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Eco-Fiction
A brilliant collection of short stories that reveals man's position in the environmental crisis.
Eco-Fiction is a provocative and poignant collection of short stories that issue a plea to each individual to recognize his inevitable place and vital responsibility for the future of man on earth.
Eco-Fiction is a provocative and poignant collection of short stories that issue a plea to each individual to recognize his inevitable place and vital responsibility for the future of man on earth.
211 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1971
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 19, 2021
2021-03-19 This was an extra reading book assigned in an English class (1971-72) in High School. I remember enjoying it, since after all, these were all fiction short stories, though being a bit disturbed, due to the "need" for government programs' "force" to address the environmental issues discussed, and the bleak outlooks of the stories.
The science fiction authors, many very famous, such as Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Daphne Du Maurier, Frank Herbert, William Saroyan, John Steinbeck and Kurt Vonnegut, etc. usually had no qualms at all about the beneficence and appropriateness of government programs to address the eco-issues. This was a year or two after the FIRST "Earth Day" celebration.
I remember one of my two bio teachers talking about how Lake Erie was "dead" and could "not be brought back." Of course, it was only 10-20 years later that sport fishermen and women were catching record numbers of healthy and safe fish there, and the lake was cleaner than it had been in many, many decades. Some of that improvement was due to government regulations of pollution flowing into the lake of course. But more importantly, the government was FINALLY paying attention to it's own cause of pollution via various government agencies, the biggest offender may well have been been the DoD (Department of Defense), and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Libertarian economists were also later to point out the key ingredient of the design, use and enforcement of property rights on controlling pollution (or "negative externalities" or "torts," in economic and legal terminology). Organizations such as www.PERC.org began to create and flesh out how the free, voluntary marketplace was dealing with pollution and other trespass issues very well, when allowed to. Again, often it was government that overrode the market's workings and property rights to actually CAUSE more harm than it did good. The reason was that the politicians and bureaucrats interests were:
- short term
- personal/political
- uncaring of individual rights
- coercive
as opposed to the benevolence, efficiency and longer time-horizons of property owners and free markets.
The science fiction authors, many very famous, such as Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Daphne Du Maurier, Frank Herbert, William Saroyan, John Steinbeck and Kurt Vonnegut, etc. usually had no qualms at all about the beneficence and appropriateness of government programs to address the eco-issues. This was a year or two after the FIRST "Earth Day" celebration.
I remember one of my two bio teachers talking about how Lake Erie was "dead" and could "not be brought back." Of course, it was only 10-20 years later that sport fishermen and women were catching record numbers of healthy and safe fish there, and the lake was cleaner than it had been in many, many decades. Some of that improvement was due to government regulations of pollution flowing into the lake of course. But more importantly, the government was FINALLY paying attention to it's own cause of pollution via various government agencies, the biggest offender may well have been been the DoD (Department of Defense), and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Libertarian economists were also later to point out the key ingredient of the design, use and enforcement of property rights on controlling pollution (or "negative externalities" or "torts," in economic and legal terminology). Organizations such as www.PERC.org began to create and flesh out how the free, voluntary marketplace was dealing with pollution and other trespass issues very well, when allowed to. Again, often it was government that overrode the market's workings and property rights to actually CAUSE more harm than it did good. The reason was that the politicians and bureaucrats interests were:
- short term
- personal/political
- uncaring of individual rights
- coercive
as opposed to the benevolence, efficiency and longer time-horizons of property owners and free markets.
October 24, 2015
A hidden gem my wife picked up at our local library book sale. Contains some amazing works of short speculative fiction with environmental themes from a dazzling variety of legendary writers: Bradbury, Steinbeck, Vonnegut, Herbert, Ballard, Asimov, and more. Even a story by Edgar Allen Poe. Diverse and thought-provoking!
September 3, 2022
slay collection, with some great gems and some less so. It's actually kind of scary how since the time that these stories were written, the same rhetorics and concerns can still persist. the one about time travelling dinosaur hunting was actually such a fun way to talk about anthropogenic causes of climate change which I appreciated a lot.
October 13, 2017
A good collection of short stories all dealing with man's connectedness with the earth and with nature. Like all collections of short stories some are better than others, but these were all really very good. Some were just a bit dated, and I remember reading a couple of them clear back in junior high in the early 1970's.
Good stories by great authors, including Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, Isaac Asimov, James Agee, Daphne du Maurier, John Steinbeck, and Frank Herbert.
Good stories by great authors, including Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, Isaac Asimov, James Agee, Daphne du Maurier, John Steinbeck, and Frank Herbert.
April 8, 2025
I wouldn’t normally go for a collection of short stories, but this was a gift from my dad and I like some of the authors so I gave it a go. Few of the stories had the intended impact of making me think about my role in the environment and what I as an individual can do to help right the ship; this knocked it down a couple pegs for me from a holistic perspective. However, some of the individual stories were really good. I was mostly struck by the sci fi installments, and particularly enjoyed Bradbury’s ‘A Sound of Thunder,’ du Maurier’s ‘The Birds’ (which I learned was the inspiration for Hitchcock’s film), Vonnegut’s ‘Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow,’ Ballard’s ‘The Subliminal Man,’ and Asimov’s ‘It’s Such a Beautiful Day.’
April 27, 2021
Some stories are excellent, some are a bit dull. But, it’s an interesting collection all together.
Lots of the stories are visions of future, and it was interesting to read them and see where the authors missed completely, but also where they were so close to what we have now.
Best stories: A sound of thunder, A mother’s tale, The birds, A stay at the ocean, Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, The subliminal man, The Cohen dog exclusion act, It’s such a beautiful day
Lots of the stories are visions of future, and it was interesting to read them and see where the authors missed completely, but also where they were so close to what we have now.
Best stories: A sound of thunder, A mother’s tale, The birds, A stay at the ocean, Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, The subliminal man, The Cohen dog exclusion act, It’s such a beautiful day
February 14, 2021
Collection of excellent short stories that address some meaty topics in sci-fi, ecology, and sociology. Authors include Poe, Bradbury, White, du Maurier and more. My favorites are Vonnegut's story about how society may change once humans eventually "solve" death and aging, and Asimov's story about what people may lose sight of with continued progress in the transportation realm. J.G. Ballard's tale about marketing and consumption ring particularly and depressingly true despite being written six decades ago.
Reading this book alongside Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Alamanc has been a fruitful and illuminating exercise.
Reading this book alongside Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Alamanc has been a fruitful and illuminating exercise.
March 6, 2025
80% of the short stories in this book were fantastic. I particularly enjoyed The Sound of Thunder, The Subliminal Man, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, and A Stay at the Ocean. A lot of these stories revolve around a fear of cars which is kinda fun.
July 12, 2018
So visionary. Though not all strictly "environmental" the writing and storytelling is wonderful. I kept this in the car to read while "waiting" for whatever.!
February 7, 2021
Fantastic bedtime book. 1-2 stories a night. Lovely insight and “foreshadowing”?
March 30, 2024
Great selection of stories.
Isaac Asimov's was my favorite
Isaac Asimov's was my favorite
June 14, 2024
Nature as menacing and marvellous.
December 10, 2024
If this collection were assembled today, every story would be blatantly about climate change. Many of these could even be interpreted as such because, like most good stories, they're applicable to a broad range of situations.
Du Maurier's The Birds is a good example. All you have is the leads theories and some loose information. The wind changed, blowing sudden winter in from the Artic, and the birds became deranged, but only during certain tidal episodes. What really caused it you don't know, but you know that something shifted within the Earth's laws. And you know that a shift could be just as sudden as it is world-ending.
Another good example of a zoomed in account of potential climate disaster is A Stay at the Ocean, where a vacationing family awake to find the tide has gone out and the ocean has receded so far that they can't see it. They and other adventurous folks decide to (quite stupidly) drive along the ocean floor to explore, while also hearing a rumor that Europe is underwater.
This collection gets high marks for the inclusion of A Mother's Tale by James Agee. It's rare that a short story makes me cry but this one, about a cow telling the young ones a religious-type tale about what happens when their loaded onto the trains is nothing short of devastating. It works on multiple layers, with it core message being a topical one for modern times: no matter how glaring, how obvious, and how dire the warning, people will not heed it.
J. G. Ballrad's The Subliminal Man, about capitalism kicked into maximum overdrive, is the sort of doom-and-gloom SF I'm accustomed to reading. Some of those sorts are absurd but this story, though extreme, is unnervingly prophetic. In this dismal future, there are endless payment plans and discount incentives to buy new things to replace your almost-new things, with nothing being kept more than a year. It's much like how people in the modern world replace perfectly good cars, cell phones, and televisions--not to mention the horror of fast fashion--solely because marketing has made them think they should. Five second ads in the middle of phone calls are a concept far, far ahead of their time but right on our horizon.
Du Maurier's The Birds is a good example. All you have is the leads theories and some loose information. The wind changed, blowing sudden winter in from the Artic, and the birds became deranged, but only during certain tidal episodes. What really caused it you don't know, but you know that something shifted within the Earth's laws. And you know that a shift could be just as sudden as it is world-ending.
Another good example of a zoomed in account of potential climate disaster is A Stay at the Ocean, where a vacationing family awake to find the tide has gone out and the ocean has receded so far that they can't see it. They and other adventurous folks decide to (quite stupidly) drive along the ocean floor to explore, while also hearing a rumor that Europe is underwater.
This collection gets high marks for the inclusion of A Mother's Tale by James Agee. It's rare that a short story makes me cry but this one, about a cow telling the young ones a religious-type tale about what happens when their loaded onto the trains is nothing short of devastating. It works on multiple layers, with it core message being a topical one for modern times: no matter how glaring, how obvious, and how dire the warning, people will not heed it.
J. G. Ballrad's The Subliminal Man, about capitalism kicked into maximum overdrive, is the sort of doom-and-gloom SF I'm accustomed to reading. Some of those sorts are absurd but this story, though extreme, is unnervingly prophetic. In this dismal future, there are endless payment plans and discount incentives to buy new things to replace your almost-new things, with nothing being kept more than a year. It's much like how people in the modern world replace perfectly good cars, cell phones, and televisions--not to mention the horror of fast fashion--solely because marketing has made them think they should. Five second ads in the middle of phone calls are a concept far, far ahead of their time but right on our horizon.
August 29, 2023
I wasn't always a sci-fi reader, but after reading this book I became one! I read these stories many years ago and the intense themes have stayed in my head to this day. Re-reading them, I realize how relevant they are today as we witness how fragile life can be, and the environmental consequences of our decisions and actions. A very powerful, compelling, and sometimes disturbing collection of stories that you won't forget. Sadly, 'Eco-Fiction' is no longer in print, and I am so thankful that I still have my copy!
Contents: A sound of thunder, by R. Bradbury.--The turtle, by J. Steinbeck.--The conversation of Eiros and Charmion, by E. A. Poe.--The fair young willowy tree, by A. E. Coppard.--A mother's tale, by J. Agee.--The law, by R. M. Coates.--The birds, by D. du Maurier.--A stay at the ocean, by R. Wilson, Jr.--The supremacy of Uruguay, by E. B. White.--Look how the fish live, by J. F. Powers.--Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, by K. Vonnegut, Jr.--The white heron, by S. O. Jewett.--The Mary Celeste move, by F. Herbert.--The toys of peace, by Saki (H. H. Munro)--The subliminal man, by J. G. Ballard.--The Cohen dog exclusion act, by S. Schrader.--It's such a beautiful day, by I. Asimov.--The hummingbird that lived through winter, by W. Saroyan.
Contents: A sound of thunder, by R. Bradbury.--The turtle, by J. Steinbeck.--The conversation of Eiros and Charmion, by E. A. Poe.--The fair young willowy tree, by A. E. Coppard.--A mother's tale, by J. Agee.--The law, by R. M. Coates.--The birds, by D. du Maurier.--A stay at the ocean, by R. Wilson, Jr.--The supremacy of Uruguay, by E. B. White.--Look how the fish live, by J. F. Powers.--Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, by K. Vonnegut, Jr.--The white heron, by S. O. Jewett.--The Mary Celeste move, by F. Herbert.--The toys of peace, by Saki (H. H. Munro)--The subliminal man, by J. G. Ballard.--The Cohen dog exclusion act, by S. Schrader.--It's such a beautiful day, by I. Asimov.--The hummingbird that lived through winter, by W. Saroyan.
February 27, 2009
This book is apparently out of print -- which is such a pity. It's been years since I've read it and scenes from the different short stories still vividly come to mind when I hear the latest news about technology, the environment, and related topics.
Short stories by Bradbury, Steinbeck, Azimov, and Vonnegut, among others. The stories really stick with you. They're still incredibly timely despite this book being published in 1971.
Short stories by Bradbury, Steinbeck, Azimov, and Vonnegut, among others. The stories really stick with you. They're still incredibly timely despite this book being published in 1971.
April 21, 2016
Interesting book with a lot of classic authors. Eco-fiction is still around, but this book approached it with science fiction stories, whereas these days there are other speculative and literary ways to tell stories about the climate crisis and environmental destruction we are going through.
July 10, 2013
I read this as a teenager and still remember many of the stories and how they impacted me at the time I read them. I look forward to finding a new copy someday and reading them all again.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews