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mogreig's review
3.0
A great critique of how we got into this mess but missing the promise of what we can do about it.
barry_x's review against another edition
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, mostly because I read a few reviews before I started the book. It's another book which I bought in 2016 and am only just getting around to reading so it does feel a little dated too, but I found the content interesting nonetheless, and furthermore, it was quite an interesting exploration thinking back to when the content in the book was written and where we are today.
The book is a collection of around fifty pieces, mostly written by Monbiot for The Guardian from around 2006 to 2015. What I liked about the book is that I could largely pick up the book, read a few and put down without it feeling like an onerous commitment. The pieces are broadly grouped by theme, and it kind of works, without the pieces becoming particularly 'samey'.
The articles are well written and accessible, although on rare occasions I can taste the middle class privilege dripping off the pages, and then I remember that they were all written for The Guardian after all. I find I agree with Monbiot on many things, and even when I didn't I felt I could at least understand the arguments being made.
The blurb on the book suggests that the articles in here propose solutions for a better world. There are some ideas in here, but most of the book is a series of polemics about how shit everything is. It mostly felt like a sense of frustration at the world (not that this is a bad thing). A couple of pieces are prefaced with how they started national dialogue on the subject, such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (which did eventually get canned by Donald Trump of all people).
One of the things I appreciated in the book where the pieces where he exposed things which the general populace would be unaware of, and I hoped they got the readership at the time. Mostly these pieces are exposing the consequences of laws or tax policy which greatly benefit the super rich and corporations (for instance anti-stalking laws, rather than protecting women are used by corporations to silence and cease protest, and said protestors being considered 'extremists'). I also really enjoyed the articles exposing the benefits of (then) EU subsidies, and tax breaks for landowners. There is an article that brings into stark focus the impact of landlords and land owners generally and how they are not wealth creators, they are parasites, putting nothing into society whilst extracting value. He has a few digs at anarchists in the book but by the same token his analysis of property won't be to dissimilar to anarchists!
Where the book comes into it's own is when Monbiot either writes on his expertise on the environment or explores subjects written less about in the mainstream press. There is a section about children and I really enjoyed it, as it explored articles about the rights of teens, how they are treated as public enemy number 1, and even the impact on boarding schools for very young children. I loved the piece about lack of wild spaces for kids to play in, and I agree with his suggestion for new housing developments to include places for children to play and explore. There are some woods behind my home, and behind them was a secret meadow that would be bathed in sunlight. Now? There is just a load of new houses and less space to explore and be free outdoors!
When Monbiot writes about the environment and complexity he is very good. I had read his work before about the impact of sheep raising on hillsides and flooding. It's quite disenchanting that there is a solution that is doable, but instead our government subsidises farmers to actually ruin the environment and cause more floods. I found his article on 'top predators' insightful and the exploration of the systemic nature of how whale faeces support the ecosystem of the seas. I love that exploration of complex factors and how they influence each other.
There was only one article that annoyed me and it was about the ethics of eating roadkill. It seemed like he was critical of vegans, whilst missing the point of the ethics. It was only in the last few paragraphs that he reflected his ethical stance back on meat eaters and exposed their hypocrisy, whilst perhaps not understanding his own. (Of course, shortly after the publication of this book he did go vegan and advocates for the end of raising animals for food)
The saddest thing about the book is that I carried on reading it and many articles had a perspective along the lines of, 'well it can't get worse can it?'. Sadly they have - our politics have become more divisive, the rich have got richer, bigotry and hatred are increasingly normalised and of course the planet has continued to be trashed. It's quite a despairing situation.
So, even though most of the articles are over a decade old, and even though I didn't always agree with the perspectives I did find the book well researched, easy to read and regularly thought provoking. Definitely worth a read.
The book is a collection of around fifty pieces, mostly written by Monbiot for The Guardian from around 2006 to 2015. What I liked about the book is that I could largely pick up the book, read a few and put down without it feeling like an onerous commitment. The pieces are broadly grouped by theme, and it kind of works, without the pieces becoming particularly 'samey'.
The articles are well written and accessible, although on rare occasions I can taste the middle class privilege dripping off the pages, and then I remember that they were all written for The Guardian after all. I find I agree with Monbiot on many things, and even when I didn't I felt I could at least understand the arguments being made.
The blurb on the book suggests that the articles in here propose solutions for a better world. There are some ideas in here, but most of the book is a series of polemics about how shit everything is. It mostly felt like a sense of frustration at the world (not that this is a bad thing). A couple of pieces are prefaced with how they started national dialogue on the subject, such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (which did eventually get canned by Donald Trump of all people).
One of the things I appreciated in the book where the pieces where he exposed things which the general populace would be unaware of, and I hoped they got the readership at the time. Mostly these pieces are exposing the consequences of laws or tax policy which greatly benefit the super rich and corporations (for instance anti-stalking laws, rather than protecting women are used by corporations to silence and cease protest, and said protestors being considered 'extremists'). I also really enjoyed the articles exposing the benefits of (then) EU subsidies, and tax breaks for landowners. There is an article that brings into stark focus the impact of landlords and land owners generally and how they are not wealth creators, they are parasites, putting nothing into society whilst extracting value. He has a few digs at anarchists in the book but by the same token his analysis of property won't be to dissimilar to anarchists!
Where the book comes into it's own is when Monbiot either writes on his expertise on the environment or explores subjects written less about in the mainstream press. There is a section about children and I really enjoyed it, as it explored articles about the rights of teens, how they are treated as public enemy number 1, and even the impact on boarding schools for very young children. I loved the piece about lack of wild spaces for kids to play in, and I agree with his suggestion for new housing developments to include places for children to play and explore. There are some woods behind my home, and behind them was a secret meadow that would be bathed in sunlight. Now? There is just a load of new houses and less space to explore and be free outdoors!
When Monbiot writes about the environment and complexity he is very good. I had read his work before about the impact of sheep raising on hillsides and flooding. It's quite disenchanting that there is a solution that is doable, but instead our government subsidises farmers to actually ruin the environment and cause more floods. I found his article on 'top predators' insightful and the exploration of the systemic nature of how whale faeces support the ecosystem of the seas. I love that exploration of complex factors and how they influence each other.
There was only one article that annoyed me and it was about the ethics of eating roadkill. It seemed like he was critical of vegans, whilst missing the point of the ethics. It was only in the last few paragraphs that he reflected his ethical stance back on meat eaters and exposed their hypocrisy, whilst perhaps not understanding his own. (Of course, shortly after the publication of this book he did go vegan and advocates for the end of raising animals for food)
The saddest thing about the book is that I carried on reading it and many articles had a perspective along the lines of, 'well it can't get worse can it?'. Sadly they have - our politics have become more divisive, the rich have got richer, bigotry and hatred are increasingly normalised and of course the planet has continued to be trashed. It's quite a despairing situation.
So, even though most of the articles are over a decade old, and even though I didn't always agree with the perspectives I did find the book well researched, easy to read and regularly thought provoking. Definitely worth a read.
georgina_bawden's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoy George Monbiot's writing, but I didn't realise this was essentially a collection of his Guardian column pieces. Divorced of their natural context they were less impactful, and very repetitive of style (which is understandable since columns often have a format). Not great to read cover to cover! Some of the essays were very interesting and persuasive, with some original thinking, but ultimately I prefer a longer form work.
charliestyr's review against another edition
3.0
Bought this without reading what it was all about, and so wasn't aware it was a collection of his articles, by and large which I had already read which was slightly disappointing.
A collection of his articles is pretty heavy going one after the other, nonetheless still covers important topics and at least the couple I hadn't read provided something new.
If you religiously read his work already I don't recommend this book.
A collection of his articles is pretty heavy going one after the other, nonetheless still covers important topics and at least the couple I hadn't read provided something new.
If you religiously read his work already I don't recommend this book.
femke495's review against another edition
3.0
All of these essays have been written between 2007 and 2015 so some were a little outdated or not relevant anymore, nevertheless the majority was still interesting to read and talked about issues (unfortunately) still going on in 2022.