Daniel's review
Ecotopia: The Notebooks and Reports of William Weston by Ernest Callenbach
I first learned of this book through something I had read by Kim Stanley Robinson, who refered to this as science fiction with a "green" theme. It piqued my interest and I was delighted when I could find this.
The book is written in two sections -- first, the reporter's actual reports that he has submitted to his newspaper, and then his private journals. At first, I really enjoyed the book. The ways and means of carrying out an eco-friendly lifestyle seemed very well thought-out and I often found myself nodding and grinning at the ideas.
Some aspects of the Ecotopian lifestyle seemed to be hold-overs from the 1960's lifestyle. Specifically, the free-love aspects. That the citizens of Ecotopia would often leave gatherings to have sex and then return, or that they had multiple partners, and that many places were clothing optional, seems a look back to the past rather than a view of the future. That this was written before the pestilence of AIDS is obvious. Even a nurse in...more
The book is written in two sections -- first, the reporter's actual reports that he has submitted to his newspaper, and then his private journals. At first, I really enjoyed the book. The ways and means of carrying out an eco-friendly lifestyle seemed very well thought-out and I often found myself nodding and grinning at the ideas.
Some aspects of the Ecotopian lifestyle seemed to be hold-overs from the 1960's lifestyle. Specifically, the free-love aspects. That the citizens of Ecotopia would often leave gatherings to have sex and then return, or that they had multiple partners, and that many places were clothing optional, seems a look back to the past rather than a view of the future. That this was written before the pestilence of AIDS is obvious. Even a nurse in...more
