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Guests | October 15, 2009

Michelle Wildgen: IMG A Few Initial and Not-Comprehensive Meditations on Group Novels

1 comment By Michelle Wildgen

I am a sucker for a book about a group. What reminded me of this was Joanna Smith Rakoff's A Fortunate Age, her homage to Mary McCarthy's endlessly re-readable... Continue »
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The Long Descent: A User's Guide to the End of the Industrial Age

by John Michael Greer

The Long Descent: A User's Guide to the End of the Industrial Age Cover

ISBN13: 9780865716094
ISBN10: 0865716099
Condition: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Americans are expressing deep concern about US dependence on petroleum, rising energy prices, and the threat of climate change. Unlike the energy crisis of the 1970s, however, there is a lurking fear that now the times are different and the crisis may not easily be resolved.

The Long Descent examines the basis of such fear through three core themes:

  • Industrial society is following the same well-worn path that has led other civilizations into decline, a path involving a much slower and more complex transformation than the sudden catastrophes imagined by so many social critics today.
  • The roots of the crisis lie in the cultural stories that shape the way we understand the world. Since problems cannot be solved with the same thinking that created them, these ways of thinking need to be replaced with others better suited to the needs of our time.
  • It is too late for massive programs for top-down change; the change must come from individuals.
Hope exists in actions that range from taking up a handicraft or adopting an "obsolete" technology, through planting an organic vegetable garden, taking charge of your own health care or spirituality, and building community.

Focusing eloquently on constructive adaptation to massive change, this book will have wide appeal.

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About the Author

John Michael Greer is a certified Master Conserver, organic gardener, and scholar of ecological history. The current Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA), his widely-cited blog, The Archdruid Report (thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com) deals with peak oil, among other issues. He lives in Ashland, Oregon.
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lupabitch, September 23, 2008 (view all comments by lupabitch)
Peak oil isn't coming--it's here. So says John Michael Greer, Grand Archdruid of not only the Ancient Order of Druids in America, but (unofficially) of the peak oil movement as well. In his newest book, "The Long Descent", Greer outlines a potential future for the United States as a nation and as an economic power as our access to oil declines over the coming decades. Rather than speaking as a leader in his spiritual community, he speaks to a broader audience as a Master Conserver, and one of the leading authorities on peak oil.

Greer paints a picture of a nation in slow decline--the "long descent"--from the oil-dependent postindustrial nation we are today, back to a more agrarian based society mixed with some scavenging and remnants of modern technology. This is not the sudden, devastating apocalypse of doomsayers; few nations have fallen in such a quick manner. Nor will we be bailed out by further innovations in technology, as according to Greer alternative fuels will never give us the output that we require for our level of technology now. He bases his theory on the endings of numerous great civilizations throughout history, who generally went out with a prolonged whimper, rather than the more dramatic bang.

This is not an utterly hopeless book, however. While Greer is realistic about some of the downsides of the long descent, such as reduced health care and more difficult access to non-local resources, he does offer a wealth of ideas and actions that can help with the transition. Many of these have already been embraced by people within the sustainability movement, including subsistence gardening, and learning handcrafts and general repair techniques.

This will be a book that will have few neutral opinions. Those who believe in the reality of peak oil will find Greer's words to be a refreshingly sane alternative to survivalist panic attacks. Those who are convinced that technology will save us all may very well end up hurling this book at the nearest wall. Either way, "The Long Descent" earns a strong recommendation from me, and is a very welcome addition to the discourse on our economic and environmental future.

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Product Details

ISBN:
9780865716094
Subtitle:
A User's Guide to the End of the Industrial Age
Author:
Greer, John Michael
Publisher:
New Society Publishers
Subject:
New Thought
Subject:
General Current Events
Subject:
Twenty-first century
Subject:
Social change
Subject:
Technology -- Social aspects.
Publication Date:
September 2008
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
257
Dimensions:
870x600x80 90
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