What books, authors have been important to you?

[christopher]

Hello,

I just read Sushils posts for the third time, and there are some gems in there. I don't agree with all of Sushils conclusions or the basis for some of those conclusions, but I liked the exercise reading it gave because it made me think about some of "what is the essence of being human".

Anyway, I thought about all of the books I have read that contributed to where I am in terms of understanding my relationship with the planet, or just enjoyed 'cuz they was fun, and how grateful I am that people took the time to write them.

So I am asking whoever is interested in exchanging titles of their impolrtant books, and, if you have time, why they were important, and maybe we could talk about them.

Thank you,

Christopher

"Collapse" and "Gun germs and Steel" by Jarred Daimond, both good "big question" books, and well worth reading
"Natural Capitalism" by Amory and Hunter Lovins, another big question book
"Farmers of Forty Centuries" F.H King, (published in 1911, a very good look at preindustrial agriculture in Asia that supported high population densities for thousands of years before agro chemicals, largely being lost and replaced now with petroleum dependenat agriculture)
"Cornucopia" and "El Arbol", good economic botanical books (books are geared towards farmers, and mostly list species of economic or dietary interest. El Arbol is in the Spanish)
Bills Big Book (of course :lol: )
"True History of Chocolate" Michael and Sophie D Coe (excellent book on cacao history, with info on mesoamerican agricultural practices.
"Fall of the Ancient Maya", Stewart Webster (good overview of the collapse which examines the various theories, but makes a compelling argument of unsustainable high population densities and systemic colapses of the environment and increased conflict based on dwindling acces to resource base)
"the Noblest Triumph", (a long and well thought out thesis that ties strong property rights, or lack of such rights, to development, or to lack of development, with many, many examples)
"Globalization and its Discontents", Joseph Steiglitz and "Lexus and the Olive Tree", Friedman (two looks at the impatcs globalization is having, with Friedman being proglobalization and making a fairly convincing look at the benefits, and Stieg;itz looking at the negative effects and true costs of globalization)

and for some fluff:

"Flashman" (any of the flashman novels are wonderful reads. very well researched fiction on a character from "Tom Browns School Days" who grows up to be an incorrigble rogue, coward and scoundrel, gallavanting around from one historical hot spot to the other, ver, very funny, and very well researched.... perhaps a bit of a "guy book" , so sez my significant other....)
"Toxin", by Robin Cook, MD, (fictional account of what could cause an ecoli out break, well researched and a damnng indictment of themeat industry. Fiction, but you won't look at a burger sourced from off your farms again the same way... :lol: )

non agriculture, but English Language:
"the Professor and the Madman", Simon Winchester. (story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, well researched and informative)

I have some other but would like to hear from you!

[~Tullymoor~]

Jackie Collins! :lol:
She taught me everything I know.

[Richard on Maui]

Oh Tully...

Tim Flannery "the Future Eaters", "Throwimway Leg", "the Eternal Frontier". Similar vein to Jared Diamond, though he perhaps looks at the problems from an ecological perspective a little more closely? Perhaps? He's murmuring about moving into politics, and sure as hell would vote for him. I think he is getting articles published in the New York Review of Books...

Bill Mollison/David Holmgren - I bet you know the books I'm talking about...

Salman Rushdie is perhaps my fave fiction writer. He has a beautiful way with words, is a masterful storyteller and of course is very uncompromising!

Peter Carey's "Bliss" is another novel I love, and seems sort of relevant in some ways to those of us who trying to find a better way of living... Honey Barbara is one of my favourite fictional women.

Encyclopedia Botanica - I don't have with me anymore, but it is a really useful book for identifiying plants in Australia...

I just picked up "Soft Energy Paths - Toward a Durable Peace" by Amory B. Lovins. He wrote that back in 1977... Hoping that I won't find too many depressing predictions have come true when I get around to reading that...

[sab]

My Family and Other Animals
Birds, Beasts and Relatives - anything by Gerald Durrell.
The Adventures of TinTin
The first 'farming book' I read was "Self Sufficiency" by John and Sally Seymour
How to Do-it-yourself books
How to Teach Your Baby to Read - Glenn Doman (A+++)
History books
my Bible

[christopher]

Richard,

Amory Lovins is brilliant, so let me know how much has come true.

Peter Carey wrote "Illywhackers" didn't he? I read that years ago, and loved every bit of it. I shared it with so many people it got dog eared (which it was aa bit when I got it...) and then Hurricane iris ripped through, and it was one of about 10 books that got destroyed (the rest turned out okay).

Will look into Tim Flannery...

I have never read Salman Rushdie, though I would like to.

[forest]

The book that changed my view of the world, and my favourite book of all time, is Ulysses by James Joyce. Molly's soliloquy in the last chapter, which is one 50 - 60 page sentence with no punctuation, made me weep for its beauty. I couldn't speak for an hour after I read it the first time.

Other favourite are:
Living on the Earth - I bought this in the 1970s and it sealed my organic and non-conformist path.
The Velveteen Rabbit - made me a gentle child and a rebelous and wild teenager.
The Women's Room by Marilyn French made me distrust men for a few years. :lol:
Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil made me think I could fly. (Metaphysically)
The Fabric of Reality by David Deutsch made me think about parallel universes and our multiverse.
The Shipping News by Annie proulx made me smile.
I could go on forever.

Richard, Bliss is a favourite of mine too. I have a degree in literature and it was one of the books I read for that.

[christopher]

Forest, we have the velveteen Rabbit, too, very nice book, affirming.

I have/had the Shipping News, but have spaced it. I started it once, got maybe 30 pages in, and loved it and then lost it. I picked up Roy Jenkins Biography of Churchill and forgot the Shipping News, now where is that book? You jogged my memory....

I also have Ulysses, somewhere... but never had time to sit down and read it...

Widgeenut, I grew up with Tin Tin, and Asterix and Obelix, too.

What is Birds, Beasts and Relatives about?

C

[heuristics]

This year I started to become aware that our 'wonderful' economic system might have flaws and cracks and began to wonder: If I was in 1926/7/8/ and knew 1929 was about to strike, what would/could I do?

So I read “The Crash of 29” by John Galbraith. It's a little paperback, and I prepared myself to labour thru a lot of economic theory and tedious analysis. Never judge a book by its cover. What a little GEM this is. Well researched, factual, analytical and HILARIOUS. The irony and subtle sarcasm as he documents the foibles (and corruption) of the CEOs of the leading stockbroking houses, and the gullible, greedy public. I learned a few lessons about what I “should” do if I think we are about to have re-run of history. But I have already missed one boat of opportunity. When I read this, gold was under $400 an ounce. Its now nudging $500 (a rise in less than 9 months). A lot of people who are a lot smarter than me financially must also be aware of the lessons of history.

I also read an on-line publication by Nouriel Roubini and Brad Stetser
predicting the crash of the Bretton Woods agreement, which is basically the financial system set up by Britain and the US to manage oil/gold and other commodity values/trades. Scary stuff. It was written in Feb 05 and made a lot of predictions for the rest of 05 and into 06 and has proved to be terrifyingly accurate (to my thinking).

Interwoven with this reading I also absorbed “Blowback” by Chalmers Johnson.
Published April 2001. He had no way of knowing Sept 11 was 5 months away and the “world” was going to experience such a paradigm wobble. He was writing that US military and trade policy in East Asia and SE Asia since the occupation of Japan following WW2 was going to “blowback” in the face of the US. His preamble says how, when the book was first released, it was dismissed as “fairytale nonsense” and pretty much ignored. Post 9/11 it had about 20 immediate reprints as suddenly everyone (in the US) wanted to know “why do 'they' hate us so much?”.

I also read John Pilger's “New Rulers of the World” and got a huge shock about Australia's complicity (and US involvement) in Indonesia, explaining how/why that incredibly wealthy country, brimming with natural resources is so impoverished. Puts some of the 'Bali bombings' into some sort of perspective. (for me).

This weekend (it rained and rained and rained and – rained) I read “Fast Food Nation”, and yes, to the guy who recommended it to me, I can never eat Maccas again. Felt nauseous all weekend. The corruption that allows incredibly contaminated meat and other products to be served...... and the brutal Hobbsian existence of meat processing workers and fast food restaurant workers.
It also helped me understand why J Howard and Co want to meddle with our Industrial Relations laws. Aussies have, at the moment, some protection against these abuses. It seems likely to me that these global companies are behind the push to change our IR, cause they cant do here what they they do OS.

As it was still raining, I re-watched “The Corporation” on DVD, (while I cleaned the back of the kitchen cupboards: Fast Food Nation's talk of ecoli and faecal contamination and other unhygienic practices pricked my conscience).

I have “Gold Wars” by Lipps on order, and will now read “Collapse” by Diamond based on the recommendations of those here. Also want Flannery's “The Weather Makers” for Christmas.

Also a lot of reading and re-reading of Mollison this year.

Saw “Darwin's Nightmare” at the cinema and that shocked me and I stayed disturbed for months. Certainly not musak for the eyes, this. Catch it if you can. About Tanzania and the corruption that has this nation destitute. Nasty, nasty stuff, but I think we in the “west” should be made to see what consequences our lifestyles have on “poorer” countries.

[baldcat]

Well I have been reading the Robert Jorden series "The Wheel of Time" now for 4 years.. I'm on book 10, with one more to go... The problem is that he hasn't finished the story yet... As the 11th book just got released I'm hoping that by the time I finish the 11th, the 12th will be out :)

[Peter Clements]

Here's my list of books that form a conceptual framework of how the modern world operates; they are not necessarily permacultural, but ultimately lead to permaculture as a way forwards. These are books I have returned to time and again, and always seem to have something to say about the conditions of the day (i.e. they are timeless)-
Christopher Alexander A Pattern Language
John & Sally Seymour Self Sufficiency
John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath
William Greider One World, Ready or Not (globalisation)
Robert Kiyosaki Rich Dad, Poor Dad (econcomic self-sufficiency)
John Ralston Saul Voltaire' Bastards (reason/technocratic society)
Pierre Bourdieu Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (social capital/art & class)
Anything by Noam Chomsky!

[christopher]

Heuristics,

I would suggest if you liked "the Corporation" you should go find or borrow "Life and Debt" which approaches the cost of globalization and trade liberalization to Jamaica. You'll be really pissed off when it ends...

Am going to order "Darwins Nightmare" on your say so.... next time I order from Amazon (after I install this next solar system will celebrate by spendun $100 on books and movies...)

Also interested in "The Crash of '29".

And

Peter,

We have Pattern Language", which is indispensible, and we used it when we built our house, but got it after the design was mostly done, though before the building of the 2nd and 3rd floors started.... We have dozens of patterns we see in out house that Christopher Alexander identified and included as many as we felt worked for us....

And I love Steinbeck, one of my favorite writers. I'm not familiar with the rest, but will get at least one of those other books. If you were going to suggest one, which would you suggest?

And I love Noam Chomsky!

Thanks,

C

[sab]

Christopher,

Birds, Beasts and Relatives is the sequel to My Family and Other Animals which was the only novel we got in school that I've read umpteen times. The third one is Garden of the Gods all by G. Durrell.

[heuristics]

Can I tell everyone how much I LOVE this board?????
I have been TRYING to have these sort of conversations with people for decades.
To mostly no avail. There were times at uni and in some other circumstances where I moved in circles with people who were interested in ideas and debate and lively discussions – and even healthy disagreements.
But my (intellectual?) life has been sterile for the past few years.
Most people in my acquaintance at the moment just want to worship at the shine of the Dancin' Santa.
I loves yous all!!!!

[Peter Clements]

Christopher,
If you find A Pattern Language to be helpful, I would also recommend its prequel, A Timeless Way of Building, which is more loose, but expands upon his relaxed/anarchic/Zen/60s philosophy of life (and building!). I studied in Alexander's architecture studio at UC Berkeley in 1992 and have been influenced by his egalitarian philosophy of making the design process visible to "outsiders" ever since. He has a website also at http://www.patternlanguage.com
Since you're doing such great practical work there in Belize this book should give you inspiration to push your projects even further!
Cheers

[HoneydaleFarm]

I love the naturalist books and two of my favs;

The Desert Smells Like Rain: A Naturalist in Papago Indian Country Gary Paul Nabhan-

The Log from the Sea of Cortez John Steinbeck

[frosty]

I read mainly on the net now days because ( at the risk of being flamed for saying so ) I can no longer read print media without getting sick because the off gassing from the ink

I have a copy of Stupid White Men which I have had just on 2 years and is nearly safe to read :lol: :lol:

I was extremely lucky to get a second hand copy of Pat Colebys Natural Goat care and also borrowed her Natural Land Care book .......... her books are invaluable for anyone trying to grow things or keep animals in Australia

I too read anything of Naom Chomsky's plus John Pilger is brilliant

The Corporation was a brillint doco ....... if we are talking docos I reccomend any of David Bradbury's especially his latest Blowin in the Wind

frosty

[Franceyne]

The Duncton Wood novels by William Horwood.

[christopher]

Peter,

Wow! You studied architecture at his studio at UC Berkely? Very, very cool! How lucky for you!

I loved Pattern Language. Dawn bought "A Timeless Way of Building along with lots of other books, and I am embarassed to admit I haven't taken time to read it. You just pushed me to read it, next.

Am off to that web page next!

Heuristics, I totally agree with your sentiments, and said about the same thing a few months back, and for ALL the same reasons. Even the couple of knuckleheads here, from time to time, are not that bad compared to any other forum I have seen.

Honeydale Farm, that is one book by Steinbeck I have not read (who doesn't love Steinbeck?), so will seek that out, too.

Frosty, sorry to hear even ink can cause you problems. Do older books affect you?

Franceyne, whats that about?

C

[Tezza]

Books/vids that changed my life.......


(1) Global Gardener ......Billy Boy
(2) Natural Gardening and Farming In Australia(Jeffrey Hodges)
(3) The Celestine Prophecy. ( James Redfeild)
(4)Converstions With God...(Neil Donald Walshe)..
and (5) Bills" Travels with Dreams"( Bill Mollison)
These books are Truly Inspiring.

I have read a few other books but non compares with aforementioned...

Im sick of negativity,thats whats wrong in this olde planet.......
I think that before we learn to call a spade a spade ..we gotta learn about our own Tool box first.

Tezza

[christopher]

Tezza, mate, you got a way with words :lol:

C

[frosty]

Frosty, sorry to hear even ink can cause you problems. Do older books affect you?



Hi christopher

I am ok with older books as long as they dont reek of perfume :lol: :lol:

cant read the newpaper but then its full of propaganda anyway :roll:

actually reading is something I really miss :cry: I was a real bookworm when I was young ....... some MCSers use those talking books but I dont really like them its just not the same

soy ink is one solution but hardly anyone uses it because it costs more ....... of course when oil runs out they may have to :D :D

frosty

[Anissa]

"Seeds of Decption" GM foods
"Empty Harvest" links between immunity/diseases and bad agriculture
"The oil age is over"
"Not by fire, but by Ice", about Ice ages, how they come in cycles every 11,500yr (give or take a few)

[grease]

Lord of the flies by William Golding and Animal Farm by George Orwell, good fiction but great insight into human behaviour.
1984 by George Orwell. Fiction again but great insight into not only Stalinist Russia but those who want to rule.
The bible. Poses the question can man rule man to mans benefit, without god.
The 10,000 day war . The stupidity of war/man. This is the story of how the USofA took over France's war in Vietnam and comitted the exact same mistakes, they wouldn't do the same in Iraq though,would they?
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein. For pure escapism and a wonderfully thought out story.
Yeates gardening guide. Has a very usefull planting calender, practical growing tips and a graet chapter on the wonders of glyphosate.
I find growing plants relatively easy, Nature by its very design or designer will take care of itself, It's our interventions " the best laid plans of mice and men" that concern me.

[christopher]

Anissa,

"Seeds of Deseption" is VERY good. Its another one of those books that get you really pissed off, which we need occasionally (I think). Its also good to remember the facts in their for the next time someone tellls you we "need GMOs to feed the world!" which, as we all know, is utter horseshit....

I haven't read the others. If you had to pick just one, which of all of those do you suggest?

Grease,

I liked Lord of the Flies when I was young, and we read those Orwell books too,which were very good.

Lord of the Rings, who couldn't like that book (or books)? Awesome.

I haven't read the 10,000 day War. I like history and have read alot about Vietnam because Vietnam was pivotal in the American psyche, and as far as hitory goes, its pretty accesible.

The loss of that war against a pooorer enemy with less people and less resources was a blow to America that it has not recovered from. It is this fear of "not supporting our troops" mentality, along with fear and reactionary desire to "get them" in the wake of 9/11 that enabled this war crimiinal, "Dubya" to hoodwink the American public, or a percentage of them, and Congress into going to war to remove Saddam.

I get realy unhappy thinking about what the US has done. Sadddam wasn't a good guy, but there are lots of not-good-guys out there, and Saddam was a garden variety dictator, basically emasculated militarily because of the sanctions and the UN no fly zones, and never constituted a threat to ANYONE, other than, admittedly, his own people.

Now the country stands a very good chance of becoming a Shiite theocracy along the lines or Iran, and that would be more of a threat than Saddam. And more lives are being lost every day because of this stupid, illegal, unjustified war.

If you are interested in history of the Vietnam conflict, "After Tet" is very well written and shows the effects of the escalation of hostilities by the NVA and VC starting during the Tet offensive.

Fiction, but written by a veteran, and is very very descriptive, with very detailed and factual accounts of small arms tactics, the topography and plant communities of the rainforest, and what being young, American, and sent to Vietnam was like is "The Thirteenth Valley" by John Del Vechio. Surprisingly a very beautiful book, with lots of discourse over the root causes of war.

Has anyone read "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson? This is the book that started the environmental movement (or so the book cover says :lol: ). It is a stunning indictement of agrochemical use and was the first to address issus of persistent toxicity, long term pollution, damage to adjacent biotic communitiesw and corporate greed as a otivating factor in the transition from traditional farming to the energy intensive petroleum dependent stupid ag we have now..... (stop me before I get up on my pebble :lol: ). I wish everyone would read it.

I mentioned that book in an earlier thread, and it is relevant now because all of the smear tactics that Monsanto uses against people who try to addres the unintended consequences of their products, including Round Up were started back then.

Rachel Carson was the victim of a well financed smear campaign, ad they tried to stop the book from being published, etc, etc,etc. This is in part why I sometimes wonder out loud if the people who promote Round Up, or attempt to diminish or dismiss the toxic affetcs (only one negative cost, of many) of chemicals like, well Round Up keeps coming up, are plants from the chemical companies.

I am not saying this is the case, nor am I pointing any fingers, but I know that these companies do that. They pay people to blog and post and write into the paper extolling the virtues and safety of whatever product they are selling. Advertisements are subject to truth in advertising laws, letters, posts and blogs are not!

If enough people say something is true, like for example that Round Up is safe, that noone commits suicide with Round Up, etc, some people will believe it. This is how cults operate, and its the same with advertising and paid disinformation.

:oops: I appear to have gotten off topic, but, what the heck, I opened the thread :lol: .

C

[Richard on Maui]

widgeenut, I got into Gerry Durrell a few years ago! he is awesome! that is a genre I plan to write one of these days! stories about encounters with animals, both domestic and wild... He has a whole series of stuff like the one you mentioned, all thoroughly enjoyable.
Nice to know we are in such well read company eh?

[sab]

Richard,

I'm a Durrell addict. I have read most of his books and can never resist one when I see it. I've had several copies of 'My Family...' I introduced it to my mum last time I was in Aus. She normally got out of bed early (being in her early 80s) but she couldn't put it down. One morning I poked my head in her room to see her sitting in bed giggling.

You ought to try and get hold of "The Picnic and Other Pandemonium" or "Fillets of Plaice". I can imagine Larry's ire - he wrote a book called "Spirit of Place."

The Gympie library has a good collection.

Lord of the Flies... 1984 I read those a few times. A bit depressing. How about John Wyndham's? - Day of the Triffids, The Chrysalids. Then there's the James Herriot series - loved those but he drops hints about the origin of Mad Cow Disease.

[Franceyne]

Hey there Christopher,

The Duncton Woods books are about moles - generations of moles and their struggles and quest for fulfilment and peace for future generations.

For me the stories were very grounding.

Cheers,
Fran.

[Peter Clements]

Here's a few more "bibles" to place next to your bed:
Alan Weisman Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World http://www.chelseagreen.com/1998/items/gaviotas
Jim Rogers Investment Biker: Around the World with Jim Rogers http://www.jimrogers.net
Paul Theroux The Mosquito Coast
The Good Life BBC 70's comedy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Life
Voltaire (1759) Candide http://eserver.org/fiction/candide.txt
William Cobbett (1822) Cottage Economy
Philip G. Hubert (1890) Liberty and a Living: the record of an attempt to secure bread and butter, sunshine and content by gardening, fishing and hunting
Dr Pat Howden Free At Last http://www.hypertrike.org/howden/livefree.html

[christopher]

Peter,

"Gaviotas" was wonderfully inspiring, and gave me a massive complex that I just wasn't doing enough... a very good motivator. They have done amazing things, and in Colombia, the most severely messed up country in the Americas.

I also read "Mosquito Coast" and loved that, too.... (incidentally, we are hoping to build an ISAAC machine http://www.energy-concepts.com/isaac.html to make ice.... And, Belize is on the Mosquito Coast, and they filmed the movie of the same name here....)

The older books I am not familiar with. Are they still in print?

My mum worked in a bookstore until we left home, so we always had lots of books, tho here we are far from anything remotely qualified to be called a book store (thank goodness for Amazon.com!)

C

[earthbound]

I guess the first books that had me inspired towards a down to earth lifestyle, were Asterix and Obelix.. I have memories of reading through staring at the pictures thinking, 'why isn't life like that', the simple village life....

Jackie French has been very motivational for me, through her, I first discovered that there really wasn't such hard set rules for gardening. Her down to earth, simple way of writing is a joy to read, and gave me the motivation to try writing myself.

Natural gardening in Australia by Jeffrey Hodges, a great source of information and a book I am halfway through reading a third time..

Masanobu Fukuoka, brilliant, I think all of my friends are sick to death of hearing me quote the man..

Pretty much any book with the word permaculture in the title has spent some quality time beside my bed, I won't list them as there are tooo many and most have been mentioned already here..

Then there's dozens of reference books, but one that stands out amongst the others is Louis Glowinskis' Complete book of fruit growing in Australia, an essential book....

Joel

[Jez]

Everything Josephine Flood has written - if you haven't read her work (she's an Australian archeologist) you'll be amazed at the insight she gives to pre-colonial, Aboriginal Australia. Lots of fantastic info on Aboriginal farming and hunter gathering techniques among all the rest which is presented. She totally blows you away...

Robert Pirsig - "Zen" and "Lila"...both amazing books but the former is far more accessible.

The Australian Self-Sufficiency Handbook.

Stranger In a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein

Suttree - Cormac McCarthy

Land Of The Spotted Eagle - Luther Standing Bear

Larousse Gastronomique


Geez...this is worse than music... :lol:

[bjgnome]

Heuristics, gold topped $500 US per oz today, but don't let that scare ya. Buy on the pullbacks. I bought a wee bit at $430, and a larger quantity of silver, which has gone from $7 to $8.30 since I bought. Adjusted for inflation, gold should be somewhere in the thousands, not hundreds, the economic devastation is just beginning. The world's reserve currency is about to collapse, folks. US Federal Reserve officially stated that they are no longer tracking the creation of M3 money, which is to say, they've totally lost control of how much money gets created.

If my precious metal investments continue as they have and the real estate market tanks, as it looks like it's going to, I'll have a downpayment on a piece of REAL LAND soon.

Favorite titles:

"My Name is Chellis and I'm in Recovery From Western Civilization" by Chellis Glendinning. This book is a gem in the field of eco-psychology. Explores how being torn from the primal matrix of hunter-gatherer society living close to the earth has shattered our psyches, leading to techno-addiction, etc. etc.

"The Undefended Self" and "Fear No Evil", both by Thesenga. these books about the Pathwork of Self-Transformation, a model which has taught me more about how we humans tick than anything else.

Jonathan

[Anissa]

Christopher: Definately "Empty Harvest" by Dr Bernard Jensen and Mark Anderson

Description on the back of book

The magnificent ecosystem that nature took millions of years to create is, within the course of one generation, being destroyed by man's hand. Mother earth is talking to us through her droughts, famines, fires and diseases, but few of us are listening. While on occasion we hear public outcry about the ozone depletion, the growing pollution problem, the indiscriminate use of pesticides, the systematic destruction of our forests, and the ravages of today's "killer" diseases, few have taken the time to carefully study the problem as a whole.
Empty Harvest puts together a sober picture of how interconnected man is to the earth, and how this connection is being destroyed- link by link. While looking at the better-known manmade disasters such as the "greenhouse effect" the indiscriminate use of toxic pesticides, and the wholesale dectruction of the world's forests, it clearly focuses on the existing dangers inherent in our agricultural system. It provides startling new information about problems that have been hidden from the general public - the demineralization of our soil, the declinging nutritional values of our food supply, the resulting weakening of our bodies immune systems, and much more. Empty harvest is a groundbreaking book that examines just what the total problem represents.
But beyond simply citing impending crises, Empty Harvest offers a wide range of practical solutions that are still available to man - long term solutions that can mends natures' broken links if applied in time.

[christopher]

Dr Joel,

I am not tired of hearing you quote Masanoba Fukuoka... I read "One straw revolution", ooooh, must be 15-16 years ago.... lots of information. The book got eaten by termites. I went to pick it up, and it was hollow... :cry:

I liked his perspectve, rather anarchic for someone from such a relatively rigid society... I also loved that he ran some crazy temporarily high, long term unsustainable quantity of ducks (I think) through his land once a year, to manure and clean tha land...

That book is also OUT OF PRINT! which is a crime!

Quote, Dr Joel, quote, please...

And Asterix and Obelix? Ha, ha, me too, yeah, and they got to go around clouting Romans, as I remember, and had magic elixirs, and what fun that was, right?

Jonathan, wish I had bought gold... but planting teak is like gold.... someday...

I like the name for the eco 12 step sounding book :lol:

I have another book, "Tropical Agroforestry", Huxley, pub by Blackwell Science. This is a costly book, USD100 or so, but G&B bought it while I was in their employ. It covers so much info, some of it technical and dry, but most of it inspiring....

They also published "Cocoa" by Wood and Lass, and I have a signed copy! We had the famous Tony Lass visit our farm, but he wasn't too impressed, I think.... too many other species besides cacao, and he was Cadburies lead agronomist at the time....

C

[earthbound]

Good news... Masanobu's books are back in print.... :D They are all available from eden seeds (http://www.edenseeds.com.au) so I imagine that they would be available elsewhere as well, though prices vary increadibly..

These people (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ONE-STRAW-REVOLUTION-FUKUOKA-ENVIRONMENT-PB_W0QQitemZ8358176855QQcategoryZ50397QQssPageName ZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) sell the one straw revolution only, but they sell it cheap, you can buy it now, new for $12.99 AU + $6 postage or up to $11 postage for the rest of the world.

[grease]

Thanks Chris I'll look out for 'After Tet'. I must admit that I'm not right into the Vietnam war but read the book back in my Uni days as a way of avoiding study (very effective because the book is quite substantial) But it just opened my eyes to the folly, hypocracy and shere stupidity of war and the nations who inflict it. You'd think we'd learn but "some animals are more equal than others".

[christopher]

Anissa,

I must have still been working on my post when you posted. Sorry to have missed it! "Empty Harvest" sounds great! I would love to read it, and it just went on my list (which was the motivation behind this thread).

Thank you!

C

[Tezza]

Can someone please explain to me, what use bying gold at$500 an ounce if the financial system is gunna collapse, sounds llike an expensive mud off the boot scraper to me. or am i missing something.

Tezza

[christopher]

Has anybody read any Vandana Sheva? She writes really, really, really well, with lots of information about neocolonialism through hybrids, biotech and, um, hate to mention it, chemicals, including herbicides like Round Up.

Thw two books she wrote that we have, "Monocultures of the Mind" and "Stolen Harvest" are both fantastic books, and she really makes the issues of food security in the developing world clear by passionatly defendint traditional Indian crops and practices...

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in tropical agriculrure and food politics in the developing world.

C

[Richard on Maui]

Yeah, she rocks! vANdana shiva I'm talking about. She makes my spine tingle.
Tezza, my neighbour reckons that we humans are being farmed by aliens who use the gold we dig up to coat their spaceships to reflect the interstellar radiation. It is quite a compellling theory and often culminates in my neighbour talking about goats being free spirits who love having sex and really just want to be free, and have sex, and be free... Usually this is because we get to talking about gold and aliens when we are standing in fron to my goat paddock, and because Maui is that kind of place...

[heuristics]

Yeah! Vandana Shiva – she was on the telly the other night, no idea what program or why. Was already do six things at once so I could only eaves-drop on what she was saying, but I was going “yeah”, yeah” as she talked about seed saving in India. (and defiance of the new rules attempting to outlaw seed saving. She cited someone called Gandhi as a precedent for public disobedience, in India, of all places (!).
The interviewer had NO IDEA what she was on about, re the seeds, and why it was important diversity be retained. She delicately, politely, charmingly devoured him for dinner. If he wasn't already one of your chemical company stooges, Chris, he has a second career path wide open to him. Was great stuff, wish I could have seen more of it, and I will be watching for anything she writes.

[christopher]

Richard and Heuristics,

I think Vandana Shiva (spelled her name wrong earlier) is amazing. She really sees what the problems are and addresses them.

She has been a vocal oponent of agrotech and hybrids. India had literally thousands of varieties of rice, which they are losing, slowly.

Tam is doing amazing work on keeping unusual and older varieties of poultry alive, and the near extinction of many of those breeds closely parallels the perils that India faces in the onslaught of chemical/hybrid/gmo marketing.

In a few years, much of that WILL BE LOST, and once its lost, it can't be brought back.

I am sorry I missed that. I have only read her books, she is a fantastic and powerful writer, and apparently she is a fantastic and powerful speaker, too, which I can believe from what she writes.

I wish I could have seen her talking to someone who didn't get it, because its hard to communicate these concepts to people who find them threatening, or who don't have enough of a foundation for that information to fit into, or who accept the dominant paradigm, the petroleum dependent etc, etc, (will stay off my pebble, everyone must be tired of hearing it anyway :lol: ), and feel that if they say it enought, if they believe it with all their heart, the system will not collapse... and I know she is very good at transferring information, good at communicating her ideas.

Anyway, she is amazing, and I am glad her message is getting out. What she is saying is extremely important.

C

[frosty]

Can someone please explain to me, what use bying gold at$500 an ounce if the financial system is gunna collapse, sounds llike an expensive mud off the boot scraper to me. or am i missing something.

Tezza

well tezza WE may be missing something but I am inclined to agree :roll:

and maybe everyone is ignoring us :lol: :lol: :lol:

as I said on the other topic I think spare money would be better invested in self sufficiency

christopher did say you could barter with gold but food surely would be better

frosty

[christopher]

Frosty and Tezza,

Gold is a convenient medium of exchange, but things of true value (been thinking about calorie economics since Jonathans post last night), like food, seed, trees, tools (axes, machetes, shovels, hoes, all energy intensive to forge), gas, diesel, etc, um, at the risk of being flamed, guns and ammunition, will be worth more than gold if the equivalent of tulip mania happens with currency and/or gold.

And I understand pacifism, and I respect it, but in the world, unfortunately, there is a place for guns. I just shot two agoutis last evening to feed the volunteers. They eat all our cassava, coco yam and breadnut otherwise, and breed like rabbits, (hence the local name of "rabbit", though they are not really rabbits). The calories in those shells is less than the calroies in the agoutis, but you can't eat the shells, and the shells are less than the cost of the meat, and the volunteers, whinging about our beans, beans and more beans (its not really all beans, but to hear them talk about it) were supremely grateful, tho one of them didn't want to be involved in the gutting and cleaning....the big carnovore wimp... :lol:

Paradigm on gold: You're hungry, theres a 20 lb brick of gold and a 20 bag of nuts, you have to walk somewhere far, several days journey, but you can only carry one... the gold is only worth more if it is exchangeable, the food is edible, yet I suspect a high percentage of people would be so programmed as to decide the gold is worth it. If they make it, that would set them up for life..... which one is worth more?

My advice is to sink money into the farm. Infrastructure, pumps, iorrigation systems, photovoltaics (the NEW gold standard!), wind turbines, etc, etc, etc, are all monies well spent.

Back on topic, anyone ever read any Bill Bryson? He writes humourously, and I have read several of his books, tho I am embarassed to admit I haven't read "In a Sunburned Country" about Australia. (In fact, I just placed that on my list, too).

His "A Short History of Nearly Everything*" is wonderful, dense, thick, overfowing with information, information overload, really, but really well written and, as all of his writing is, fun.

C

[murray]

what a great post chris, touching on many interesting insights and subjects.

bill bryson's one of my favorite authors. on the one occasion i've met the man i had him sign my book. when i looked at it, it said: "murray, i wish you all the luck i've had while travelling. Bill."

if you've read any of his books, you'll know that's quite a thing to wish on someone.. but still -- it's one of my treasured possessions..

ps: save an agouti, shoot a volunteer. 8)

[christopher]

Murray,

Thank you for the nice words!

Lucky you on meeting Bill Bryson! I really enjoy his books. He is funny, does excellent research, and his command of the English language is like a master masons skill in building with stone. He writes brick shoit houses of books, solid, substantial funny as all get out, and he uses such precise worring, with the right mix of descriptive phrases, dry fact and heavy handed humour that he rates up there as one of my favorite contemporary writers.

Have you read Michael Pollan? He wrote some excellent books, but the one I thnk would have the mopst universal appeal here is "Botany of Desire" where he examines humans relation ship with several species, and posits the thesis that the species selected certain genetic expressions so that WE would take care of THEM. He looks into Apples, Tulips (all about tulip mania, part of why my brother sold all of his internet companies and the stock he had in "Pet Foods.com".. which he bought a shamefully high amount of shares at USD3, and it hit USD36 when he sold it, climbed to USD40 a few weeks later, where it peaked, stayed there for another month or so, then, crash, and is now defunct, out of busines and no longer exixts....), Potatos and Marijuana, with huge amounts of detail, and a wonderful perspective.

Once you read this book, you'll never look at any of your plants the same way again.

Umm,
ps: save an agouti, shoot a volunteer. You are not a rigid and inflexible idealogue of the animal rights persuasion, are you? I really am opposed to rigid idealogues, unless they are condemning Ro... um, well, never mind. See, we need the volunteers. They keep our spread thin little operation moving. Plus, I don't think the agoutis will eat the volunteers, (tho every now and then, really very seldom, we get a volunteer I woudn't mind testing that theory on...)

Hope you are well,

C

[/quote]

[christopher]

EDITED BY PERMACULTURE BOARD TO REMOVE SILLY NONGS POSTS WHEN THEY POST TWICE IN ONE MINUTE. CHRISTOPHER HAD COMPLETELY SPACED OFF AND SENT IT TWICE. SINCE HIS POSTS AARE LONG WINDED ANYWAY, WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE BEST TO AVOID FORCING ANYONE TO EITHER READ IT TWICE, OR TO IGNORE IT TWO TIMES, AS THE CASE MAY BE.

THANK YOU

PERMACULTURE BOARD TO REMOVE SILLY NONGS POSTS WHEN THEY POST TWICE IN ONE MINUTE

[christopher]

Has anyone read "Natural Capitalism", by Amory Lovins? It is a wonderful book, full of reasons saving the environment is more cost effective than destroying it. Lots of info, examples of true cost accounting, etc.

Gardelen wrote about water uses, using water three times in one cycle in the thread on saving water, which is wonderfully sensible. I was reminded of this book, which shows what I think of as industrial permaculture, where busineses that generate by products, minerals, heat, other energy, etc, are st up to "nutrient cycle" energy and materials throughout the industrial "ecosystem". Its a fascinating thing that IS taking place....

Very interesting...

Anyway, it is one of those "Top 50 Books" that have had a significant impact in how I view the world, and I thought I might mention it.

[bella]

< BUMP >

This thread deserves to continue. And anyway, I wanna have my say...

I have just bought and am into Permaculture: A Designer's Manual by Bill Mollison. I'm reading it s-l-o-w-l-y to try to put some of it to use. Usually I have permie books from the library and have to read and return quicker than I'd like.

I also enjoy Linda Woodrow's The Permaculture Home Garden because it makes permacultre seem manageable on a small scale. Her diagrams and instructions are simple... It's the only other Permie book I own.

I have quite a few Jackie French books and I like her because she gives permission to do whatever works, to keep putting effort in and to try again. She's also pretty handy for recipes for surplus harvests!

My collection of various self-sufficiency and gardening books are probably more practical and less philosophical than the ones many of you shared here.... The bibliophile in me is :shock: at the possibilities!

I did just aquire The Silent Spring, as mentioned by Christopher, and am keen on starting that too.

The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartman was an eye-opener and one I'd recommend in a second. It's about ecology, but it's a whole lot more.

I enjoyed the Celestine books as well, whomever mentioned those. Read them years ago now, maybe time to re-read?

Someone mentioned The Good Life - I loved that BBC series as a kid. Maybe it is one I can hunt down for my kids? They love any permie vids/dvds I find at the library. They also love the Little House series for the same reasons (the semi-self-sufficiency lifestyle). They are my great motivators. Kids are *excited* by the notion of self-sufficiency!

Green or Gone by David Shearman is an Aussie book about health, ecology and more. Another eye-opener!

Anything by SARK makes me smile. And think.

Sarah Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance books helped me along...

Anita Diamant's The Red Tent recently got me thinking. These three are aimed at women-folk, mostly...

The Shelter of Each Other by Mary Pipher is about families and communities. Very enriching. I have just started her book Reviving Ophelia, since I'm on the verge of raising teenaged daughters.

(Yes, I've just started a number of books, I know - I have one in most rooms so if I've a moment to spare I can grab any of them and read awhile...!)

Keep talking books! I'm going to be annoying my library-ladies for inter-branch loans all through 2006! Actually, there's gotta be a very green soul amongst our library staff here, there are heaps of books on alternative-everything in our l'il library. :D

Love,
Bel

[christopher]

Hi Bel,

Nice to see this thread come back from the ibid thickets...

I've never read any Jackie french books, tho I read a article someone (Joel, maybe?) listed the URL to, and it was realy good. I liked her writing, immediately, and felt like she must be a really nice person...

Silent Spring is a truly revolutionary book. Anyone who ever may be exposed to chemicals should read it....

I also read The Red Tent, and liked it. It was a bit depressing (male guilt?), though.

I have been thinking Australia recently... all of the great Aussies I have had the pleasure of communicating with... and while these two books are not agriculture, ecology or permaculture related, I thought I should ask here if anyone has read either of these two great Aussie writers: I was wondering, has anyone read "Illywhacker" (sp?). It is a really, really good yarn, very lovely...

And, the guy who wrote "Schindlers List", Thomas Keneally, researched his own Irish ancestry, and how he ended up being an Australian, and wrote a fantastic book called "The Great Shame" about mid 19th to early 20th century diaspora... a really fantastic book that anyone who is interested in history, Irish, Australian or American history (the scope of the book is large) will love this book!

C

[Stacm]

Thanks for this great list..
my favourite lately have been:
The Party's over by Richard Heinberg - great discussion on the end of oil
The Long Emergency by James Kunstler - kind of bleak but interesting future projections of world without oil
Diet for a dead planet by christopher Cook and Not on the label by felicity lawrence - both do a great job on discussing agri-business and food miles
Coming Back to Life by Joanna Macy - on the great turning and deep ecology
Fiction wise I've enjoyed..
Secret life of Bees by Sue Monks
Small planet by Andrea Levy
and still love my all time favourites..
Peter Bennett - organic gardening whatever edition (all those pics of big zucchinis), Annie Dillard Pilgram at Tinker Creek and Jeffery Hodges' chapter on communicating with your plants in Natural Gardening
Stacm

[Tezza]

Yeah i bought up about the Celestine prophecy books The film of the Book is due to be released net march ...Cant wait, Im on a list for a dvd..

Jeffrey Hodges yes I loved and understood his Gardening methods and still beleive in them after 15 years...

Tezza

[biofarmag]

Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy was a great read. You can even get the four books in one, entitled "A Trilogy in Four Parts".

[ecodharmamark]

G'day All,

Great thread! Thanks for all the critiques, I may even get the opportunity to read some of the previously mentioned.

My current list includes:

THOREAU, Henry David (1817 - 1862)
PROUDHON, (Pierre-Joseph Proudon (1809 - 1865)
GEORGE, Henry (1839 - 1897)
TOLSTOY, Leo Nikolayevich (1828 - 1910)
KROPOTKIN, Prince Peter Alexeevich (1842 - 1921)

I keep coming back to these writers/visionaries, I think it's the old anarchist coming out in me.

HOLMGREN, David

I'm on the third reading of "Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability".

YEOMANS, P. A. (1905 - 1984)

The famous australian "Keyline" man:

(1954) "The Keyline Plan"
(1958) "The Challenge of Landscape"
(1966) "Water for Every Farm"

and my personal favorite:

(1971) "The City Forest - The Keyline Plan for the Human Environment Revolution"

Other titles I grab from the shelf (and invaribly stack up beside my bed) from time-to-time include:

John Seymour's "The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency"

Anything by Alistair Knox, Gregory Ah Kat, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Lama Thubten Yeshe and His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

I've recently started reading (well, for about the last 5-years) anything to do with IC's (Intentional Communities) and these have included:

SKINNER, B. F. "Walden Two" (a work of fiction, but fascinating all the same)
MANNHEIM, Karl "Ideology and Utopia"
BETTELHEIM, Bruno "The Children of the Dream"
SEAL, Herb "Alternative Life Styles - A study of communes, intentional communities, group marriages and other non-nuclear families"

I could go on here for hours, but I will not :)

Peace to you all, and may you all find great inspiration in all that you read and do.

Cheerio, Mark.

[Franceyne]

Not sure if it has been mentioned yet, but has anyone read Tim Flannery's The Weather Makers?

I three quarters of the way through and it has changed the way I view our world.

If anyone has read it I'd be interested in your opinion and thoughts.

Cheers,
Fran.

[heuristics]

This was on my Christmas wish list, but haven't acquired it as yet, but will do so.
I need to be retired, so I can do all the outdoors things that need attention, and also have time to read!

[Franceyne]

I recommend it Heuristics. I'd be interested in hearing what you think of it and it's message.

[christopher]

Fran,

Amazon.com, my only available book store, does not have The Weather Makers available, yet.... grrrrrr. I have been meaning to get it, so went to Amazon and ordered some other books, and when I was ready to click off on that... not avaiulable yet.... and no indication when...

It has been recommended in this thread, several times, so it is on my list!

C

[LittleFish]

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
He was both a better writer and a better naturalist than Thoureu.
Really intimate and inspiring writing about observing the simple things in nature; the turn of the seasons, the animals, the plants, enjoying the simple life.
I can't recommend this book highly enough, it really deserves to be rescued from its current obscurity.
cheers
Stephen

[heuristics]

Hi Chris -
Even though I live in Syd, I live in a pocket of cultural desert with only one bookshop within coo-ee and they are TOTALLY BLOODY USELESS, (no names, of course!!!), so I often buy things on-line thru GleeBooks in downtown “real” Sydney. (Glebe)
They have Flannery's Weathermakers at #2 on their current best-seller list. Email them – they may do mail order to where-the-hell-is Belize?? (!)
If not, other aussie bookshops are Dymocks, and Collins
Also the ABC bookshop – which is somehow affiliated with our national broadcaster also has Flannery at AUD $32.95.
I suggest either Gleebooks or the ABC bookshop then one of the others.
Since you have an account with amazon – that may give you some credibility – not much, but maybe.
worth a try.

[teela]

I read 'The Weather Makers too, made alot of sense to me.
But why buy it? Just get it from your local library , I did. And think of all the trees you'll save by doing this. (or is it made of recycled paper, I should think so!) anyway save your money. Any books they don't have, keep them busy and give them a list, they always try n get them in for ya (well my library does, small town one too). Infact after reading all these posts I have quite a long list for my library.
Heres another one you can all add to your lists.....'Red Sand, Green Heart' by John L Read, and you guessed it.......from my local library!

[ecodharmamark]

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
He was both a better writer and a better naturalist than Thoureu.

I've heard this mentioned before, Stephen. Thanks for the reminder. I'll put it on my library list.

For anyone who wishes to purchase 2nd-hand books (world-wide), check out abebooks, they have a really good search facility.

http://www.abebooks.com/

Oh, and please dont forget to support your local library. The staff will most likely bend over backwards to help, and we really are reducing emergy (embodied energy) by utilising these facilities.

Cheerio, and happy reading,

Mark

[Franceyne]

Fran,

Amazon.com, my only available book store, does not have The Weather Makers available, yet.... grrrrrr. I have been meaning to get it, so went to Amazon and ordered some other books, and when I was ready to click off on that... not avaiulable yet.... and no indication when...

It has been recommended in this thread, several times, so it is on my list!

C

If you continually have issues trying to get it Christopher let me know - we can always arrange something along the lines of me picking the book up here and posting it to you - by courier this time :lol:

[Franceyne]

I read 'The Weather Makers too, made alot of sense to me.
But why buy it? Just get it from your local library , I did. And think of all the trees you'll save by doing this. (or is it made of recycled paper, I should think so!) anyway save your money. Any books they don't have, keep them busy and give them a list, they always try n get them in for ya (well my library does, small town one too). Infact after reading all these posts I have quite a long list for my library.


Thanks for your thoughts on the Weather Makers Teela. I was wondering if after reading it you changed any thing about how you live your life or have made plans for any changes?

The book was a Giftmas gift, most of our books are second hand - alot of which we then donate to our little growing local library.

[christopher]

Fran

If you continually have issues trying to get it Christopher let me know - we can always arrange something along the lines of me picking the book up here and posting it to you - by courier this time

The seed was a token of your goodness and genersoity, your not quite random act of targeted kindness manifested in physical form, and your sending it was warmth and love and good.

That it has not gotten here yet does not negate all of the embodied goodness involved...

I will try again in a month, and if it doesn't work, yes, yes, you can deliver it in person....

C

[teela]

Fran, Hi. To answer your question........well no haven't really made any changes, I think people who like to read these type of books already try to tread lightly on the earth already. Have always wanted a solar hot water service, after reading the weather makers its made me more determined to do so. But sometimes it feels like what we (us environmentaly friendly) try and do is such a drop in the ocean, when I told my family I wanted to go solar they asked why I was wasting my money when I could just get another electric unit at below half the price of solar. (sigh)[/quote]

[Franceyne]

Thank you Christopher. Let me know how you go - I would love to hand deliver it! (however that is unlikely to happen :( )

Teela, I know how you feel. My inlaws can not understand how my partner and I can be happy living in 'the middle of nowhere' in a solar powered mud brick 'shack' without a flushing toilet... :?

The power of one is still a great thing though - every thing we do can influence others.

I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.

[RobWindt]

Bills Big Book was my intro, tho the 70s series The Good Life planted the seed

David Holmgrens books and writings, Principles and Pathways is nearly as dog eared as the Designers Manual

Pretty much any book on permaculture or by Tim Flannery

A Pattern Language - Alexander etal. His new website is another great resource http://www.livingneighborhoods.org/ht-2/home.htm

Architecture For The Poor - Hassan Fathy

An Encyclopedia Of Country Living - Carla Emery

Community Development, community based alternatives in an age of globalisation - Jim Ife

Ecocities - Richard Register

Powerdown - Richard Heinberg

Learning To Listen, Learning To Teach - Jane Vella

A Truly Civil Society - Eva Cox

In The Tigers Mouth, an empowerment guide for social action - Katrina Shields

Stranger In a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein

Anything by Wendell Berry - http://www.oriononline.org/pages/om/arc ... omyPR.html (http://www.oriononline.org/pages/om/archive_om/Berry/Local_EconomyPR.html)

Ack.. this could take a week and I'd still miss some favourites :oops:

[ecodharmamark]

G'day Everyone :)

I have only just last night finished reading Tim Flannery's 'The Weather Makers'. If you have not already read it, may I suggest you do. Borrow it, buy it, steal it... but please read it! Once you have read it, hand it on to your kids, your wife, husband, lover, nieghbour...

Information is power! Empower yourself and read :D

Cheerio,

Mark.

[Michaelangelica]

I read this some years ago
Since Silent Spring
http://www.amazon.com/Since-Silent-Spring-Frank-Graham/dp/0395077532
http://www.amazon.com/Since-Silent-Spring-Frank-Graham/dp/0449231410/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1293587496&sr=1-1
It was printed originally in 1976 and tells the story of Rachel Carson and how Chemical companies tried to silence her.
It then takes up the story from where she left off
I wonder if it is time for Since, Since Silent Spring?

[ecodharmamark]

Good 'bump', Mick. Happy (insert ideologically-preferred term here) to you and yours.

Well, it's been about 3.5-years since I last posted in this thread, and since then I have completed my degree. As such, I have (literally, from cover to cover) read hundreds of books in the interim. Here's a few 'standouts' for me in terms of responding to the original thread question "What books, authors have been important to you?", and the reason/s why:

Pittock, particularly:

Climate Change: The Science, Impacts and Solutions (2009) (http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6010.htm)

Why? Because I trust the man and the peer-reviewed science that he produces, and because he is 'easy' to talk with, about anything.

Most of Bookchin's work:

Bookchin Archive (http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/bookchin/Bookchinarchive.html)

Why? Because I believe in (almost) everything he had to say. He was a man born well before his time in terms of vision and passion. He is like the grandfather that I never had.

Mumford, especially:

The City in History (1961) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_City_in_History), The Culture of Cities (1938), and The Condition of Man (1944).

Why? If Bookchin is like one grandfather to me, then Mumford is like the other grandfather that I never had. His work (even to this day) remains relevant to our present (and future) position.

Carson, particularly

Silent Spring (1962)

Why? Because she stared the ball rolling (in my mind), and her work continues to inspire thousands of anti-corporate watchdogs the world over.

Holmgren, especially:

Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability (2002) (http://www.holmgren.com.au/frameset.html?http://www.holmgren.com.au/html/Publications/Principles.html)

Why? The man has vision, integrity, and a way of connecting with people that does justice to the notion of what it means to be a truly 'compassionate' human being. I continue to work hard in trying to emulate his chosen ways - I have a long way to go before I can hope to match him.

HH The Dalia Lama, particularly:

Freedom In Exile (1990)

Why? As an atheist, I find that I can relate well to many of his 'teachings'. I admire him (as I do all the people of Tibet) for remaining so compassionate in the face of prolonged cultural genocide.

Budge, see:

Trevor Budge - Publications (http://www.latrobe.edu.au/socsci/staff/budge/budge-pub.html)

Why? Because he is my teacher, my mentor. He has taught me so much, and he has put up with (nay, encouraged) my incessant questioning. If there were more of his kind in the world, the world would be a better place to live (now, and into an indefinite future).

Klein, especially:

No Logo (2000)

Why? Because she has thus far remained true to her convictions, and she is relatively 'easy' to read and therefore accessible to a very wide audience.

Kropotkin, in particular:

Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution (1902) (http://www.calresco.org/texts/mutaid.htm)

Why? Because he is the great-grandfather that I never had. His work on communalism/mutualism reminds me that for all that we think we have learned, we have a long way to go.

And to the hundreds of others that I have read, thank you. To those that I have read, and not necessarily agreed with (to a much greater or slightly lesser degree - examples of the former include: the Bible, Qur'an, Bhagavad Gita, and parts of the Torah), thanks to you too. You have all been instrumental in my ongoing education and my life-long pursuit to 'ask the questions that nobody seems to want to answer'.

Markos

[Fernando Pessoa]

I really liked King Solomons ring by Konrad Lorenz.
James Baldwins The Fire Next Time
The Grapes of Wrath John Stienbeck
Politics..Kropotkin as well Markos but Fields, Factories,Workshops I seem to recall the first lines being prophetic as he visions the worker attached to the machine almost part of it,it was almost true to the word.

[ecodharmamark]

I really liked King Solomons ring by Konrad Lorenz.
James Baldwins The Fire Next Time
The Grapes of Wrath John Stienbeck
Politics..Kropotkin as well Markos but Fields, Factories,Workshops I seem to recall the first lines being prophetic as he visions the worker attached to the machine almost part of it,it was almost true to the word.

Yes, Fernando. Kropotkin's Fields, Factories and Workshops remains an all-time classic.

For those that are interested, much of Kropotkin's work can be found here:

Kropotkin Archive (http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_archives/kropotkin/Kropotkinarchive.html)

I also enjoyed Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, although it has been a very long time since I read it.

[Michaelangelica]

Steinbeck started me reading books when I was 15.
I Read everything he wrote.

[Grahame]

Sometimes I think a book appears just at the right time, the book may not itself be a masterpiece but it can seem like it was written just for me right at that time. The combination of the book and my state of consciousness and being becomes grater than the sum of its parts.

I can think a particular instances of this for me. I was feeling a little 'fed-up' with the way things seemed to be going... I was laying awake in bed at about 4am and decided to get up and for some reason grab a book off the shelf that had sat there for year. Richard Hittleman's Introduction to Yoga. I read the first part of the book and watched as the seas of my mind parted and saw into myself for the first time.

A few years later, I was working at a retail nursery (after throwing in my well-paid public service job because my supervisor was a Prat. I had bought a guitar and a motorbike and took a year off to garden.) cleaning and straightening up the fridge-magnets when I read this simple phrase Be the change that you wish to see in the world - Ghandi. BAM! it hit me again only this time harder, it really rocked me, and that sent me on a course of amazing synchronicity that lasted for a couple of years. I changed completely in that time.

Some of the books I experienced in that time were...

David Suzuki's Good News For a Change, this really was the first time I had read something positive, that something could actually be done, that people were doing things already.

Deepak Chopra's Ageless Body, Timeless Mind and later Synchrodestiny along with a bunch of his other books. And a plethora of other folks like him.

I felt I had struck gold when I found Julia Cameron's The Artists Way. This one was a life changer

Most of the things I read in that golden time were not directly about permaculture, but they helped to transform me into a permaculturist at the core, even if I had very little idea about it as a design science. I believe the greatest obstacle to permaculture being a mainstream philosophy and practical science is the mind and spirit of people, not the lack of a better technology.

I finally got around to reading David Holmgren's Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability (2002) after claiming for years to be interested in Permaculture but in hindsight having no real understanding of what it meant beyond companion planting. (Remember when you thought permaculture was all about putting tomatoes with basil? :rofl:). And that was when I was ready for the deeper meaning of permaculture, I was ready mentally and spiritually to accept it as a set of ethics. It fit with everything I had 'concluded' about mind body and spirit, with all the investigations I had done into spiritualism, of Buddhism, of religion in general.

Since then it has been more about learning the specifics of how to go about 'Being the change I wish to see'. How do I manifest the inherent permaculture I feel within me into the physical universe.

I return to those spiritual texts from time to time and also discover great new stuff like Eckhart Tolle's work. I think this sort of spiritual nutrition, adds to, is required for and enables me to grow the physical nutrition my body requires.

It has been an awesome journey and I thank each and everyone of those very special teachers who have been there for me when I was ready to listen. I trust that one day I will be able to return even a fraction of it to someone else on their path. It's part of the reason I bother to post here. I know some of my posts are just rubbish, but I trust that sometime I may write something that someone is ready to hear and it thrills me to think that someone may be sent on such a journey of sychronicity and discovery by reading just a few words of mine. This is a pretty great forum in many ways (not many like it on the whole inter-webs probably).

Sometimes I recognise that my posts and the posts of others can stir up negative emotions, but they are the emotions of the reader and if the reader is prepared to look at how they react to such posts then they can probably learn as much if not more about themselves and their world than some of the most profound pieces of prose will ever offer them.

Peace out homies and read the books that come your way, especially if they 'jump out at you'.




(http://www.holmgren.com.au/frameset.html?http://www.holmgren.com.au/html/Publications/Principles.html)

[sun burn]

I haven't been able to read all this thread yet but this is one of the more interesting book threads i've come across in my time on forums. I think. I haven't been able to formulate a response yet because I am not in the mood to think that long and hard recalling which books have affected and influenced me most. I might do it piecemeal as particular books come to mind.

One book that has given me deep insight into human psyche is Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevski. I think its a most excellent psychological novel. I don't know if i already knew the truth which the book is about when i read the book and the book merely confirmed it and demonstrated it for me, or if the book showed it as a thing I hadn't understood before. I read this book only about 15 years ago now.

Essentially this book is about guilt and redemption. Guilt is a powerful feeling or can be, as the novel shows. The guy committed a murder. The guilt just about drove him mad. Most guilt gives rise to a degree of psychological disturbance that affects our moods and behaviour.

Its not that i am more guilty than other people. I've lived a fairly law abiding life. Its just that i think this book shows this issue that touches all people, except psychopaths, brilliantly. For a long time now I try to live by the prescription recommended by this book. (note by being a bit vague, I am merely trying not to give the story away).

[purplepear]

For me a book that changed the way I think was "If the shoe fits" (the foot is forgotten) by Oso.

Since then "easy is right" has been my mantra.

[sun burn]

Do you mean Osho?

[sun burn]

I have wanted to travel for as long as I could remember. And as a teenager I used to dream of long walking journeys. It wasn't long after reading The Drifters that i had the money to go overseas for the first time. In the Drifters the young people travel in a van and in a group and in Spain. It was so romantic. Although i never got a van or in a group of van travellers, i pursued the idea and travelled with a guy on a motorbike through scandinavia for a couple of months. I would never have done that were it not for the Drifters. Ok, its not a big deal that trip. About a year later i pursued another dream of sailing around the world, albeit without the influence of a book, and found someone to sail home with.

I didn't travel anywhere for years after returning home. Then i went to India for a few weeks. It was such a tiny taste and I had to go back. I heard Anne Mustoe talking about her book on radio national and decided I would bicycle around India. Reading her book was reassuring more than anything else though good too. I had already read Dervla Murphy's book about cycling from Ireland to Tibet but it didn't hit me the same way. Probably because the book was so old by the time I read it. But i was influenced by another book she wrote. Muddling through Madagascar made me want to travel in remote undeveloped places. I try to do this on my journeys though i've hardly gone as far off the beaten path as Murphy. Its not even easy these days to find such places. On my travel forum, another aussie girl did find a place recently. She had the misfortune of being bitten by what might have been a rabid fox for her troubles.

[purplepear]

Do you mean Osho?

yes sorry for the typo

[xray]

I walked into a bookshop 1982 and it jumped out and owned me.
Author: Lyall Watson 1939-2008
Title: Heavens Breath (a history of wind)
This was a great consolidator of loose ends and a wonderful insight into the edge of space,
his writings opened doors that opened doors and the more I read the more I realized
how little I know.

[vardSirunda]

Remarkable question