change Books

With Deep Economy, Bill McKibben delivers a book that challenges conventional economic and political wisdom. Simply put, we can no longer pursue unlimited growth while producing more and more stuff. This point is heavily underscored as we approach the upper bounds of Earth's natural resources and come to terms with the damage caused by operating under the current prevailing wisdom for over a century.

McKibben points out that, while economic growth is beneficial up to a certain point, it fails to produce corresponding benefits when it passes that threshold. The increased wealth tends to accumulate in the pockets of those who are already wealthy, while the majority of people see little to no increase in income. The endless cycle of consumption tends to produce more inequality and insecurity, rather than prosperity and happiness.

Luckily, McKibben proposes a solution to the dilemma: we should shift our focus from growing economies to growing communities. The pursuit of this goal will yield different rewards, but those rewards will be experienced on a fundamental human level.

Many will view the examples cited in the book as too small to be meaningful, undertaken with an overly optimistic outlook that will be impossible to achieve. But change has to start somewhere, and in the present situation a little inspiration is welcome. Deep Economy provides that inspiration.

This book was required summer reading for me, but I would've read it even if it wasn't. It's a book with ideas people can believe in. It's not hard to understand and I enjoyed it very much. I've learned a lot and know that it will have an effect on what I think about, talk about and do with my every day life.

McKibbon's "Deep Economy" is a very readable history of industrialized economics coupled with a blueprint (albeit one that is unlikely to be followed) of how we might change our economic direction into one that is more sustainable and beneficial on an individual and communal level.

The idea that most clearly sticks out to me in this work is that of the "quality of life index," which could also aptly be called the "happiness index." That happiness within a society can and should be quantifiable, and that as a quantity, it should be factored into the overall values of this or that economic program is an interesting one, and also one that seems worth exploring in economics classes as well as sociology ones.

The focus on local business and production also serves as a rallying point for people on both ends of the political spectrum. While buying locally and organically appeals at surface immediately to the crunchiest of hippies, the boost of small business and the opportunities that McKibbin's plan offers swings the door open for the staunchest of the right-wing business class.

This book, if not an obvious plan for going forward, serves at least to give all of us an opportunity to explore a world where our fundamental economic groundwork is altered. It is hard to put down, and once you do, it's hard not to let it challenge your traditional understanding of what the economy is and should be.

I must admit, I wasn't particularly enthused about "Deep Economy" when I picked it up... it was one of several shorter texts required for my senior seminar class as a business major. I'm so glad I stuck with it... because it's had a lasting impression upon me.
I won't give all the details about the book... several reviewers have already done a great job with that.
All I will say is that the issues that McKibben covers in "Deep Economy" are so very relevant, and I find that he has a way of cutting down to the very core of so many of the problems facing our society. I was mostly disaffected when I picked this up, and now I can say I've been transformed into an environmentally and economically responsible localvore. This should be required reading for everyone.

I'll grant that we're rendering the planet unfit for human habitation, and not just rhetorically, but because I agree with McKibben. But his solution to the dilemma -- localized economies, and less consumption -- beg a few questions. His solutions might be the answer, but he's disingenous in not acknowledging their downside, and he puts far too much faith in good intentions trumping the self-interest of the rich world.

1. Can local economies work everywhere? Large-scale economies have made it possible for humans to live in many environments that could probably not otherwise support large populations. Los Angles, after all, is a desert.

2. Those of us in rich countries have long been reluctant to sacrifice for the rest of the world, and in the US, even for our own countrymen. Why does McKibben think we'll start now? After all, the economic benefits of localization will accrue to others, not to us in the rich world. And won't an emphasis on local economies make us even less interested, if that's possible, in the fate of, say, Africans and Africa?

3. McKibben has an absurd faith in neighborliness. For example, he claims that local currencies have no downside, because local governments won't issue more currency than they'd be willing to accept in payment of taxes and fees. But if national governments abuse the power to print money, why won't local governments?

4. Small farms are more productive per acre, but less per person. This of course means many of us will be returning to the farm. How is that going to be sold to Americans?

5. So I buy apples from a nearby farm because they taste better, even if they're more expensive. Why would I buy more expensive shoes from the nearby factory if they're no different from cheaper shoes from Vietnam?

6. McKibben tells us how how horrible ecologically it would be if the Chinese lived like Americans do today. But of course they won't be able to; with the recent increases in commodity prices, even Americans can't continue to live like Americans. Increased demand for natural resources will prevent these horror stories from playing out.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding an "alternative" perspective to non-profits. It is engaging and really makes you critically think about everything you have ever been "taught" about the "purpose" of non-profit organizations.

This book is a highly polemical look at the relation between nonprofits and revolutionary social change. I did not find most of the essays to be useful - too many were angry and their analysis shallow. It is true that large public foundations have short attention spans and are unlikely to fund truly revolutionary work - because they are embedded in and part of the social structure that benefits from the oppressions that revolutionary changes would seek to eliminate. I don't find this surprising or interesting - just obvious. However, all of essays in the book lump all foundations together - when in reality, private foundations are a different animal, and many small public foundations are helpful in supporting social change work.

If you are interested in understanding the ways large public foundations influence their grantees and the movements they are part of, I think American Foundations: An Investigative History by Mark Dowie is a much better book.

As an organizer working in and out of the confines of non-profit organizations, I give my highest recommendations for this extremely important collection of essays. I often wonder how I've gotten to a point where I spend less time in the community, and more time sitting in front of my computer writing grant proposals, calculating budgets and writing final reports for foundations and government agencies. As many of the authors in the book suggest, shouldn't we be accountable to our constituents rather than foundations, which serve as little more than tax shelters through which "white capital is circulated among white people and works to maintain systems of white supremacy"? Through the proliferation of non-profits and foundations, radical social movements in the US have been co-opted to a point where the movement eerily resembles the oppressive capitalist social order we claim to be challenging, giving rise to the Non-Profit Industrial Complex.

Collaboration is stifled when fierce competition for funding and stringent, narrow grant guidelines divide groups that are working towards the same goal. Perhaps most disheartening is the NPIC's power to shape our approaches and tactics for social change. As Dylan Rodriguez points out, "[m]ore insidious than the...constraints exerted by the foundation/state/non-profit nexus is the way in which [it]...grounds an epistemology--literally, a way of knowing social change and resistance praxis--that is difficult to escape or rupture." This epistemology is responsible for the belief that activists must conform to 501(c)(3) status for legitimacy and funding and that social services serve a greater need and purpose than the arduous task of social change.

Tiffany Lethabo King and Ewuare Osayande warn that "philanthropy never intends to fund revolutionary struggle that demands the just seizure of wealth, resources, and power that has been gained by exploiting the bodies, lives and land of people of color worldwide." The NPIC's tentacles reach far beyond the US. Movements in the Global South are already under the threat of becoming non-profitized and co-opted. As activists in the US, we have an obligation to continue this discourse, learn from one another's mistakes and organize beyond the NPIC.

As a roll in HR or some one just begin study HR, you should read this book.

Author Dave Ulrich reflects an awareness that many professionals keenly feel: in these highly competitive times, they must either evolve or stagnate. His book tells human resource (HR) leaders how to assume more vital, strategic roles within their organizations. He makes a convincing argument that successful companies must elevate HR to the role of a strategic partner, to enable it to implement programs that support an organization's goals. Whether reading any book can put you in the forefront of hands-on transformation remains to be seen, but this volume certainly offers plenty of real-world case studies to back up its premise that HR professionals must step into a new, vital strategic role. Each company and each HR department is so different, however, that it may be challenging to apply some of these broad themes to specific situations. That said, the themes themselves ring true, although the book is now more of a classic than the innovative think piece it was when new. We recommend it especially to HR professionals as a comprehensive look at why you must conquer so much territory to keep your organization competitive.

Ulrich has marked a new theory on human resources management system. According to him, company's HR manager has strategic position and more than just "a head of employee division". HR manager, said Ulrich, at least has four key positions in building a competitive organization: as (1) strategic partner, (2) administrative expert, (3) change agent, and (4) human resource champion. Ket's learn more strategic steps with this Number One Management Guru!

HR Champions was the first mainstream book that looked at HR as more than just an administrative department. Regrettably, in the eight years since it's publication, few companies have truly taken heed. Many HR "professionals" (sic) quote Ulrich's work but few practice it.

This is a well written book crisp, devoid of too many clichés, practical, comprehensive. Forget those useless university HR text books, this one should form the base of your knowledge of the function. But make sure you keep up with the latest trends.

When Fortune Magazine published "Taking on the Last Bureaucracy" in 1996, a gauntlet was thrown down for the HR community. Thomas Stewart, Fortune columnist, indicted the professional Human Resources community on many fronts. The most damning was, though, that HR added nothing to the achievement of strategic organizational purpose.

This book was the best response to that challenge, and it was a great start. I've assigned this book to my HR management graduate students since 1998, and have not regretted it.

Yes, it is somewhat outdated now, but should be read for its role in reshaping the very definition of HR work. Sorry to say that its companion volume, "Delivering Results," is now out of print, but it can still be obtained.

A recommendation: read this book along with "The HR Scorecard." They work together almost seamlessly.

I already feel better after a few days. I'm not thrilled about taking supplements all day long, and so I chose a few here and there from her lists to combat my symptoms. Thank God for natural progesterone! I really liked this book; it helped explain why I was having my symptoms and then told me what to do about them. Others have mentioned that they don't like that she gives references of where to buy her products, but I completely appreciated it because I live in a rural community and we don't have health stores here. Actually I didn't end up buying from her store because I went with a brand that Dr. Northrup recommended in her book, but it is nice to have another resource in case I want to try a different brand, etc.

Perimenopause is a marketing construct, intended to sell drugs, books and other products by instilling self-doubt and insecurity. Resist the effort to pathologize everything about women's bodies.

I had heard about this book from many of my friends, all of us just over the 50 Mark....and it turned out to be very informational and helpful and encouraging. There are so many books out on the subject of menopause and all the blood, sweat and tears that are part of this time in a woman's life....going into a bookstore is like going into Toys R Us and looking for a Barbie outfit....quite overwhelming.....this book is one of the smart ones to have and to hold and to keep.

I am just about to turn 40. For the past two years, I've had insomnia and severe PMS symptoms every month. I've been to a sleep specialist, an endocrinologist, the gynocologist, all to no avail except money spent on meds that didn't work. I threw the meds out when a friend handed me this book, tried just the vitamin and mineral supplement suggestions (one of the perizappers) plus the magnesium suggestion for insomnia, and got relief within two weeks. Make sure the magnesium you get has a high absorption rate (I use Albion brand). That made an immediate difference in a day. The only "symptom" I have is cramps the moment my period starts, and Advil takes care of that. No more raging, angry, dark cloud of gloom in my life for days before it starts. My husband and I laugh because now my cycle starts without warning. And I'm sleeping great. I am so grateful to God that this came along.

I'd been dealing with bouts of depression that would come and go so quickly that I would feel like a big dark cloud came over the horizon, settle over my life for two days and then went on it's way. A friend gently told me that, yes, I COULD be dealing with hormonal issues attributed to peri-menopause even though I'm only 43. I saw this book at my local health food store and read it cover to cover in one day. It was easy to understand and easy to see myself in the examples. I started trying her Peri-Zappers and the results have been fabulous--regular periods for the first time ever, more energy and best of all, no more dark clouds of despair.

Thank you for de-mystifying the whole process and taking the "Change of Life" from something to be sad about, to just seeing it as another phase of life. It feels wonderful to be in control of my hormones instead of the other way around!

Erin McGraw's new novel, The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard, is a marvelous piece of work. Beautifully written, thoroughly engaging, it is a book that can be enjoyed by all.

In 1901 Erin McCraw's paternal grandmother fled a hard life on the Kansas prairie to pursue her Hollywood dreams. The motion picture industry was just taking root in southern California and her grandmother's skills as a seamstress gave her entree to that glittering world.

McGraw has taken this real family history and created a novel inspired by that amazing true story. In her novel the narrator, Nell, is much like McGraw's grandmother. They left their Kansas lives behind. At age 17 they abandoned two young baby girls. The past will always haunt us. We can turn the page but the story remains the same. McGraw delivers a shocking stroke of fictional revenge. It really happened to her own grandmother.

McGraw weaves a brilliant tale of escape and redemption. Lots of sewing, too!

I started this book a few days ago and thought with all I have to do, I would read it leisurely, only a chapter a day. Nell Plat was such a compelling character, I couldn't wait to find out what happened to her. Late nights. Reading instead of doing my work. What a wonderful story!

If there is any justice in the world of books and their readers, The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard will bring Erin McGraw the attention her work has long deserved. This new novel displays many of the virtues her loyal readers have come to expect: the clear and pleasingly plainspoken prose, the characters full up with life and life's frustrations, the witty repartee, and the elegant shapings and symmetries of plot and structure that undergird it all. And this time, we have a story to beat the band, a semi-autobiographical account of a fiercely independent matriarch's lost years, imagined here with a precision of care and empathy seldom equalled in American fiction.

Given the consistent excellence of McGraw's earlier books -- among them The Good Life, The Baby Tree, and Bodies at Sea -- it is saying quite a lot to say that The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard is Erin McGraw's best book. But it's true: The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard is Erin McGraw's best book.

Just finished this book and it did not disappoint. After reading the first two I did find myself skipping all of the silly songs and incantations that the Mackenzies spew in this novel. I thought it was a bit of overkill. Anyway this novel has all of the merits that the first two books had, great story, exciting and bloody action, etc. I might be crazy but I had hoped that the war would have been a bit more drawn out. The actual war was over rather quickly and I had thought there would be a bit more give and take before the final throw-down. Sam of clan Mackenzie was almost nonexistent in the later portion of the book which was disappointing since he was my favorite character. Still it was a great finish. I will NOT spoil the end of the book but will say it was very well done!

The first book in this trilogy, Dies the Fire, was wonderfully written and chock full of inventive approaches to social organization and technology. Unfortunately the author seems to have run out of the novel ideas that drove the initial entry into the series by this point, and the characters, though still compelling, developed little. That said, though, the plot does move along at a decent pace, and I chewed through the book quite quickly - The action and the ending were reasonably satisfying.

If you read The Protector's War (which featured no war), then The Meeting at Corvallis (which features no meeting at Corvallis, but does feature a war) is certainly worth the read. If you're considering whether or not to finish the series after reading the stellar Dies the Fire, you might be better off investing your money in the other side of this story as well. The entire Island in the Sea of Time trilogy is very well written, and the characters and technologies in the series develop at a much more even and compelling pace.

This was a decent book. Given the ability, I'd have given it another half-star, but it doesn't warrant a full four-star rating.

A Meeting At Corvallis, the final volume of the Change trilogy that began with Dies The Fire, comes to a satisfying, rollicking, action backed end, and there's plenty there to satisfy anyone who became a fan of the first book and followed it all the way through.

After spending two volumes, stretching over nine years, building up to a confrontation between Norman Arminger's Portland Protective Association and the loose alliance between Clan Mackenzie, the Bearkillers, and the monks of Mt. Abbott, Stirling doesn't disappoint this time and gives his readers not one, but two epic confrontations that will decide the future of the characters that we've come to know, and perhaps the new post-Change world itself.

For the first time, he spends considerable time in the territory of the PPA where people are under the thumb of a man that they rallied behind when their lives seemed near an end, only to find themselves in a bondage unseen since serfdom ruled Russia. We also see the conflict about to come from the perspective of the people living in PPA and, while it doesn't really change the moral calculus of good vs. evil, it does paint a broader picture and give depth to characters who otherwise would've been little more than cardboard cutouts.

More importantly, though, this final volume of the trilogy shows why Stirling really is such a good writer. Not only does he take care to humanize his characters, he makes you feel like you're right there in their world with them, which makes the things that happen to them, both good and bad, all the more personal.

Stirling has started a new series based on the world of the Change. The Sunrise Lands takes place about ten years after the events of Corvallis and looks to introduce new characters, new challenges, and at some point perhaps an explanation for what happened to the world back on March 17, 1998. I look forward to continuing the adventure.

As with the original Dies the Fire, this entry carries on an excellent vision of a post-modern world where physical laws have been altered by an unknown source. Great characters, great fun!

Well, the first book was interesting, the second tolerable, but the final one is terrible. Heavily padded - we know the details of every meal eaten, and every journey has several long lists of local flora and fauna. The armor of nearly every important character is described again and again. Even small things are repeated endlessly - every time a character in armor hugs or is hugged we get a reminder of the armor (which generally was described a page or two back).
There continues to be no explanation of The Change, other than hints of a divine origin. Given that the basic laws of physics have been severely tampered with, this is not very satisfactory. And still, most characters seem relatively uninterested in the reasons for the Change. A bit of bad pseudo-physics is given but only annoys.
There are long, long battles and duels, described in painful detail which slows the action to a crawl.
The end is not bad, although the hints of things to come are painfully obvious.
Sigh...if you were intriged by the premise in the first, and slogged through the second, save yourself. Don't buy this book.

This is a wonderful book for any adult who's just lost parent(s).

Normally, books that purport to advise people in this situation are not much help (being full of stern warnings to hire psychotherapists and financial advisers), but this one really is different.

This one is about you. After all, you're still living.

It doesn't feel like it after you've planned a funeral (or two) and cleaned out a house from 1953, but you actually are still alive. And in this book, that's actually even OK. It's a true how-to on how to reassemble yourself, only stronger, after some big losses.

If other books on this topic have made your feel like your parents' somewhat slipshod and inept paralegal with a really mean boss, give this one a try instead. You'll feel better--and make better decisions.

This book does have some startling things to say, in the direction of getting us to think in new ways about the impact of the death of one's parents. I think most people could benefit from reading it.

My mom passed away 3 months ago. This book came out just in time. Death benefits are real and the harvest has begun!

Dear Joy,
Here is an edited version of your letter that I'd be grateful for permission to include on my website. Please change anything you wish, and get back to me. I wish you the very best in your exploration.
Jeanne Safer

Like your mom, mine was a powerful and painful part of my life. I adored her and was terrified of her rejection and abandonment, and desperately needed her approval and love. I have to admit that even thinking about trying to process my feelings about her brings up fear of hurting her in the spirit world, which it totally nuts! But I am willing to excavate the mine of emotions in order to finally let her go--both for my benefit and hers. I did not know this until I read your book. It touches on issues that I was not even aware of because I dissociated them. I know my work as an artist will become much more powerful through this inner work. I am also planning to show the book to my therapist and use it in my therapy. A lot of women who have issues with their dead mothers will benefit. All this because of your taking the risk to write your story.

Meredith C, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This is a letter that I wrote after reading Death Benefits. The book has openned my mind to a new way of viewing my relationship with my mother and has helped me to use the process to begin healing. I am so blessed to have found her book and heard her story.I also formed an online group in order to help others and welcome new members.

Joy C.Hellman
N.C.

Healing Through the Death of a Parent MSN

This was a great book for my needs having just lost my two parents in a short time. I am hopeful and
looking forward to the future.

If you haven't stumbled into Bill McKibben's work, do. He is very good at asking questions and clearly explicating his search for answers. THE END OF NATURE explores the unavoidable truth that the wild only exists at the whim of humankind these days. Whether we micromanage a game park, use a wetland as a water filter, or call an area "wilderness" and more or less keep our hands off, everything everywhere is impacted by our activities. A thoughtful and not unhopeful book, this one will make you see "nature" differently.

As relavent today as it was in 1989 and when combined with Deep Economy gives you something to ponder.

This would've been a five-star review if this book were about 10-12 years newer than it is. In some ways, McKibben's extended essay on global warming has aged very well. His central thesis that nature is ended (not destroyed but removed of majesty or even neutered) by the overwhelming pressures of human industrial society and human overpopulation is as relevant now as it ever was, the truth of this argument more evident every day. And global warming, the central thread of his argument, is even more pressing today, even though we in the United States are doing even less about it. Though some of his worst fears have yet to come true, the reality of global climate change is bad enough, as underscored by the recent report on rapid climate change in arctic regions.

In other ways, though, the book seems dated. A lot of what McKibben writes about is uncertain. "It could be that in 50-100 years..." or "our models are very uncertain but..." and so on. The last 15 years have seen a lot of research in this area and a a great deal of refinement of our climate models, such that we know have a much more certain picture of the realities of climate change. This is real. It is happening, and it's happening quickly. Unfortunately, the greater uncertainty in our understanding of this at the time McKibben was writing undercuts his message somewhat, that we must learn to curb our desires and live more humbly if we wish to avoid the worst consequences of global warming. Were his argument bolstered by more modern research, I think he would have a much easier time outlining some real steps we as a society could take to deal with global warming.

Still, the issues McKibben raises and the ideas he presents for how we can deal with them are as pressing now as they were in 1989, perhaps even more so. Anyone who is at all concerned about global warming, the environment, or even just living beyond the next 30 years or so would do well to read this book.

Bill McKibben's beautifully written and cogently reasoned analysis of how humans are damaging the world we share with all other life is must-reading. He shares with readers a respect for Nature---truly wild, untouched Nature---that is personal, emotional, reverential, and spiritual. That respect is contagious. We need to hear voices like his. His book strengthens our will to take the difficult but essential steps to slow global warming. He urges us to be good stewards of the earth.

The good news: "The End of Nature" was a truly prophetic book when it was published in 1989. Eloquent and well-intentioned, it was one of the first books aimed at a general audience to discuss global warming and deep ecology. It may even have influenced public opinion, if not public policy.

The bad news: "The End of Nature" is meandering, journalistic, and full of 20-year old science. Even worse, it's main Big Idea doesn't seem true. McKibben believed that man's ability to change the climate would eventually make it impossible for anyone to see nature as quasi-sacred and independent of human meddling. In reality, man's respect for nature will surely increase, not diminish, as the earth warms up. Coastlines will disappear, hurricanes slam into cities, and summers sizzle. Whatever else global warming will do, it will humble mankind.

The bottomline: "The End of Nature" has earned a place in the canon of environmental literature alongside classics like "Silent Spring." Every environmental library should have a copy of it. However, there's no compelling reason why general readers in 2007 should devote much time to it.

I have many I Ching interpretations and find that this text follows closely with them. The language is very simple and focuses on its application to you rather then the symbolism found in the others. It was a nice addition to my library and gives me a fast and simple reading. I do recommend it to any students of the Oracle.

Brian Browne Walker subtitles his book, A Guide to Life's Turning Points. This book certainly keeps its promise. The I Ching is one of the most profound guides for the seeker of truth and balance in one's life. Walker's version inspires deep levels of self-awareness. He has captured the essence of the I Ching - that we must first nurture and then act from our inner strength and always follow the principles of "humility, simplicity, equanimity and acceptance." His description of each of the sixty-four hexagrams is elegant and true to the ancient wisdom with an economy of words. Brian Browne Walker's I Ching lends itself beautifully to everyday use.

I won't say much, except this. I have been studying and using the I-Ching for over 20 years and have found this to be the most concise, responsible book on the i-Ching in quite some time. A lot of interpretations are completely irresponsible, and do more damage then good.
I use this everyday now. I highly recommend Brian's Hua Hu Ching also. Now if I can get his "crazy dog series" I'll be set.

This is a good edition for more logical and straightforward people.
The interpretations are not always very well-rounded, but it can be a good introduction to the I Ching.

This is one of the easist I Ching books I've found, so far !
The text is "right on" when throwing the coins for the hexagrams, it
always seems to be just what is needed at the time. In times of
confusion or crossroads in life this book always seems to give me the
answers I need.
I hope you enjoy this book as much as I do.