Scan barcode
e_clair301's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Enjoyed reading my first Wendell Berry. I didn’t know that this book was mostly a response to another book that I haven’t read and don’t plant to. I would have enjoyed it better if it wasn’t a response, but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would either way.
fairchildone's review
5.0
Berry's writing resonates more with me than any other author I've read. I'll be returning to this book several more times.
dtkeyx74's review
5.0
An incredible read that I had never heard of until I saw it in the bookstore one day. Still as poignant as when it was published 12 or so years ago. Maybe more so. If Mr. Berry had known how prevalent digital technologies would become after his writing he might have written even more scathingly about the "inexorable" progress of science. I've read about half of Consilience but didn't find it necessary to have read any more than that to understand the spot on criticisms leveled by Mr. Berry. I will never again take for granted that the forward march of science is always a positive and productive part of our society.
sharrypdx's review against another edition
3.0
I think his logic is firm, but I wish he hadn't spent so much time arguing with Mr. Wilson. Indeed, our worship of empirical data, science and technology creates an unnecessary dualism within our culture. I wish he would have explicated the importance of religion and art without pointing sideways to Wilson. We need to heed Wendell's words!
adamcarrico91's review
3.0
“To trust ‘progress’ or our putative ‘genius’ to solve all the problems that we cause is worse than bad science; it is bad religion.”
Although there are pockets of brilliance, this is not among my favorite set of essays from Berry. I didn’t quite care for a book that acted as a criticism of another work, especially when at the base I already agree with Berry’s viewpoint. I can see there being an audience that is interested in a response to Wilson’s “Consilience”, but it wasn’t enlightening to me.
That being said, the general ideas are typically solid. In most cases, he has other writings that expand upon the base ideas in a more original way. Maybe I would’ve enjoyed it more if I hadn’t read so much of his work that already talks about these issues.
Although there are pockets of brilliance, this is not among my favorite set of essays from Berry. I didn’t quite care for a book that acted as a criticism of another work, especially when at the base I already agree with Berry’s viewpoint. I can see there being an audience that is interested in a response to Wilson’s “Consilience”, but it wasn’t enlightening to me.
That being said, the general ideas are typically solid. In most cases, he has other writings that expand upon the base ideas in a more original way. Maybe I would’ve enjoyed it more if I hadn’t read so much of his work that already talks about these issues.