A smart rumination on humanity’s future whose brilliance becomes dulled by a Eurocentric lens.
A philosophy book offers a vision for a sustainable future.
By 2050, humans are likely to run out of oil, see the “collapse of a major ecosystem,” and, by all statistical probabilities, witness a terrorist attack that utilizes a weapon of mass destruction. “We know we are headed for destruction as a species,” this work notes, “yet are unable to effect the changes necessary for our survival.” To Carruthers, this myriad of preventable, human-made disasters stems first from an ingrained social structure that prevents people from thinking globally and instead treats cultural “differences as sources of antagonism.” Additionally, despite the scientific revolution, modern civilization has yet to fully divorce itself from antiquated, even “medieval,” religious values. With a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Waterloo, the author has a firm command of the relevant literature, from classics to contemporary theories, in ethics, philosophy, and longue duréehistory. In addition to his astute analysis of the alluring yet “poorly thought” trappings of the “Father Culture” that “still dominates our thinking,” Carruthers provides a pragmatic alternative framework that he hopes will inspire positive change to “redefine what constitutes good governance, embrace a global perspective…and rein in science under the umbrella of ethical values and constraints.” This is accompanied with a thorough, almost hyperdetailed “Proposed Game Plan” that delivers a new vision and mission for humanity. Perhaps most impressive is the book’s ability to distill the esoterica of high philosophy into accessible prose without diluting nuance. Complementing this endeavor are over two dozen tables, charts, and figures that help present the author’s case for a new ethical framework. But the volume disconcertingly focuses on the West even as it critiques it. Though the book celebrates “the richness of cultural diversity,” Eastern and Indigenous philosophies and spiritualities, whose ancient wisdom may well inform modern conversations on sustainability, are minimized in statements that urge readers to “give up old ways.” Indeed, most of the book’s timeline of “human history” is essentially European history, with Africa, Eastern Asia, and Indigenous America mentioned only in passing.
A smart rumination on humanity’s future whose brilliance becomes dulled by a Eurocentric lens.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-5255-2616-9
Page Count: -
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
A football star’s bracing account of his battle for racial equality—and how powerful forces arrayed against him.
A principled athlete strives for social justice.
Kaepernick forthrightly details the activism that earned him global renown but cost him his NFL career. In 2016, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback “was filled with disgust” after police shootings of fellow Black men in several American cities. Before a preseason game, he made a spontaneous decision: “It hit me in that moment that I should find a seat” during the national anthem. He did the same at two more games before reporters noticed. Kaepernick will forever be associated with “taking a knee” during the anthem, but he credits Eric Reid—a teammate who agreed with Kaepernick’s message—for suggesting that they kneel together during subsequent anthems. The protest changed everything for Kaepernick. President Trump vilified him. Kaepernick and his wife received death threats. And though he’d taken the 49ers to a Super Bowl, no teams would sign him. He will likely make news for his take on Jay-Z, whose lucrative partnership with the NFL was criticized as an attempt to launder the league’s reputation. Visiting Africa, where Kaepernick learns about “African leaders who willingly sold their own people to the enslavers,” he “couldn’t help but to think about Jay-Z and the NFL.” In opening chapters, Kaepernick recalls suffering traumatic racial abuse as a child. Being in “white spaces”—he was adopted by white parents—placed him “under a microscope every minute of every day.” He isn’t always nuanced, depicting some people he disagrees with as cartoonishly clueless. But his writing about how college and pro teams “lied” to him about injuries underlines his “feeling of being a disposable commodity.” A decade has passed since Kaepernick played in the NFL, but he stays fit in case “a team needing a QB” calls.
A football star’s bracing account of his battle for racial equality—and how powerful forces arrayed against him.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
ISBN: 9781538777879
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Legacy Lit/Hachette
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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