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Jan 28, 2010

Trena rated it:

I expected to kind of hate Colin Beavan, but actually the book really sucked me in. He recognizes that one of his main challenges as a person is a tendency toward self-righteousness, and this consciousness helps him temper the tendency when it crops up. He comes across as earnest and likeable, just doing the best he can and making it up as he goes along like the rest of us.

It was an interesting experiment and he and his family fully committed to it. It's also interesting that it's More...

3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jun 18, 2009

Erica rated it:

Simply awful, pretentious and obnoxious. Colin Beavan is milking the environmental movement, trying to make a quick buck off the green buzz. If the author is any indication of the caliber of person currently trying to change the world, please, thanks, but no thanks.

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 12, 2011

Andrea rated it:

A must read book because it puts into perspective what it takes to leave no trace behind or have little impact on the environment. No Impact Man is about a guy who lives in New York and one day decides that he, his wife and one year old daughter are going "go off the grid" for one year. Basically it's an experiment to see if they could live a no impact life style. They start off with some basic things like giving up cars, public transportation, elevators and either walk or bike to work More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 08, 2011

Margaret rated it:

No Impact Man by Colin Beavan was a required summer reading text for my university honors program. While this is a good introduction to examining the consumerism and materialism that currently pervades American consumption culture, the science and claims made in this book are shaky.

That being said, the data for anthropogenic climate change and the unsustainable practices of the modern industrialized society as conducted by the United States are facts. There is plenty of scientifical More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 15, 2011

Rachel rated it:

So really two things are happening here - the Project and the Book. I give the Project an A. Learning to live without so many of our modern conveniences - most of which depend on waste or environmental devastation of some sort - is fascinating. Can we live comfortable lives without harming the earth and contributing to climate change? Beavan's experience reveals that comfort and happiness are possible - even abundant - in a life free of waste, except that things start to suck when you give u More...

2 comments like

Dec 30, 2010

David rated it:

highly engaging report of a year author, his wife, and his daughter lived in NYC trying to have absolutely minimal environmental impact -- eating only locally grown foods, creating no trash, not using electricity, no TV, not traveling by plane or car or train, not buying anything new, not taking the elevator, etc. etc. etc.

Interesting from the points of view of..

(a) problem solving -- e.g., some trial and error on how to keep his daughter's milk cold without using refrigerato More...

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Nov 09, 2010

Alex rated it:

Beavan was another author whom I heard speak at the Brooklyn Book Festival this past September (a good place for catching new authors)! I found the premise of his book--he and his family live an entire year in New York City trying to make as tiny a carbon footprint as possible--intriguing. It certainly has made me think and want to change my own actions. His work definitely made me think about the fact that so much of what I use in each day is meant to be used for six seconds and then thrown awa More...

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Oct 03, 2010

Kelly rated it:

Thanks to this book, I have a new favorite phrase: automotive-related polar bear drowning. What better way to describe global warming, really?

This is a funny, honest and thought provoking story of one man who decides to see if he, along with this "Prada-wearing" wife and one year old daughter, can live a zero-impact life in New York City for a year. The family goes from eating take out every night and having the best luxuries to living without trash, taxis, subways, elevat More...

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Sep 21, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

I had to read this book for work as I am a college instructor. So, I expected that I would have to slog through it as I normally do with the "freshman common book." I was pleasantly surprised to find Beavan to be relatable, talented, and far from pedantic. Beavan's narration is witty and funny, and, best of all, he acknowledges the extreme nature of his experiment. He's not advocating that we all adopt his temporary lifestyle. He's advocating that we all think about our choices an More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 22, 2010

Tracy rated it:

The title of this book, No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process , pretty much sums up the book. Colin Beavan, who lives in New York city, tried to live for a year with his family having no environmental impact. He proceeded in stages. First, he created no trash, then he produced no carbon dioxide emissions, poured no toxins into the water and ate only locally produced food More...

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Aug 10, 2010

Kate rated it:

I read this on a plane on my way to Seattle, and then finished it up at the hotel. It seemed like a timely read for me as he referenced Vonnegut a lot.

In some ways, it's like the author tried to have an Amish ecological footprint for a year while living in NYC. No electricity, no cars, no trains, no buses or any other transportation that uses fossil fuels, no elevators, no escalators, no packaging, no imported foods/beverages, no chemicals, no paper products including toilet paper, More...

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Jun 17, 2010

Jen rated it:

Amazing. This was one of the most honest books I have read in a long time and was what I really needed to read at this point in my life. I had seen it on sale at a bookstore in the fall and figured I would pick it up--the title and the materials used to make the book were enough to convince me. And I am so glad I did.

I picked up the book on Saturday morning this last weekend as a favor to my supervisor who was looking for a book that she could use for her freshman course in the fa More...

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May 13, 2010

Erika rated it:

What a disaster of a book. Conceived by its publishers, the book is meant to discuss the author's year-long project in personal environmentalism. Rather than a helpful how-to, or even an informed philosophical treatise, it is (as the title suggests) a series of personal rants and revelations by a person who has recently found a cause. Lacking any sort of expertise or credibility, Beavan comes off as both obnoxious and pretentious, leaving readers to wonder at the narrator's apparent immaturit More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Apr 27, 2010

Dagmar rated it:

Interesting and thought-provoking book.
Questions whether it's not only possible, but practical not to hurt the environment. Thinking about what is too extreme, what's too hard - how do they feel about it after a year? Found they had more time with friends and family. Enjoyed riding scooter and rickshaw through NYC.
I watched the documentary after reading the book - the book was much more insightful and in-depth, but it was fun to see the real people who were the book.
Its in More...

2 comments like

Feb 10, 2010

Beth rated it:

I feel like I should make a personal disclosure about this book: Colin's wife, Michelle, is a friend of mine. Although I'm interested in environmental issues, I probably wouldn't have read this without the personal connection; but having said that, I'm glad that I did.

If you want a how-to guide, this probably isn't your best choice. Although Colin Beavan does describe some specific details about the (often drastic) lifestyle changes he and his family made, the book is fairly philo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 25, 2010

Stringy rated it:

Less a how-to or an examination of environmental science, this is more of a why-to, an exploration of what's in it for you. Beavan's one-year stunt isn't about an earnest hippy going that extra mile, it's about your average concerned citizen realising that he's got to walk the walk as well as talk the talk.

So he gives himself, his wife and daughter a huge challenge, realises it's a bit insane, and forges ahead anyway. It's about his efforts to reduce his hypocrisy as well as his eco-f More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 23, 2010

jess rated it:

This book has been hot in the eco-blogosphere for a while now. I missed the documentary when it came to Olympia, but I thought I should read the book anyway. There was a long wait at the library, so I experienced plenty of build-up and hype. This book brought out some strong feelings and opinions that I didn't realize I was harboring. I spent some time working through my assumptions. I was really irritated - what an arrogant, presumptuous, hyperbolic, self-serving premise for a book! Doesn't the More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 22, 2009

Ciara rated it:

it's kind of amazing to me that this book doesn't have more one-star reviews, considering how insufferable it was. i went on a jag a couple of months ago, where i read every eco-gimmick book out there, almost all of which were dreadful. i put this one on hold at the library during that time & then forgot about it & moved on to better books. when the library let me know the book was in & waiting for me, i felt a pang of dread. i didn't go in expecting the book to be any great shakes, but i was no More...

7 comments like (5 people liked it)

Oct 14, 2009

Anne rated it:

I was apprehensive picking up this book. There have been other "eco-action" books I've perused in the past, and many of them read like sermons full of exhortations to be less a selfish person and more an altruistic savior of the world. That approach turned me off entirely.

Colin Beavan doesn't take that sermonizing approach. He quite clearly points out the gaps in his own background and education that make him "unfit" to preach to anyone what they "should" More...

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Oct 03, 2010

Helen (Helena/Nell) rated it:

I knew this book would make me uncomfortable. I was right.

It was uncomfortable in a good way, though. It made me think, which is what Beavan intended. And it will do more than just make me think: I know I’m going to change some things in my life as a result of reading it (how often do we say that of a book?).

Obviously the drawback to the huge challenge of sustainability is that when faced with the reality, we feel overwhelmed. What’s the point? What difference can we, a More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 30, 2010

Sapote3 rated it:

I often find that I'm most influenced by books I hated (that Positivity book is another one) or books where I find the research spotty but the idea strong. I think there are some really good things about this book: the author is an ecoschlub who is not already awash in tips and tricks but rather has to start from the ground up (handkerchiefs exist, and you can't grow coffee in New York.) He lives in a city and doesn't apologize for it, which I appreciate - I'm sick of people acting like driving More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 02, 2011

Nicole rated it:

After following Beavan's blog while he was doing the No Impact experiment, I was thrilled when the book, and then the movie, were released. I listened to this one and it was read by the author. It is an authentic attempt at really trying to take a look at what we can live - and maybe even ought to live - without. Beavan gave an engaging read and I appreciated his honesty at what the experiment forced him and his family to take a look at. I've read that some people thought his book was dry; p More...

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Jan 05, 2010

Rachel rated it:

There were several things I really liked about this book.

-I liked that he didn't let himself off the hook for living in an apartment in a major city. (Though he was told that you can't make a difference if you live in New York.)

-I liked that he honestly presented the conflict between some of his choices and the stress it put on his relationships. (The most obvious example of this being not going on a plane, and thus, not visiting the in-laws.)

-I like that h More...

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Sep 27, 2011

Jo Ann rated it:

This is my town's (Fayetteville, Arkansas) 2011 Community Read for the year, and also my bookclub's selection for October - so, there's lots of hype, lots of films, activities, challenges out there surrouonding the book, and the author will be speaking here at the end of October.
Since the book's been explained so well, so often, I won't do so again. Colin Beavan's sojourn into a year's living, with his wife and toddler, of no impact on the environment, was entertaining, challenging, someti More...

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Jul 07, 2010

Mo rated it:

In spite of the gross "guilty liberal" subtitle business, I'm enjoying this book more than I thought I would. There's something appealing about Beavan's honesty, even when I'm sometimes baffled as to how an adult human being could be so completely clueless about things that seem pretty common sense from where I'm standing. Example: He spends a couple of hours in search of a mesh shopping bag, because he saw or imagined--can't remember--people in France using them at the open stall mark More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 06, 2011

Jillian rated it:

No Impact Man is the story of a family of three trying to make as little environmental impact as possible for a year: eat only local food, take only human-powered transportation, buy no brand new products, live without electricity, produce no trash (which means no paper products, disposable items, food that come in packaging...) etc. They make a few exceptions, but it’s still an impressive and extreme project. As the subtitle explains, Colin starts as a “guilty Liberal” who doesn’t do much for t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 04, 2010

Maya rated it:

It's my own fault. I picked this up thinking I would hate it because of the title, yet I checked it out and read it anyway. I almost gave it two stars because I want to shoulder part of the blame, but that doesn't excuse how bad this book was.

Author just annoyed the hell out of me through the entire book. If you're actually encouraging people to make these kinds of changes, why not explain what you're doing instead of using toilet paper rather than getting angry about it when pe More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Kate rated it:

Read this book more for his ideas on how to decrease our planetary impact than for how this experience effected him and his family. I skimmed a lot, and felt waht I always feel when confronted by ecological writings--helpless. Our problems are truly overwhelming, but the important lesson of No Impact Man is that we all can and all MUST do something. A lot of somethings actually, even if we don't wish to go to the extent of turning off the electricity in our homes. There is a lot to be inspired b More...

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Oct 01, 2009

AJ rated it:

This is definitely a good read, and I would recommend it both to beginners and more seasoned environmentalists.

The author grapples with big issues, and takes them on as well as he can, which is pretty awesome. He looks at all aspects of the no impact lifestyle, and doesn't just stop at using canvas bags like most people. He switches to a local diet, stops buying new things, and even turns off the electricity. Throughout the book, you see how the author evolves throughout the course More...

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Nov 11, 2011

Sarah rated it:

I got about halfway through and then decided to check in with good reads before potentially wasting another minute on this. As someone who doesn't own paper towels, gave up meat 15 yrs ago, tampons 10 years ago, started vermicomposting 5 years ago, and would have never even considered disposable diapers, this book was ridiculously elementary. As I read through his major philosophical breakthroughs I kept half expecting him to have a Eureka! moment where he realizes he should turn off the lights More...

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