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EARTHFORCE!: An Earth Warrior's Guide to Strategy 3rd Edition
The war to save the eco-systems and the biodiversity of the Earth is history's most important struggle. It is also a war by humans to protect the Earth from humanity...from ourselves. This struggle, unique and profound, requires an equally profound and unique guide to strategy. This book answers this need.
Captain Paul Watson, one of the most brilliant ecological strategists of our generation draws on the genius of Sun Tzu, the discipline of Miyamoto Musashi, the perception of Marshall McLuhan, and his own field experiences to present an effective strategical guide for any serious student of environmental or conservation activism.
Captain Paul Watson, one of the most brilliant ecological strategists of our generation draws on the genius of Sun Tzu, the discipline of Miyamoto Musashi, the perception of Marshall McLuhan, and his own field experiences to present an effective strategical guide for any serious student of environmental or conservation activism.
204 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1993
7 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Paul Watson
25 books62 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Paul Watson is the Founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Co-Founding Director Greenpeace Foundation.
Paul Watson is the Founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Co-Founding Director Greenpeace Foundation.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 30, 2013
Captain Watson is one of the top human being alive according to me. However, this book is really basic and appears to me as the product of his efforts to transform Granola hippies into badass activists (yes South Park reference !). Nothing goes too deep and he limits himself to general purpose guidance. I would have like to see more real life situations : how to plan for a campaign, how to raise funds, how to manage the fleet. what were the intelligence process...Anyway, buy it, it is good money for the SSCS and that helps what they do.
May 10, 2024
THE PROMINENT ACTIVIST MAKES SUGGESTIONS FOR STRATEGIES
Paul Franklin Watson (born 1950) is a Canadian-American environmental activist, who was a co-founder of Greenpeace in 1972, but was ousted from its board in 1977; he then founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a more radical anti-whaling project, which was the subject of a 6-season reality show, ‘Whale Wars.’ (Not surprisingly, he has had numerous clashes with the authorities of various countries.)
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1993 book, “The movement to protect the Earth has its heroes and heroines… Spiritually, the protection of the Earth is the most moral and just cause ever taken up in the history of the human species… Within the growing movement… there is emerging a new force. This force is a Warrior Society of committed, dedicated, and courageous men and women, willing to take the risks needed to serve and protect our Mother---the Earth… This is a book on strategy… In preparing this book I have drawn on four sources. The first is a small book written … in China by a general names Sun Tzu’… entitled ‘The Art of War’… The second source is … written … in Japan by a warrior/philosopher named Miyamoto Musashi… entitled ‘The Book of Five Rings’… The third source is the … works of Marshall McLuhan, the Canadian philosopher of media… The fourth source… is my own experiences as an environmental activist and campaign leader for the past thirty years. I have attempted to apply in the field, the lessons provided by the other three… I sincerely hope that this book soon may serve to motivate others to expand on strategic ideas for making the environmental movement stronger, more active, more directed, and much more effective.” (Pg. 1-2)
He states, “The media is an extension of the body. Newspapers and books are extensions of the eye. Electronic media, however, are an extension of the entire nervous system. Newspapers inform. Television entertains and enthralls. To be successful, the Earth Warrior must be in control of the forces that define the dominant culture. Because the media defines culture, and understanding of media philosophy is essential.” (Pg. 8)
He explains, “I was responsible for or oversaw the sinking of eight illegal whaling ships, the sinking of one sealing ship, the blockading of a Canadian sealing fleet, the destruction of a whale processing plant, the pain bombing of a Soviet trawler, the ramming of two Japanese drift net vessels, the ramming of a Mexican tuna seiner, the ramming or a Taiwanese drift netter, the shutting down of a Japanese dolphin hunt, the closing down of deal hunts in Great Britain and Ireland, the landing in Soviet Siberia to document illegal whaling activities, and the interference in killing operations against marine mammals in thirteen countries. I was also responsible for inventing the tactic of tree-spiking to protect old-growth forests… these things were accomplished without causing or sustaining a single injury to our opposition or to my crew. Additionally these missions did not result in a single criminal or civil conviction against myself, my society, or my crew.” (Pg. 9)
He recommends, “when you embark upon something, before you begin, you must fix your attention on the Four Oaths… 1. Never lose respect for the Way of the Earth Warrior. 2. Be of service to the Earth and all of her children. 3. Be respectful to the Earth and all of her children. 4. Get beyond love and grief, beyond personal ambition: Exist for the good of the Earth and all of her children. Never be concerned with the idea of success or failure. The Way of the Earth Warrior is to see things through.” (Pg. 14)
He states, “To the Earth Warrior, a redwood is more sacred than a religious icon, a species of bird or butterfly is of more value than the crown jewels of a nation, and the survival of a species of cacti is more important than the survival of monuments to human conceit like the pyramids… The Earth Warrior is a biocentrist… For an Earth Warrior there is no compromise with the anthropocentrist. The Earth and her children are first… Species are more important than individuals.” (Pg. 23-24)
He states, “God is the unknown, the feminine force in divine harmony with the masculine force… God is anything and everything that can be imagined. But the one thing that God is not---is definable. Attempts… to define the unknown … have only led and continue to lead to ecological holocaust and the deaths of billions of lives… The truth is not to be found in Christian icons, Judaic writings, Islamic rules, Buddhist meditation, or any of the theological inventions of humankind. The truth can only be found by realizing that it cannot be found and that all is not knowable, that the infinite can never be comprehended by the finite. The purpose of life is life itself. the purpose of death is rebirth. The purpose of birth is death. The immortality of humanity as in all species is to be found in the Continuum.” (Pg. 25)
Perhaps surprisingly, he asserts, “Abortion is a serious responsibility and … must be borne by the females of all animal species…. Only [the female] can decide if she is psychologically and physiologically capable of giving birth and sustaining the development of a child… The child is not an individual if it cannot sustain itself. The woman… has every right to judge and decide on the welfare and future of her body, mind, and soul… To force a woman to produce a child against her will is rape.” (Pg. 30-31)
Among his proposed ‘Media Laws’ are: “1. The media is not concerned with facts, figures, statistics or scientific reports. The media is interested in drama, scandal, violence, and sex… 3. Learn to use the media or you will be abused by the media… 4. Always talk in sound bites… Never overestimate the intelligence of the viewer, the listener or the reader… 6. Emotion will always triumph over fact… 8. Objectivity is a myth, an illusion, a con and a trick… 9. The Media defines reality… The public believes what it is told to believe. 10. Believe nothing that you read, be skeptical about what you hear and question all that you see. All of your senses can be manipulated.” (Pg. 36)
He proposes, “When opportune, you must appear to be more Christian than the Christian, more
humanistic than the humanists, more patriotic than the patriots, etc. … Praise the Lord and wrap yourself in the flag if this is what it takes to get your message across. It has worked for George Bush---it can just as easily work for you.” (Pg. 40)
He suggests, “Do not wait for an area to be declared as a target for a forest clear-cut. Spike the trees years in advance. This will counter forest industry and government security measures and it will better disguise the evidence of spiking. In addition, you will be ready to retaliate to an announcement of proposed logging with a press release stating that protective measures for the trees have already been taken.” (Pg. 53)
He acknowledges, “The environmental movement is composed of numerous individuals, action groups, organizations, and coalitions. These factions promote different agendas and promote different strategies for achieving their objectives… If factions have different strategies, they should seek to agree to disagree on tactics and objectives… If this fails, then use agents to infiltrate, undermine, and if need be, subtly destroy your opposing ‘ally.’ Unless it is avoidable, do not publicly battle an ally. This will only serve the interest of the primary opposition… As an example, in 1990, Earth First! became seriously divided the original deep ecology faction and those who joined with a leftist, feminist, and liberal social agenda. The infiltrators went so far as to denounce an essential Earth First! tenet which advocate monkey-wrenching. Earth First! co-founder Dave Foreman, turned the tables on the infiltrators by resigning from the organization and founding a new group.” (Pg. 58-59)
He even advises, “NEVER become involved in a covert illegal activity with your lover (i.e., girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, or husband). The relationship between lover is the most unstable relationship of all. You could be betrayed to the authorities because of an emotional rift resulting from jealousy or spite.” (Pg. 89)
He concludes, “In choosing a warrior’s way… I have been richly rewarded. Now, in my early forties, I can honestly say that I have been very much satisfied with my life and achievements. I have saved lives…. If wolves, whales, dolphins, and redwood survive the hominid holocaust, it will be in some small part because my crew and I had the audacity to intervene in the selfish affairs of anthropocentric humans.” (Pg. 112)
This book will be of keen interest to those studying the more ‘activist’ forms of environmental activism.
Paul Franklin Watson (born 1950) is a Canadian-American environmental activist, who was a co-founder of Greenpeace in 1972, but was ousted from its board in 1977; he then founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a more radical anti-whaling project, which was the subject of a 6-season reality show, ‘Whale Wars.’ (Not surprisingly, he has had numerous clashes with the authorities of various countries.)
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1993 book, “The movement to protect the Earth has its heroes and heroines… Spiritually, the protection of the Earth is the most moral and just cause ever taken up in the history of the human species… Within the growing movement… there is emerging a new force. This force is a Warrior Society of committed, dedicated, and courageous men and women, willing to take the risks needed to serve and protect our Mother---the Earth… This is a book on strategy… In preparing this book I have drawn on four sources. The first is a small book written … in China by a general names Sun Tzu’… entitled ‘The Art of War’… The second source is … written … in Japan by a warrior/philosopher named Miyamoto Musashi… entitled ‘The Book of Five Rings’… The third source is the … works of Marshall McLuhan, the Canadian philosopher of media… The fourth source… is my own experiences as an environmental activist and campaign leader for the past thirty years. I have attempted to apply in the field, the lessons provided by the other three… I sincerely hope that this book soon may serve to motivate others to expand on strategic ideas for making the environmental movement stronger, more active, more directed, and much more effective.” (Pg. 1-2)
He states, “The media is an extension of the body. Newspapers and books are extensions of the eye. Electronic media, however, are an extension of the entire nervous system. Newspapers inform. Television entertains and enthralls. To be successful, the Earth Warrior must be in control of the forces that define the dominant culture. Because the media defines culture, and understanding of media philosophy is essential.” (Pg. 8)
He explains, “I was responsible for or oversaw the sinking of eight illegal whaling ships, the sinking of one sealing ship, the blockading of a Canadian sealing fleet, the destruction of a whale processing plant, the pain bombing of a Soviet trawler, the ramming of two Japanese drift net vessels, the ramming of a Mexican tuna seiner, the ramming or a Taiwanese drift netter, the shutting down of a Japanese dolphin hunt, the closing down of deal hunts in Great Britain and Ireland, the landing in Soviet Siberia to document illegal whaling activities, and the interference in killing operations against marine mammals in thirteen countries. I was also responsible for inventing the tactic of tree-spiking to protect old-growth forests… these things were accomplished without causing or sustaining a single injury to our opposition or to my crew. Additionally these missions did not result in a single criminal or civil conviction against myself, my society, or my crew.” (Pg. 9)
He recommends, “when you embark upon something, before you begin, you must fix your attention on the Four Oaths… 1. Never lose respect for the Way of the Earth Warrior. 2. Be of service to the Earth and all of her children. 3. Be respectful to the Earth and all of her children. 4. Get beyond love and grief, beyond personal ambition: Exist for the good of the Earth and all of her children. Never be concerned with the idea of success or failure. The Way of the Earth Warrior is to see things through.” (Pg. 14)
He states, “To the Earth Warrior, a redwood is more sacred than a religious icon, a species of bird or butterfly is of more value than the crown jewels of a nation, and the survival of a species of cacti is more important than the survival of monuments to human conceit like the pyramids… The Earth Warrior is a biocentrist… For an Earth Warrior there is no compromise with the anthropocentrist. The Earth and her children are first… Species are more important than individuals.” (Pg. 23-24)
He states, “God is the unknown, the feminine force in divine harmony with the masculine force… God is anything and everything that can be imagined. But the one thing that God is not---is definable. Attempts… to define the unknown … have only led and continue to lead to ecological holocaust and the deaths of billions of lives… The truth is not to be found in Christian icons, Judaic writings, Islamic rules, Buddhist meditation, or any of the theological inventions of humankind. The truth can only be found by realizing that it cannot be found and that all is not knowable, that the infinite can never be comprehended by the finite. The purpose of life is life itself. the purpose of death is rebirth. The purpose of birth is death. The immortality of humanity as in all species is to be found in the Continuum.” (Pg. 25)
Perhaps surprisingly, he asserts, “Abortion is a serious responsibility and … must be borne by the females of all animal species…. Only [the female] can decide if she is psychologically and physiologically capable of giving birth and sustaining the development of a child… The child is not an individual if it cannot sustain itself. The woman… has every right to judge and decide on the welfare and future of her body, mind, and soul… To force a woman to produce a child against her will is rape.” (Pg. 30-31)
Among his proposed ‘Media Laws’ are: “1. The media is not concerned with facts, figures, statistics or scientific reports. The media is interested in drama, scandal, violence, and sex… 3. Learn to use the media or you will be abused by the media… 4. Always talk in sound bites… Never overestimate the intelligence of the viewer, the listener or the reader… 6. Emotion will always triumph over fact… 8. Objectivity is a myth, an illusion, a con and a trick… 9. The Media defines reality… The public believes what it is told to believe. 10. Believe nothing that you read, be skeptical about what you hear and question all that you see. All of your senses can be manipulated.” (Pg. 36)
He proposes, “When opportune, you must appear to be more Christian than the Christian, more
humanistic than the humanists, more patriotic than the patriots, etc. … Praise the Lord and wrap yourself in the flag if this is what it takes to get your message across. It has worked for George Bush---it can just as easily work for you.” (Pg. 40)
He suggests, “Do not wait for an area to be declared as a target for a forest clear-cut. Spike the trees years in advance. This will counter forest industry and government security measures and it will better disguise the evidence of spiking. In addition, you will be ready to retaliate to an announcement of proposed logging with a press release stating that protective measures for the trees have already been taken.” (Pg. 53)
He acknowledges, “The environmental movement is composed of numerous individuals, action groups, organizations, and coalitions. These factions promote different agendas and promote different strategies for achieving their objectives… If factions have different strategies, they should seek to agree to disagree on tactics and objectives… If this fails, then use agents to infiltrate, undermine, and if need be, subtly destroy your opposing ‘ally.’ Unless it is avoidable, do not publicly battle an ally. This will only serve the interest of the primary opposition… As an example, in 1990, Earth First! became seriously divided the original deep ecology faction and those who joined with a leftist, feminist, and liberal social agenda. The infiltrators went so far as to denounce an essential Earth First! tenet which advocate monkey-wrenching. Earth First! co-founder Dave Foreman, turned the tables on the infiltrators by resigning from the organization and founding a new group.” (Pg. 58-59)
He even advises, “NEVER become involved in a covert illegal activity with your lover (i.e., girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, or husband). The relationship between lover is the most unstable relationship of all. You could be betrayed to the authorities because of an emotional rift resulting from jealousy or spite.” (Pg. 89)
He concludes, “In choosing a warrior’s way… I have been richly rewarded. Now, in my early forties, I can honestly say that I have been very much satisfied with my life and achievements. I have saved lives…. If wolves, whales, dolphins, and redwood survive the hominid holocaust, it will be in some small part because my crew and I had the audacity to intervene in the selfish affairs of anthropocentric humans.” (Pg. 112)
This book will be of keen interest to those studying the more ‘activist’ forms of environmental activism.
April 26, 2021
3rd Edition
I agree with most of the actions of Sea Shepherd but frankly this book was pointless and extremely disappointing. It is mostly composed of chopped up and rearranged bits from Sun Tzu (not a surprise considering that's half the selling point) which is bad enough but it has weird bits of sociopathic advice regarding using other people, even people you would consider to be friends. There is something incredibly pedantic and childish about a person who earnestly takes Sun Tzu seriously in anything resembling a modern context and this book really stretches that to the limit. Most of the Sun Tzu bits have no embellishment from Watson and just sit there so you can wonder how the hell "attack with the sun at your back" has any bearing on activism. Watson uses self-imposed rules, pseudo-new age meandering and "strategy" to justify his behavior in several anecdotes where he clearly by dumb luck did not get himself or someone else arrested or killed. There is no real advice for anyone who wants to be an environmental activist or understand it better. If anything the book is just an ego stroke combined with the typical Sun Tzu fetishism that you see in so many people from Wall Street bankers to #successwin Instagram lunatics. To top it off there are countless typos, grammatical errors, poorly constructed sentences, basic formatting errors, and bizarre misspellings. I am halfway convinced there is something going on with whoever printed the book because it is incredible to imagine someone missing this many screw ups before sending a book out for print. Every single instance of the phrase "modern media" in the book was spelled as "modem media". There's something up with that.
I agree with most of the actions of Sea Shepherd but frankly this book was pointless and extremely disappointing. It is mostly composed of chopped up and rearranged bits from Sun Tzu (not a surprise considering that's half the selling point) which is bad enough but it has weird bits of sociopathic advice regarding using other people, even people you would consider to be friends. There is something incredibly pedantic and childish about a person who earnestly takes Sun Tzu seriously in anything resembling a modern context and this book really stretches that to the limit. Most of the Sun Tzu bits have no embellishment from Watson and just sit there so you can wonder how the hell "attack with the sun at your back" has any bearing on activism. Watson uses self-imposed rules, pseudo-new age meandering and "strategy" to justify his behavior in several anecdotes where he clearly by dumb luck did not get himself or someone else arrested or killed. There is no real advice for anyone who wants to be an environmental activist or understand it better. If anything the book is just an ego stroke combined with the typical Sun Tzu fetishism that you see in so many people from Wall Street bankers to #successwin Instagram lunatics. To top it off there are countless typos, grammatical errors, poorly constructed sentences, basic formatting errors, and bizarre misspellings. I am halfway convinced there is something going on with whoever printed the book because it is incredible to imagine someone missing this many screw ups before sending a book out for print. Every single instance of the phrase "modern media" in the book was spelled as "modem media". There's something up with that.
December 5, 2023
One certainly cannot deny Captain Watson's conviction to his cause -- protecting our planet, environment, and a whole variety of species. This is a very serious and intense book for as short as it is. The Captain's contention that a military style chain of command is much better for an environmental resistance force than a more democratic organization would be is open to debate I suppose, but he certainly makes his case force-fully. One odd thing I noted was his writing style is very short and terse and almost choppy. Paragraphs seldom kept to a single topic, with each new sentence not necessarily dovetailing off the sentence before it. In fact, the whole book kind of felt like a collection of individual sentences strung together, sometimes haphazardly. Good, strong statements, but it's hard to get a feel for the overall point of a given "section".
April 3, 2023
Badly written and poorly edited, with some truly terrible advice, like abandon reason in favor of intuition. Not only is that a silly false dichotomy; it completely neglects the fact that illegal fishing vessels, crime groups, etc are rational actors. Perhaps not by values that the author or readers of this book share, but they're doing what they do for economic reasons, which means to effectively counter them, you have to think like a rational business, not just run around led by emotion and gut feelings. I really hope this doesn't ruin too many young idealists who haven't yet developed enough experience to know better.
March 23, 2018
“Earthforce! An Earth Warrior's Guide To Strategy" by Captain Paul Watson, 2nd Edition is like a love letter to his children or in this case, his volunteers and staff. There is a lot of good advice influenced by “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu. Watson has a highly intelligent ecologist’s point of view. If you are going to volunteer for Sea Shepherd then read this book. If you’re a writer and you need to write fighting scenes, read this book. If you live on Spaceship Earth you will learn a lot in this short book.
January 10, 2021
2.5
It’s interesting but doesn’t go further some topics. I felt like I was missing something anytime I had finished a chapter. But it’s still good to read. It motivates you.
It’s interesting but doesn’t go further some topics. I felt like I was missing something anytime I had finished a chapter. But it’s still good to read. It motivates you.
November 16, 2025
Content is a billion stars and not only five, the inner-layout, however, has a few things the revisor must have skipped.
December 4, 2012
excellent book on activisim and media strategy
October 10, 2012
Some good insights and tips for environmental activists.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews