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samanthab307's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.75
Very redundant throughout but solid thesis
annakmeyer's review against another edition
5.0
I started reading this book, and then had to go back and start again because I found so many things that I wanted to underline. Which is saying something because, as a general rule, I hate hate hate underlining in my own books. But with this book, I couldn't not do so.
This edition has been substantially edited, especially in the first few chapters, because of events happening since the book was first published - the Great Recession, Obama's election. This book, along with others (Michael Pollan's for example), has opened my eyes to just how damaging my lifestyle is. Mine, and ours as a society. Every mile we drive puts a gallon of carbon dioxide in the air. And the developing countries are going to outstrip us in pollution. For the time being, the world looks to the US to lead. We need to start doing it.
Just a few of the things I've underlined:
- "The events of September 11, 2001, brought on another fit of American schizophrenia. On the one hand, those events pulled us together as a nation, for a while, and on the other hand they disconnected us from the world and from some of our core instincts as a nation. September 11 knocked us off our game, prompted us to pull in, to export more fear than hope, to build walls rather than windows, and to devote enormous amounts of money and energy to homeland security rather than nation-building at home."
- "At the same time, the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 ushered in an age in which we told ourselves we did not have to sacrifice anymore for a better way of life."
- "As the Cold War receded further and further into our rearview mirrors, a kind of 'dumb as we wanna be' attitude took over our political elite, a mood that said we can indulge in petty red state-blue state catfights, can postpone shoring up our health care system and our crumbling infrastructure, can postpone addressing immigration reform, can postpone fixing Social Security or Medicare or dealing comprehensively with our environmental excesses - as long as we want. Partisan divides all but guaranteed that we could not solve any of these big multigenerational problems anymore, and post-Cold War lassitude told us we didn't really need to care."
- "Our parents' generation mortgaged their future so our generation could get educated. In too many cases our generation mortgaged its future to buy homes we could not afford and possessions we did not need."
- "Alas, we are not just the people we've been waiting for. We are the people we have to overcome. We have been consuming too much, saving too little, studying too laxly, and investing not nearly enough. And our political institutions are also the institutions we have to overcome. As long as our political systems and Congress and Senate seem incapable of producing the right answers to big problems, as long as our politicians can only behave like Santa Claus and give things away, and never like Abraham Lincoln and make the really hard calls, the greatness that America is capable of will elude it in this generation."
- "It is way too early to predict how President Obama's administration will turn out. But it is not too soon to say that his mere election is hugely important. It represents America's extraordinary capacity for renewal. It says that our country still has the ability to change course, to start afresh, to begin anew - to literally reinvent itself to a degree that most other nations can only dream about."
This edition has been substantially edited, especially in the first few chapters, because of events happening since the book was first published - the Great Recession, Obama's election. This book, along with others (Michael Pollan's for example), has opened my eyes to just how damaging my lifestyle is. Mine, and ours as a society. Every mile we drive puts a gallon of carbon dioxide in the air. And the developing countries are going to outstrip us in pollution. For the time being, the world looks to the US to lead. We need to start doing it.
Just a few of the things I've underlined:
- "The events of September 11, 2001, brought on another fit of American schizophrenia. On the one hand, those events pulled us together as a nation, for a while, and on the other hand they disconnected us from the world and from some of our core instincts as a nation. September 11 knocked us off our game, prompted us to pull in, to export more fear than hope, to build walls rather than windows, and to devote enormous amounts of money and energy to homeland security rather than nation-building at home."
- "At the same time, the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 ushered in an age in which we told ourselves we did not have to sacrifice anymore for a better way of life."
- "As the Cold War receded further and further into our rearview mirrors, a kind of 'dumb as we wanna be' attitude took over our political elite, a mood that said we can indulge in petty red state-blue state catfights, can postpone shoring up our health care system and our crumbling infrastructure, can postpone addressing immigration reform, can postpone fixing Social Security or Medicare or dealing comprehensively with our environmental excesses - as long as we want. Partisan divides all but guaranteed that we could not solve any of these big multigenerational problems anymore, and post-Cold War lassitude told us we didn't really need to care."
- "Our parents' generation mortgaged their future so our generation could get educated. In too many cases our generation mortgaged its future to buy homes we could not afford and possessions we did not need."
- "Alas, we are not just the people we've been waiting for. We are the people we have to overcome. We have been consuming too much, saving too little, studying too laxly, and investing not nearly enough. And our political institutions are also the institutions we have to overcome. As long as our political systems and Congress and Senate seem incapable of producing the right answers to big problems, as long as our politicians can only behave like Santa Claus and give things away, and never like Abraham Lincoln and make the really hard calls, the greatness that America is capable of will elude it in this generation."
- "It is way too early to predict how President Obama's administration will turn out. But it is not too soon to say that his mere election is hugely important. It represents America's extraordinary capacity for renewal. It says that our country still has the ability to change course, to start afresh, to begin anew - to literally reinvent itself to a degree that most other nations can only dream about."
jmsullivan27's review against another edition
4.0
This book is not a quick read by any means; I actually needed the entire summer to read it. It can also be a bit repetitive at times and all of the same information probably could have been presented in a significantly smaller amount of pages. However, the information within is definitely worthwhile. As an environmental science major, I discovered this book by reading excerpts from it in three different classes. I figured it was relevant and decided to read the whole book. I do appreciate the "sober optimism" Friedman displays while presenting the hard facts and figures of where the world stands in terms of renewable energy and green technology. He also presents convincing arguments as to why America needs to step to the line in these industries sooner rather than later. I really wish that every politician and policymaker would take a moment (or in my case, a summer) to read and digest the valuable information in this book.
elisabeth1st's review against another edition
3.0
Hey, I have to read this. I loved the World is Flat. I don't agree 100%, but this guy makes one think. I like that he is appraochable in this thoughts, ideas, and communication and he gets people talking.
brinnet's review against another edition
4.0
A good book, although a bit dense. I really felt like I should have been taking notes on it, because there is so much information in it. The book is accessible, but definitely not a beach read. I took off a star because I felt like it was long-winded at times and repetitive.
But oh my goodness, this book will put honest to goodness fear in you and make you see what a glorious energy revolution we could be having. Hopeful and disappointing.
At this point the book is a few years old, so it is a little dated, but (unfortunately) not too much has changed since then.
Bottom line: Recommended, but there may be a newer book of equal quality out there. Otherwise, a safe pick for sure.
But oh my goodness, this book will put honest to goodness fear in you and make you see what a glorious energy revolution we could be having. Hopeful and disappointing.
At this point the book is a few years old, so it is a little dated, but (unfortunately) not too much has changed since then.
Bottom line: Recommended, but there may be a newer book of equal quality out there. Otherwise, a safe pick for sure.
audstruck's review against another edition
This is a really great reference book for climate change issues and arguments. It is difficult to read cover to cover but individual chapters are essential to understanding the complexities of the economic, political, and environmental platforms climate change rests on. I would recommend this book as a third or fourth book on climate change as it is sometimes too complex that it forgets to explain things simply and clearly. I was lucky to have read other books on climate change first so I had more of an introduction on the detailed issues he was talking about. All in all, this book makes a great case for why we need to combat climate change and how we can do it. I'll definitely be keeping it to reference and review.
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