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The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life
Powerful, impassioned essays on living and being in the world, from the bestselling author of The End of Nature and Deep Economy
For a generation, Bill McKibben has been among America's most impassioned and beloved writers on our relationship to our world and our environment. His groundbreaking book on climate change, The End of Nature , is considered "as important as Rachel Carson's classic Silent Spring "* and Deep Economy, his "deeply thoughtful and mind-expanding"** exploration of globalization, helped awaken and fuel a movement to restore local economies.
Now, for the first time, the best of McKibben's essays―fiery, magical, and infused with his uniquely soulful investigations of modern life―are collected in a single volume, The Bill McKibben Reader. Whether meditating on today's golden age in radio, the natural place of biting black flies in our lives, or the patriotism of a grandmother fighting to get corporate money out of politics, McKibben inspires us to become better caretakers of the Earth―and of one another.
* The Plain Dealer (Cleveland )
**Michael Pollan
For a generation, Bill McKibben has been among America's most impassioned and beloved writers on our relationship to our world and our environment. His groundbreaking book on climate change, The End of Nature , is considered "as important as Rachel Carson's classic Silent Spring "* and Deep Economy, his "deeply thoughtful and mind-expanding"** exploration of globalization, helped awaken and fuel a movement to restore local economies.
Now, for the first time, the best of McKibben's essays―fiery, magical, and infused with his uniquely soulful investigations of modern life―are collected in a single volume, The Bill McKibben Reader. Whether meditating on today's golden age in radio, the natural place of biting black flies in our lives, or the patriotism of a grandmother fighting to get corporate money out of politics, McKibben inspires us to become better caretakers of the Earth―and of one another.
* The Plain Dealer (Cleveland )
**Michael Pollan
442 pages, Paperback
First published March 4, 2008
23 people are currently reading
405 people want to read
About the author
Bill McKibben
204 books831 followersBill McKibben is the author of Eaarth, The End of Nature, Deep Economy, Enough, Fight Global Warming Now, The Bill McKibben Reader, and numerous other books. He is the founder of the environmental organizations Step It Up and 350.org, and was among the first to warn of the dangers of global warming. In 2010 The Boston Globe called him "probably the nation's leading environmentalist," and Time magazine has called him "the world's best green journalist." He studied at Harvard, and started his writing career as a staff writer at The New Yorker. The End of Nature, his first book, was published in 1989 and was regarded as the first book on climate change for a general audience. He is a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Orion Magazine, Mother Jones, The New York Review of Books, Granta, Rolling Stone, and Outside. He has been awarded Guggenheim Fellowship and won the Lannan Prize for nonfiction writing in 2000. He is a scholar in residence at Middlebury College and lives in Vermont with his wife, the writer Sue Halpern, and their daughter.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/billmc...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/billmc...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
January 16, 2018
Bill McKibben wrote the first account for a popular audience of the science of climate change. And, while I haven't read it, if it's anything like this collection, he did so with clarity and concision enough to make it accessible to most. That seems to be the most impressive part of his writing. I don't think I really liked these essays for their poetry, but for their commitment to getting across the basic truths of Bill McKibben's life and a few basic truths concerning the state of the planet's life.
This volume holds essays about the joys of, threats to, and end of nature. McKibben writes passionately of wolves, protest, and global warming. He pens eloquent odes to Edward Abbey and Wendell Berry and a painful remembrance of his father in his dying days. Very rarely did I feel I wasn't getting what he was getting at.
Ultimately, I liked this book because, through it, I grew to like Bill McKibben. A lot of the science he discusses needs to be updated, a lot of his stories might be out of date, but his passion and care for the world comes through clearly and powerfully. Granted, this is a highly curated selection, but if it is at all representative, it reveals a writer who cares in a way I would like to care. It reveals a writer who has climbed to near the top of my list of writers with whom I'd like to grab a coffee. He's at the top of the list for hiking.
This volume holds essays about the joys of, threats to, and end of nature. McKibben writes passionately of wolves, protest, and global warming. He pens eloquent odes to Edward Abbey and Wendell Berry and a painful remembrance of his father in his dying days. Very rarely did I feel I wasn't getting what he was getting at.
Ultimately, I liked this book because, through it, I grew to like Bill McKibben. A lot of the science he discusses needs to be updated, a lot of his stories might be out of date, but his passion and care for the world comes through clearly and powerfully. Granted, this is a highly curated selection, but if it is at all representative, it reveals a writer who cares in a way I would like to care. It reveals a writer who has climbed to near the top of my list of writers with whom I'd like to grab a coffee. He's at the top of the list for hiking.
Read
January 7, 2009Read the STOP SMILING interview with Bill McKibben:
(This interview originally appeared in the STOP SMILING Gambling Issue)
In 12 books and countless magazine articles written over the last quarter century, Bill McKibben has tracked and suggested a way to alleviate the impact of human life on the natural world. In doing so, he has emerged as one of our most trenchant environmental writers and campaigners: Over the past few years, he has organized the largest demonstrations against global warming in the country’s history, and in March, Holt Paperbacks published a collection of his essays titled The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life. McKibben is also the editor of American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau, a compendium spanning more than 150 years, which was published in April as part of the Library of America series.
Read the interview...
(This interview originally appeared in the STOP SMILING Gambling Issue)
In 12 books and countless magazine articles written over the last quarter century, Bill McKibben has tracked and suggested a way to alleviate the impact of human life on the natural world. In doing so, he has emerged as one of our most trenchant environmental writers and campaigners: Over the past few years, he has organized the largest demonstrations against global warming in the country’s history, and in March, Holt Paperbacks published a collection of his essays titled The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life. McKibben is also the editor of American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau, a compendium spanning more than 150 years, which was published in April as part of the Library of America series.
Read the interview...
November 26, 2016
What a good book. A collection of essays up to almost 30 years old read over tow and a half years (easy to carry on Kindle wherever I was) which were really all striking. Some I forwarded to family and friends. The essays, especially towards the end of the book - but that just adding more dimensions - gives a sort of vision to Bill McKibben as a person. I am an active environmentalist and now I know this almost larger than life person sort of on an intimate basis albeit only from one side.
This is the second collection of essays I have read this way - the first was Sand County Almanac - also a couple of years to finish I think. If you have a kindle maybe you want to try this out.
Virtually all the essays are worth reading. All generate consideration and thought.
This is the second collection of essays I have read this way - the first was Sand County Almanac - also a couple of years to finish I think. If you have a kindle maybe you want to try this out.
Virtually all the essays are worth reading. All generate consideration and thought.
July 17, 2008
This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, the kind of collection that gives you lots to think about. I kept saying to those around me "hey, did you know that..." Bill McKibben is a thoughtful person and I always feel more thoughtful when I read him. This is a great overview of his writing career. I recommend it!
July 5, 2023
These are the kind of essays I would like to write someday. McKibben clearly holds the natural world and the communities he's been part of throughout his life close to his heart.
While certainly dated (we have not made the serious kinds of changes needed to address climate change since 2008), his essays then and today offer important avenues to making those changes. It is a book of hope, especially for his generation, the Boomers, that we can come together through those tactics of nonviolence, community-led democracy, and advocacy of issues through writing, exploration, and conservation.
While certainly dated (we have not made the serious kinds of changes needed to address climate change since 2008), his essays then and today offer important avenues to making those changes. It is a book of hope, especially for his generation, the Boomers, that we can come together through those tactics of nonviolence, community-led democracy, and advocacy of issues through writing, exploration, and conservation.
January 17, 2019
A collection of essays from a writer well known for his environmentalism. Some of these essays are also about his time as a Sunday school teacher and his religious beliefs and how they relate to protecting the natural world. Capitalism, greed, athletic recreation and sport and growing old are also topics of a few of these essays from a decade ago.
March 8, 2026
Some of the best writing about humans in nature, followed by more terrific writing about humans, well ... more about corporations, destroying nature, air, and life generally.
December 7, 2016
Really enjoyed this collection of articles. Inspiring, thoughtful, and entertaining.
July 7, 2018
When I read Oil and Honey, I remember getting bored about halfway through the book. I appreciated the message he was sending, but I had to force myself through it.
I think McKibben's true talent lies in essays. I loved almost all of the essays in this collection, and I was introduced to some of his influences, who are now some of my own.
When it comes to the environment, we have very similar mindsets.
I think McKibben's true talent lies in essays. I loved almost all of the essays in this collection, and I was introduced to some of his influences, who are now some of my own.
When it comes to the environment, we have very similar mindsets.
February 1, 2016
"Twenty years ago, Bill McKibben wrote the first account for a general audience of global warming. The End of Nature became an environmental classic, widely compared to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. He has since writen a score of other books on nature andcultue, and most recently Deep Eonomy, which the Los Angeles Times called masterfully crafted, deeply thoughtful and mind-expanding.' helped awaken and fuel a movement to restore local economics.
"Over those two decades, he has written dozens of essays for many of America's most prominent publications. Collected for the first time in a single volume, these meditations on everything from the meaning of a black fly's bite to the feeling of being arrested in a demonstration are both prophetic and funny, realistic and hopeful, of the moment and timeless."
~~back cover
Ass always, I loved this book. The author's writing style is wry and aat the same time humorous, and his writing about the environment and people is indeed always "masterfully crafted, deeply thought and mind-expanding." I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in thinking more carefully and clearly about the environment, and humanity's impact on it, and I also recommend anything else Bill McKibben has written -- you can't go wrong with a McKibben book!
"Over those two decades, he has written dozens of essays for many of America's most prominent publications. Collected for the first time in a single volume, these meditations on everything from the meaning of a black fly's bite to the feeling of being arrested in a demonstration are both prophetic and funny, realistic and hopeful, of the moment and timeless."
~~back cover
Ass always, I loved this book. The author's writing style is wry and aat the same time humorous, and his writing about the environment and people is indeed always "masterfully crafted, deeply thought and mind-expanding." I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in thinking more carefully and clearly about the environment, and humanity's impact on it, and I also recommend anything else Bill McKibben has written -- you can't go wrong with a McKibben book!
March 28, 2024
When I first picked up this book the thought was to read a few of the essays here and there, but not to read the entire book. Yet as I got immersed in the essays I realized that I would indeed read the entirety.
Like most books that collect pieces through the years some are better than others. On the whole these are interesting and good pieces. All were magazine articles previously published roughly during the 1990's and early 2000's, with the book being published in 2008. There is a good introduction piece an the essays are grouped together thematically. Add to this an index and it is the way a good book of essays should be published.
As an environmental writer you'd expect the work to be focused there, but this isn't entirely the case. At times McKibben writes about his spiritual side, his work with the church. Other times about himself personally. The last section and pieces are more personal, dealing with his father dying and his own year of intense physical training. Often there is an insert of a line or two about climate change, but again, not always. And while the essays are at times aged, they still hold up to a current reading. And a few are startling for the differences the years have brought in change.
Like most books that collect pieces through the years some are better than others. On the whole these are interesting and good pieces. All were magazine articles previously published roughly during the 1990's and early 2000's, with the book being published in 2008. There is a good introduction piece an the essays are grouped together thematically. Add to this an index and it is the way a good book of essays should be published.
As an environmental writer you'd expect the work to be focused there, but this isn't entirely the case. At times McKibben writes about his spiritual side, his work with the church. Other times about himself personally. The last section and pieces are more personal, dealing with his father dying and his own year of intense physical training. Often there is an insert of a line or two about climate change, but again, not always. And while the essays are at times aged, they still hold up to a current reading. And a few are startling for the differences the years have brought in change.
September 4, 2014
Bill McKibben is a skilled and unpretentious writer. This collection of previously published articles and essays is a pleasure to read and, lest one think that it is all about climate change, 350.org, or similar subjects, it is not.
I am a fan of Bill McKibben. He is one of two "celebrities" in my Twitter feed. The other is Timothy Keller of New York's Redeemer Church. Also, one of my prize digital possessions is a personal email message from Mr. McKibben in which he responds to a personal letter that I sent to him via his publisher.
I am also pleased to see that he continues to engage the Evangelical Christian community, having just written the foreword to Introducing Evangelical Ecotheology: Foundations in Scripture, Theology, History, and Praxis.
I am a fan of Bill McKibben. He is one of two "celebrities" in my Twitter feed. The other is Timothy Keller of New York's Redeemer Church. Also, one of my prize digital possessions is a personal email message from Mr. McKibben in which he responds to a personal letter that I sent to him via his publisher.
I am also pleased to see that he continues to engage the Evangelical Christian community, having just written the foreword to Introducing Evangelical Ecotheology: Foundations in Scripture, Theology, History, and Praxis.
December 20, 2013
My ranking system is 3 stars = worth a read; 4 stars = I would/will read it again; and 5 stars = a classic to be read by future generations.
Although I will probably not read this book in its entirity again, it is worth a read and there are several articles I would like to re-read. This is a collection of articles from the early 1980s to around 2006. They deal with a range of topics from enviornmental issues to the death of his day (which is one of the best stories - I couldn't put that article down). There is a section on religion which some of I could do without, but a few of the pieces were excellent - his thoughts on a country founded on Christian morals, but refusing to be taxed to help the needy is a great read.
McKibben brings to light a number of issues in a manner which is making me re-think my stance and philosphy on life. I will definitely be reading more of his work in the future!
Although I will probably not read this book in its entirity again, it is worth a read and there are several articles I would like to re-read. This is a collection of articles from the early 1980s to around 2006. They deal with a range of topics from enviornmental issues to the death of his day (which is one of the best stories - I couldn't put that article down). There is a section on religion which some of I could do without, but a few of the pieces were excellent - his thoughts on a country founded on Christian morals, but refusing to be taxed to help the needy is a great read.
McKibben brings to light a number of issues in a manner which is making me re-think my stance and philosphy on life. I will definitely be reading more of his work in the future!
December 10, 2008
I didn't read all of the essays because not all of the topics were of interest to me. The essays I did read were excellent including some about global warming (written long before anyone was talking about this), his year of eating local food (again, long before this was trendy), the hypocrisies of contemporary Christianity, a 1982 New Yorker article about homelessness, and best of all his essay about cross-country skiing. I look forward to reading the McKibben books in my to-read list as a result of these essays.
February 22, 2009
I really like what Bill McKibben has to say in general, and this book is no exception. It was interesting to read some older things by him, as well as his non-environmental essays. In some of the essays, I had a feeling of deja-vu, and I realized that they had become chapters in some of his books that I have read. McKibben is an excellent writer, the thought that goes into his writing, as well as his love of the topic, whether it is global warming, cross-country skiing, or religion, always shines through.
February 17, 2016
Bill McKibben wrote (in a piece in this book actually), "The only way I've ever been able to understand the Holy Spirit is as that force which, out of all the books in the world, puts a particular volume in your hand at a particular time."
And this was that book. Simultaneously inspiring and depressing it outlined the history and future of the environmental movement and its fight against species extinction, consumerism, and global warming. ...or a celebration of species restoration, local foods, and community. Either way, the Holy Spirit was at work.
And this was that book. Simultaneously inspiring and depressing it outlined the history and future of the environmental movement and its fight against species extinction, consumerism, and global warming. ...or a celebration of species restoration, local foods, and community. Either way, the Holy Spirit was at work.
November 4, 2011
I like you, Bill McKibben. You write about some incredibly depressing, terrifying subject matter. But unlike many other writers about the increasingly dire state of the planet, you leave me with hope that humanity can figure stuff out and have a simpler, happier, future in close-knit yet open minded communities. I hope you are right.
January 31, 2013
B+ Really interesting essays by a great environmental writer; I didn't relate as much to the religious stuff but the environmental essays were great and inspiring; my favourite was the second-to-last essay about his addiction to competitive skiing while his father died. I was in tears on the train when I fhttp://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/... it.
October 2, 2008
I thought his articles on cross country skiing and his father's brain tumor were outstanding. The rest was a lot of repeated ideas (global warming being the thrust of it), but that article about cross country skiing and his love of winter convinced me. I want to try it!
September 21, 2009
so far i especially like the 'consuming nature' piece, which does a stunning job of showing just how cyclically stuck we are in a form of self-identification that is consumerism, always, even when seemingly veiled.
August 24, 2010
This is a sampling of McKibben's articles for magazines for the most part. I love his view of the world. If all Christians were like him, the earth and life on it would be in much better shape right now.
March 22, 2008
everyone should read bill mckibben, everyone. now.
hero. bigtime hero.
hero. bigtime hero.
July 28, 2008
Nice collection of McKibben's journalism. A bit dated in places, but provides a good overview of his recurring themes.
November 29, 2008
great perspective on life and nature and humans on this planet. glad i finally read something of bill mckibbens and this was a perfect window.
October 15, 2008
Excellent stuff. Can't recommend it enough
Currently reading
January 18, 2009Thoroughly enjoying the quality of writing and the general 'character' of his short essays.
January 22, 2010
A solid collection of Bill McKibben's work from the early days at the New Yorker during the 1980s to later work in Harper's and many more.
August 22, 2009
The essays I managed to read were interesting, but I never seemed to have time to get to this book, so I didn't finish.
May 16, 2010
Inspiring.
August 24, 2011
I love Bill McKibben. He's awesome on his own, but when I discovered he knew (and got arrested with) Granny D, it sealed the deal!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews