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jeremyxjones's review against another edition
4.0
Even though he’s kinda gone off the deep end now, I do love his style and references.
leesliever's review against another edition
3.0
Behoorlijk pessimistisch boek, maar wel met een belangrijke boodschap: de milieuactivisten van nu focussen te veel op doorgaan zoals het nu gaat, maar dan met duurzame energie. Deze schrijver pleit voor een heel andere weg en zegt dat het systeem zoals we het nu hebben per definitie de klimaatcrisis niet gaat oplossen. Soms een wat warrig boek, doordat het uit allemaal essays bestaat. Wel nieuwe inzichten opgedaan!
bookherd's review against another edition
4.0
This is a collection of essays, mostly also published over the last 10 years in magazines and newspapers, in which Paul Kingsnorth critiques assumptions at the heart of 21st century environmentalism ( it still treats the planet as a commodity, with "resources" to be exploited, it assumes "progress" or more technology will solve many of our problems, it thinks of humans as separate from nature). Although it's tempting to say he has given up on environmentalism, and the title of this book encourages that idea, he hasn't gone out to buy a gas guzzling SUV and build a McMansion in Ireland where he lives. These essays are making the case for a quieter, more personal approach to the problem of how to live in a world where environmental degradation is speeding up all the time, and while we pay lip service to "sustainability," we have mass extinctions and other signs of environmental collapse.
It IS safe to say Kingsnorth has given up the idea of saving the world, so the question he addresses with these essays is what to do instead. His process of coming to answers is thought provoking, imaginative, original. Reading this work has helped me clarify why I have not felt enthused about all the "sustainable" products now available in stores and the more mainstream status of the "green" movement.
I recommend Kingsnorth's writing to everyone, and it's especially convenient to have these essays collected together in one volume. I was happy to see the book also includes Uncivilisation, a manifesto from 2009, which announced the beginning of the Dark Mountain Project, an effort to create new stories for our time of collapse.
It IS safe to say Kingsnorth has given up the idea of saving the world, so the question he addresses with these essays is what to do instead. His process of coming to answers is thought provoking, imaginative, original. Reading this work has helped me clarify why I have not felt enthused about all the "sustainable" products now available in stores and the more mainstream status of the "green" movement.
I recommend Kingsnorth's writing to everyone, and it's especially convenient to have these essays collected together in one volume. I was happy to see the book also includes Uncivilisation, a manifesto from 2009, which announced the beginning of the Dark Mountain Project, an effort to create new stories for our time of collapse.
andersls's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
albawaterhouse's review against another edition
5.0
This book goes straight into my "favorites shelf"!
I believe this is a very important book. I read it in 3 days, I couldn't stop. The author is humble and very transparent, he has no fear to express his views and his writing style is a joy to read. His vision and his ethics are crystal clear, it has helped me articulate many of these concepts that were already in my mind but in a more abstract way.
I believe this is a very important book. I read it in 3 days, I couldn't stop. The author is humble and very transparent, he has no fear to express his views and his writing style is a joy to read. His vision and his ethics are crystal clear, it has helped me articulate many of these concepts that were already in my mind but in a more abstract way.
joost_ahsmann's review against another edition
5.0
Eerlijk boek bestaande uit een aantal essays die het failliet van het vooruitgangsdenken van verschillende kanten belichten. Kingsnorth was milieuactivist maar heeft zich teruggetrokken in de wetenschap dat de ecocide niet te vermijden is, al een heel eind op weg is. Kapitalisme, verlichting, groei, technologie, allemaal facetten van de overtuiging dat de mens uitverkoren is en dat vooruitgang leidt tot een steeds betere, ideale toekomst (de mythe van de vooruitgang), worden door Kingsnorth gezien als een machine waarover de mens geen controle meer heeft. Het schip van de vooruitgang staat, als een denkbeeldige Titanic, op het punt schipbreuk te leiden en is niet meer te keren. Terugtrekken in een eenvoudig, low profile leven, en schrijven met aarde onder de nagels, is wat Kingsnorth en de medestanders van het Dark Mountain Project als enige antwoord ziet. Vluchten kan niet meer.
sawyerbell's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
Kingsnorth articulates so much of what I have been thinking and feeling over the past years. I applaud him for the clarity of his vision and his willingness to carry on in spite of everything.
Kingsnorth articulates so much of what I have been thinking and feeling over the past years. I applaud him for the clarity of his vision and his willingness to carry on in spite of everything.