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June 23
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Mark
marked as to-read:
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (Paperback)
by Dave Eggers
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Mark
marked as to-read:
Green Pope (Hardcover)
by Miguel Asturias
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Mark
marked as to-read:
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (Paperback)
by Jared Diamond
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Mark
marked as to-read:
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Hardcover)
by Gabriel García Márquez
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Mark
marked as to-read:
Dam Nation: Dispatches from the Water Underground (Paperback)
by Cleo Woelfle-Erskine, Laura Allen, July Oskar Cole
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Mark
gave
to:
Slaughterhouse-Five (Paperback)
by Kurt Vonnegut
bookshelves:
fiction-novel,
history
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in May, 2008
Mark said:
"Brilliant semi-autobiographical war novel which manages to convey the depravity of war without relying on hackneyed cliche, and all the while keeping the characters human enough to laugh at. A tad cynical and morally ambiguous and I wouldn't have it ...more
Brilliant semi-autobiographical war novel which manages to convey the depravity of war without relying on hackneyed cliche, and all the while keeping the characters human enough to laugh at. A tad cynical and morally ambiguous and I wouldn't have it any other way....less
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Mark
gave
to:
Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (Trade Paperback)
by Lester R. Brown
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in June, 2008
Mark said:
"I really can't say enough about this book. It seems to me particularly well researched, pragmatic in its approach to solving some of the toughest environmental and social problems facing global civilization.
I would consider myself pretty well ve...more
I really can't say enough about this book. It seems to me particularly well researched, pragmatic in its approach to solving some of the toughest environmental and social problems facing global civilization.
I would consider myself pretty well versed when it comes to issues potentially bearing the fall of civilization. I've spent a stint as a grad student atmospheric science, I enjoy entertaining outsider theories, i regularly read journals on ocean biochemistry and food security, however the way that Plan B is organized is extremely effective.
It is attempting to serve as a plan for saving society by 2020 and it does this by implementing approaches already employed by a few countries but on a global scale. The solutions are based on current economic realities and while ambitious, also seem attainable.
I would recommend this book to concerned people who may already know a lot of the information regarding environmental decline and possible societal collapse, people who may be increasingly wary of the green washing campaigns that attempt to tell us we can buy our way out of any problem.
Plan B advocates consuming less animal products, alternatives to car culture, and other ways of reducing consumption that are backed up by hundreds of referenced works.
I learned that switching from a typical western diet to a plant based one is the equivalent from switching from regular Suburban SUV use to a Prius.
Note: Since plan B calls for orchestrated cooperation on a global scale it most definitely will not be enjoyed by people truly fearful of government consolidation and the emergence of one world government, population control and the like....less
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Mark
gave
to:
Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World (Paperback)
by Mark Pendergrast
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in April, 2008
Mark said:
"Really long-- too long, exhaustive history of coffee from it's discovery in Ethiopa to its most modern incarnations. A chronological history. I made it about half way through before it began to wear thin on my patience. To read it in its entirety wo...more
Really long-- too long, exhaustive history of coffee from it's discovery in Ethiopa to its most modern incarnations. A chronological history. I made it about half way through before it began to wear thin on my patience. To read it in its entirety would be like reading a volume of encyclopedias.
It does however have an index and might make a handy reference to someone who is really concerned with coffee's history....less
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Mark
gave
to:
Fortress America: The American Military and the Consequences of Peace (Paperback)
by William Greider
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in June, 2008
Mark said:
"Written by a journalist primarily known from his work for Rolling Stone, Fortress America does a very good job at describing how our economy is reliant on runaway defense spending. Written in 2000, Greider asks us why we had continued to spend...more
Written by a journalist primarily known from his work for Rolling Stone, Fortress America does a very good job at describing how our economy is reliant on runaway defense spending. Written in 2000, Greider asks us why we had continued to spend as if the Cold war never happened.
Answer: It is the foundation of our economy and it's what we do well. Never mind how it may fuel arms dealing and wars. ...less
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May 29
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Mark
gave
to:
Conquering Your Quarterlife Crisis: Advice from Twentysomethings Who Have Been There and Survived (Perigee Book)
by Alexandra Robbins
bookshelves:
self-care
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in May, 2008
Mark said:
"Self indulgent self help drafted for a generation of mostly spoiled self centered people with too many choices at their disposal. Addresses questions such as "what do I do with my life?", "What if I'm never happy?", "How can ...more
Self indulgent self help drafted for a generation of mostly spoiled self centered people with too many choices at their disposal. Addresses questions such as "what do I do with my life?", "What if I'm never happy?", "How can I stop comparing myself to other people?", etc.
I loved it....less
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