A welcome reminder that there are things we can do to heal the planet that go beyond useless half-measures.
An irreverent, urgent look at climate change.
Building on a column he writes for the Dutch magazine De Correspondent, Mommers seeks a “much-needed antidote to despair” in the face of the grave transformations that are manifesting themselves around the planet: skies choked with particulates and the smoke from countless wildfires, rising sea levels, declining species and ecosystems. He finds some in the small and personal—giving up meat, for example, in his own life, though he realizes that since he still participates in the worldly economy, “that’s no reason to get all self-congratulatory”; or taking young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg’s advice and giving up flying, since, as she explained, “When you are in a crisis, you change your behavior.” It’s difficult to change one’s behavior, notes the author, when the most powerful economic forces remain committed to a fossil-fuel regime that accounts for the 42 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide that enters the atmosphere yearly—a staggering figure, Mommers writes, so huge that, even if we covered the planet with scrubbers, we could remove only 1% of the total of annual emissions “at a cost of $400 billion per year.” After surveying the nightmarish damage to world agriculture and environmental systems, Mommers finds odd solace in the coronavirus pandemic, which has had the effect of reducing those emissions by 7%. The problem is that in order to keep the global temperature from creeping up by a catastrophic 1.5 degrees Celsius, we’d have to maintain that 7% drop annually for another decade, which probably won’t happen. Mommers avoids hectoring or preaching to the choir, and he does turn up at least a flicker of hope in remaking the economy with an eye to sustainability. “Not enough is happening yet,” he writes, “but a green course is now visible and attractive.”
A welcome reminder that there are things we can do to heal the planet that go beyond useless half-measures.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-982163-13-6
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
Not flawless, but one of the best recent analyses of the contemporary woes of American economics and politics.
Remarkably comprehensive and coherent analysis of and prescriptions for America’s contemporary economic malaise by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Smith (Rethinking America, 1995, etc.).
“Over the past three decades,” writes the author, “we have become Two Americas.” We have arrived at a new Gilded Age, where “gross inequality of income and wealth” have become endemic. Such inequality is not simply the result of “impersonal and irresistible market forces,” but of quite deliberate corporate strategies and the public policies that enabled them. Smith sets out on a mission to trace the history of these strategies and policies, which transformed America from a roughly fair society to its current status as a plutocracy. He leaves few stones unturned. CEO culture has moved since the 1970s from a concern for the general well-being of society, including employees, to the single-minded pursuit of personal enrichment and short-term increases in stock prices. During much of the ’70s, CEO pay was roughly 40 times a worker’s pay; today that number is 367. Whether it be through outsourcing and factory closings, corporate reneging on once-promised contributions to employee health and retirement funds, the deregulation of Wall Street and the financial markets, a tax code which favors overwhelmingly the interests of corporate heads and the superrich—all of which Smith examines in fascinating detail—the American middle class has been left floundering. For its part, government has simply become an enabler and partner of the rich, as the rich have turned wealth into political influence and rigid conservative opposition has created the politics of gridlock. What, then, is to be done? Here, Smith’s brilliant analyses turn tepid, as he advocates for “a peaceful political revolution at the grassroots” to realign the priorities of government and the economy but offers only the vaguest of clues as to how this might occur.
Not flawless, but one of the best recent analyses of the contemporary woes of American economics and politics.Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4000-6966-8
Page Count: 576
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
Raekwon’s raw memoir holds nothing back about his stormy life in Wu-Tang Clan and as one of hip-hop’s most-admired artists.
A memoir from the celebrated rapper.
The Wu-Tang Clan has always cultivated an air of mystery, and Raekwon is one of the most secretive of the Staten Island rappers, so it’s refreshing to see how forthcoming he is in his first book. Unlike most rappers, Raekwon, aka The Chef, doesn’t really speak or rhyme directly. The force behind the Wu-Tang hit “C.R.E.A.M.” and the classic solo album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… makes his points more through imagery and vivid descriptions than straightforward boasts. However, with the help of noted biographer Bozza, Raekwon tells his own compelling story with a limited number of artistic flourishes. The author tells his truth unflinchingly, refusing to gloss over his mistakes or the mistakes of others. He covers his troubled youth of petty robbery and drug-dealing and the realization after he was shot that he had a skill for writing rhymes. He offers a cleareyed walk-through of the decision-making process struggling hip-hop artists go through when faced with their first record deals. Even though they may not be getting what they are due, they often have no real leverage. The author applies his no-nonsense approach to the world around him. “When you grow up a young black man in a poor urban community,” he writes, “you become accustomed to what is in front of you and numb to circumstances that ain’t right. If you keep your wits about you and find a potential way out, you grab it and hold on with all you’ve got. As a fan, hip-hop was my escape from reality.” Raekwon offers revelations about how his relationship with Wu-Tang Clan leader RZA soured. He also discusses the Hulu series Wu-Tang: An American Sagaas well as how a rare Wu-Tang album ended up in the hands of “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli.
Raekwon’s raw memoir holds nothing back about his stormy life in Wu-Tang Clan and as one of hip-hop’s most-admired artists.Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-982168-72-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 6, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
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