An enlightening work of ecological thought.
Journalist McFadden (Classical Considerations, 2018, etc.) examines the state of current American farming methods and presents “deep agroecology” as the answer to a broken food system.
The way that most of the country approaches farming is not sustainable, according to the author; widespread pesticide use, genetically engineered seeds, and factory farms all contribute to the rapid loss of valuable topsoil and to fragile ecosystems. And with a worldwide epidemic of pollution contributing to climate change, he notes, the state of our food system is more precarious than ever. Enter deep agroecology, a revolutionary approach to farming and food that, the author asserts, has the potential to heal the planet before it’s too late. He defines it as an approach to farming and food that is “clean, sustainable, humane, egalitarian, and just, rooted in ecology, other sciences, and indigenous knowledge.” In this book, he hopes to present a general overview of his concept while also offering concrete examples of deep agroecology in action. He does so in several ways, including discussions of the history of agrarian idealism, and detailed reports and statistics on the damage done by modern farming and explanations of how it came to be the dominant form of production. Because deep agroecology draws on a combination of science and ancient wisdom, it also highlights how many indigenous cultures have, for centuries, recognized the importance of strong, healthy communities, and how they’re dependent on the planet on which they live. Overall, McFadden puts forth a convincing case that farms are the basis of civilization, and that if humanity is to survive, it must pursue different principles and a new philosophy. McFadden is an independent journalist who’s authored several books on a range of subjects, and his prose is always clear and easy to understand. Although he covers a lot of material, he does so successfully by consistently returning to familiar themes and arguments, as when he repeatedly points out how most people lack a spiritual connection with the planet, which has had a profound impact on their awareness of environmental problems.
An enlightening work of ecological thought.Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-79230-928-1
Page Count: 294
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.
The legendary booze-addled metal rocker turned reality-TV star comes clean in his tell-all autobiography.
Although brought up in the bleak British factory town of Aston, John “Ozzy” Osbourne’s tragicomic rags-to-riches tale is somehow quintessentially American. It’s an epic dream/nightmare that takes him from Winson Green prison in 1966 to a presidential dinner with George W. Bush in 2004. Tracing his adult life from petty thief and slaughterhouse worker to rock star, Osbourne’s first-person slang-and-expletive-driven style comes off like he’s casually relating his story while knocking back pints at the pub. “What you read here,” he writes, “is what dribbled out of the jelly I call my brain when I asked it for my life story.” During the late 1960s his transformation from inept shoplifter to notorious Black Sabbath frontman was unlikely enough. In fact, the band got its first paying gigs by waiting outside concert venues hoping the regularly scheduled act wouldn’t show. After a few years, Osbourne and his bandmates were touring America and becoming millionaires from their riff-heavy doom music. As expected, with success came personal excess and inevitable alienation from the other members of the group. But as a solo performer, Osbourne’s predilection for guns, drink, drugs, near-death experiences, cruelty to animals and relieving himself in public soon became the stuff of legend. His most infamous exploits—biting the head off a bat and accidentally urinating on the Alamo—are addressed, but they seem tame compared to other dark moments of his checkered past: nearly killing his wife Sharon during an alcohol-induced blackout, waking up after a bender in the middle of a busy highway, burning down his backyard, etc. Osbourne is confessional to a fault, jeopardizing his demonic-rocker reputation with glib remarks about his love for Paul McCartney and Robin Williams. The most distinguishing feature of the book is the staggering chapter-by-chapter accumulation of drunken mishaps, bodily dysfunctions and drug-induced mayhem over a 40-plus-year career—a résumé of anti-social atrocities comparable to any of rock ’n’ roll’s most reckless outlaws.
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56989-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
IN THE NEWS
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
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