Bubbles and Spirals: The Memoirs of C. S. Buzz Holling

by C.S. Holling

147 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Ceili D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed Buzz Holling's lively mind immensely while reading this memoir. As he pointed out, everything is in the timing, and I just so happened to embrace his writing at an influential point in my own life while grappling with questions related to purpose and life and panarchy moving forward! It is rare to see the way your mind works refelected so deeply in another's writing - I am not saying my mind is ANYTHING SIMILAR to Buzz Holling's. Not at all. But the way he intertwines art, literature, philosophy, ecology, mathematics, and the likes to grapple with the large questions of the chaos of this world made my mind soar. It was a read that made me excited to continue in this field - an encouraging thought for a student at times disillusioned with academia and her place in it.

It was also interesting to read snippets of a life that he chose to share and made me reflect a bit on small moments that have caused me to resilate. May there be many more to come. With a full community of beautiful and lively minds. Of my own spiral interacting with the spirals of others in unending succession throughout the chaos of our world.

[Mick de Waart · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I admire Holling, this book fell short of my expectations. While it offered an intriguing glimpse into the man behind some of the most creative and—in my opinion—important work of recent decades, it became clear that Holling excels more as a scholarly writer than as an engaging storyteller. The book provided insights into how Holling created an ecosystem of people and surroundings around himself that enabled his innovative work, yet the book often remained superficial. This lack of depth made it difficult to fully grasp the (mental) processes that led to his achievements. Though I don’t regret reading it, I believe Holling’s story holds more potential than this book was able to convey.