Category: Book Reviews

British Columbia in flames: stories from a blazing summer

British Columbia in flames: stories from a blazing summer by Claudia Cornwall Harbour Publishing Ltd | 2020 | 289 pages Fires have always been an integral part and process of British Columbia’s forests for as long as mankind has occupied and traversed the land. The large majority have been ‘natural’ wildfires started by lightning or… Continue reading British Columbia in flames: stories from a blazing summer

Life is in the transitions: mastering change at any age

Life Is In The Transitions: Mastering Change At Any Age by Bruce Feiler Penguin Random House LLC  2020| 368pp. Believe it or not, we are now in the ninth month of the COVID-19 crisis. According to the WHO the present epidemic raised its spiky viral head for the first time on 31 December 2019. It… Continue reading Life is in the transitions: mastering change at any age

We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast

We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast by Jonathan Safran Foer Hamish Hamilton | 2019 | 272 pages This is one of those books which deals with a divisive subject (climate change) and then creates yet more  discord amongst readers because of the author’s style and message.  Jonathan Safran Foer delves into… Continue reading We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast

Harriet & Corbin meet at Kitsilano Beach

Harriet & Corbin meet at Kitsilano Beach by Kathryn Patterson Amazon Digital Services LLC | 2019 | 32 pages In the midst of our ongoing Elder efforts to promote the art of constructive conversation on emotional and divisive issues such as climate change, along comes a charming little book by Vancouver writer Kathryn Patterson on… Continue reading Harriet & Corbin meet at Kitsilano Beach

Political Tribes: Group Instinct and  the Fate of Nations

Political Tribes: Group Instinct and  the Fate of Nations by Amy Chua Penguin Random House | 2018 | 304 pages Amy Chua is probably best known through social media as the Tiger Mom following widespread publication of her 2011 Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. More importantly from the perspective of this book review, she… Continue reading Political Tribes: Group Instinct and  the Fate of Nations

Climate: A New Story

Climate: A New Story by Charles Eisenstein North Atlantic | 2018 | 320 pages Having read this book and also watched the video below of author Charles Eisentstein himself reviewing it, I have convinced myself it is a powerful narrative to begin to comprehend the significance of these times in terms of survival of the kind of diversity… Continue reading Climate: A New Story

The New Wild

The New Wild by Fred Pearce Beacon Press  | 2015 | 245 pages What do Eurasian watermilfoil, Scotch broom, cheatgrass, knapweed, purple loosestrife and hawkweed have in common? Easy question, if you live in British Columbia. They are all officially classified as invasive plants in the province, and they cost the province upwards of $140 million annually… Continue reading The New Wild

The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming

The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells Penguin Random House LLC | 2019 | 320 Pages Climate change has become a significant rallying point for the global environmental movement. In Canada in 2018 there were 87 listed environmental groups and non-governmental organizations (among them the David Suzuki Foundation) who devoted substantial portions of their time… Continue reading The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari. Penguin Random House.  372pp Oxford-educated lecturer in history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Yuval Noah Harari established his credentials with two bestsellers. Sapiens was a reflection of mankind’s progress through history, from the discovery of fire to the creation of cyborgs. Homo Deus detailed… Continue reading 21 Lessons for the 21st Century