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List Price: £8.99
Our Price: £2.53
Author:
Fred Pearce
By Eden Project Books
 essential reading, 2007-07-30
I've had an interest in global warming since I read Kit Pedler's "Quest for Gaia" in the late 70's. That in turn lead me to James Lovelock's books. I've not read much on this topic for a while as I resigned myself years ago that there appears to be no collective global will to change things.
I looked on with a passing cynicism when the press and vote hungry politicians latched onto the "biggest threat facing mankind". I was appalled at the only part of Gore's London pop concert that I viewed to hear the Pussycat Dolls (of all people) telling the viewers (and no doubt the record buying public) how they'd all "researched" the threat of global warming and informing how they've now changed their light bulbs to more energy efficient bulbs.
How fantastic then that Fred Pearce should deliver a calm logical overview of the the impact that human beings have made and continue to inflict on their planet, and the possible/inevitable consequences of burying our collective heads in the sand. Mr Pearce provides a simple to understand (I'm no scientist) concise and devastating analysis of our predicament. No answers are offerred, but anybody reading this book would have to conclude either 1. We're already doomed or 2. We need to act globally now or our race will be wiped out as speedily & effectively as the dinosaurs at the altar of economic growth.
Anybody who paid for tickets/travel to the aforementioned Gore concert that had any concern for our planet would have been far better advised to buy this book,read it and then insist that their friends/family read it. Spreading this information to as many people as possible is the only way we'll ever get a sea change in the way the population of earth think about what their individual actions. The corporate bodies we all make purchases from & the politicians we vote for are already beginning to make lip service to "green" issues. Let's hope that this book becomes another stepping stone in this slow process as The Last Generation makes starkly clear, time is running out!
List Price: £6.99
Our Price: £2.38
Author:
Dalai Lama XIV Bstan-'dzin-rgya-mtsho
By Abacus
Is it possible to have a workable ethical system without the underpinning of religion? This is a question the Dalai Lama addresses in this very readable book. The two aims we all have in common, whatever our religion, are the pursuit of happiness and the avoidance of suffering. Throughout the book the Dalai Lama emphasises that we are not moral islands; we have a responsibility for others. The more we seek to increase the happiness and decrease the suffering of others, the more, ultimately, we will also benefit ourselves. This applies in all areas of life. "Thus when we commit ourselves to truth--and thereby to honesty--we help reduce the level of misunderstanding, doubt and fear throughout society. In a small but significant way, we create the conditions for a happy world." As might be expected, the Dalai Lama draws illustrations from his own life as the spiritual leader and as a refugee from Tibet, and from the stories of other Tibetan Buddhist monks. But he is at pains to point out that this is not a Buddhist book and that he has no desire to convert anyone else to his faith. His answer to the dichotomy of the unique demands of individual religions in a world of...
AMAZING BOOK, 2005-01-25
I am not religious at all but I do believe in being in harmony with the world and each other. This book makes so much sence and is very inspiring. I would recommend it to everyone it makes you think and maybe if we can all take just something away from reading this book then the world will be a better place.
List Price: £5.99
Our Price: £4.84
Author:
Masanobu Fukuoka
By Other India Press
Subtle agriculture for a world in crisis, 2008-04-16
Masanobu Fukuoka defies western or modern agricultural techniques going down to the basics of traditional japanese life. No chemicals and no digging the land for an abundant and long term harvest. Planting with the heart. Mindfulness...
The book and Masanobu himself impressed me and I find myself following his path like that of a guru.
List Price: £32.99
Our Price: £17.77
Author:
R. McMullan
By Palgrave Macmillan
A definite recommend, 2003-11-14
This is our course text book for the Environmental Science module of my degree in Building Surveying, if you are interested in buidings (bearing in mind it is a text book) - it is still a pretty good read. For the course I'm studying it is first rate, very concise and clear, the sections we've used most are on the principles of heat, thermal insulation in buildings (U-values etc) and energy use in buildings (thermal comfort etc) it also covers acoustics, light, and water in equal depth. First rate, a definite recommend.
List Price: £9.99
Our Price: £4.04
Author:
Richard Fortey
By HarperPerennial
The Earth: An Intimate History is prize-winning science writer Richard Fortey's latest book and an ambitious attempt to tell the geological story of planet Earth for the general reader. Several centuries and the combined efforts of thousands of professional geologists have been required to make any real sense of the Earth's structure and its 4.5 billion-year history. That Fortey manages to turn the most important aspects of all this into an enjoyable narrative for the general reader is a considerable achievement. The book is a sort of guided tour around a number of geological sites with which Fortey is personally familiar, such as the Grand Canyon, the European Alps and Vesuvius (the description of the eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii in AD 79 by Pliny the Younger is probably the first clear and objective description of a geological phenomenon.) He then uses their particular geological details to build a more general story of the geology of earth as it is generally understood today. As a professional geologist at London's Natural History Museum, Fortey is well-qualified to tell this story. His writing skills have been widely acclaimed in earlier bo...
Worth the effort, 2006-09-16
The compass of this book staggered my imagination. Not a breezy book and certainly not one to course through in a sitting. The places he chooses for geological description are diverse and representative of the complex processes shaping the surface of the earth. The material is not superficial, not at all "dumbed down." Ponderous? Restructing one's view of the cosmos ... if just only the idea of earth time ... perhaps not easily digestible. The author's comprehensive synthesis (and I did not say 'simplification')in his descriptions and historical overview of the growth of knowledge and some understanding of the various macro geological processes is enviable and refreshing at least. His language, I found, lubricates the reading process for a non-specialist like me.
List Price: £9.95
Our Price: £7.49
Author:
Vladimir Megre
By Ringing Cedars Press
Uplifting and heart warming for people who wants to reconnect with nature, 2008-08-09
For me this book has been tremendously benefitial and has had an uplifting effect on my everyday life.
It has given insights on how one can bring up children, how one can prepare for crops, how to build bee-hives and most importantly - it has starten to reveal our connection to nature - and this in a far more deeply understanding than I earlier was able to grasp. It also affirms the destrucitve way of our present way of living - called technocratic world - which is perhaps not a revelation to most of us. But did you know that the technical noise from man made items actually disconnects us from nature? While natural sounds like waving leaves in the wind, rippling and swashing water, humming insects, singing birds, the warm touch of sunrays etc is soothing to the human soul. Ok, this we might now through experience - but is there a deeper connection between Man and nature which aren't obvious to our dulled senses? Is there a mere coincidence that Buddha had his revelation while meditating under a tree? Why don't you try it out for yourself and read this book leaning your back against the bark of a tree of your liking... this is, I think, the optimum way of receiving the message of this book.
PS.
This book is not about sex - on the contrary it states that one actually should restrain oneself from sexual intercourse just for the sake of sense gratification, and instead have it when there are a mutual feeling of co-creating. A child created in that way - in love and strongly wished for - says to have great positive impact on the child. And who doesn't want to be created and brought forward in this world through love and positive aspirations... well, this attitude might be a little mind boggling in these days.
List Price: £9.99
Our Price: £5.49
Author:
John Emsley
By OUP Oxford
Just what the Doctor ordered., 2007-02-08
I really enjoyed reading this book. It struck an excellent balance between scientific insight and salacious gossip. What a combination!
I was reading this in my hospital bed needing something demanding enough to save me from terminal boredom, but that I could pick up in short bursts. Just what the Doctor ordered.
List Price: £16.95
Our Price: £10.14
Author:
Ben Law
By Permanent Publications
An inspirational and enjoyable book, 2001-12-18
The author, writes from the heart and obviously has a very deep commitment to practical sustainability. He lives in his own woodlands, 'Prickly Nut Wood' in Lodsworth and he has recently been granted permission for a permanent home there. There are plenty of excellent photographs adding vision to his text. He covers every conceivable issue relating to wood, woodlands and woodland management. Some of his ideas are radical alternatives to conventional woodland management and his aim is to create bio-diversity, a healthy environment, added value products and food, a livelihood for woodland workers and farmers and benefits for the local community. His vision is to encourage such woodlands all over Britain.
List Price: £11.99
Our Price: £6.95
Author:
Richard Heinberg
By Clairview Books
Brilliant and incisive, 2008-03-10
Heinberg is the foremost expert of 'peak oil' - the idea that we are more than half way through the world's oil reserves. Here he presents various angles on the problem: everything from how the industrial age influenced design to, yes, parrots. But, unlike the above reviewer, I found it all relevant. Heinberg has a clear mind, and his broad-ranging thoughts are here applied to a wide range of related issues to 'peak oil'. A good read!
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