his subtitles: “Any Version of ‘Business As Usual’ Is Not Tenable.” Instead, he recommends that readers accept that continuing growth and development are neither possible nor desirable: “Once the necessity for a no-growth/de-growth society is accepted, the ways in which society must change start to become apparent,” with many of those ways involving a shift from globalization to strong connections within local communities. An extensive notes section adds support to Boyd’s persuasive arguments that demonstrate the need for change in order to ensure that humans have a future.
A coherent, well-written challenge to the status quo that guides readers who want to stop and reverse the effects of climate change.Pub Date: March 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4602-5059-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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