Really compelling stuff. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read some of Lovelock's work, and I expect I'll eventually go in search of more.
The was lots of good content here that more than justified the small package.
But I can't stop going back to this riff, where Lovelock begins by pointing to Napoleon's failure to recognize that, in 1812, he should have retreated "so that his army could remain intact to fight another day.... The British remember with pride the successful withdrawal of the army from Dunkirk in 1940, and do not see it as an ignominious defeat.... The time has come when all of us must plan a retreat from the unsustainable place that we have now reached through inappropriate use of technology.... Like Napoleon, we have too many mouths to feed and resources diminish daily while we make up our minds.... We need the people of the world to sense the real and present danger so that they will mobilize and unstintingly bring about an orderly and sustainable withdrawal to a world where we can try to live in harmony with Gaia."
Yes.... and yet....
This content assembled here was originally published elsewhere, more than 15 years ago. Republished as a standalone here, this slender volume is installment 16 - and one of the more tightly wrapped offerings - in the Penguin Green Ideas collection, which I'm finding well worth the investment ... and the minor hassle of acquiring it... Sadly, as my local independent bookstore confirmed, it is not available for sale (in the slipcase collection) in the U.S. What a shame! (Fortunately, thanks to our modern, global economy, it's not that difficult to order it from a UK supplier). Having now reached the three-quarter point, I'm ecstatic that I found and bought it. Well worth the effort, money, and time. Frankly, I can't recommend the collection (warts and imperfections and all) enough.