2018 No Immediate Danger Volume One of Carbon Ideologies

[Nathan "N.R."]

Heads=up for the folks in CA. The event at Kepler's Books will be a ticketed thing. I know it sucks for the Vollmanniac, but it should mean they are planning to draw in a wide audience which is appropriate given the subject matter of the book.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/william-...

I expect his other readings might be more densely attended than his previous readings. Arrive early (and often!)

[Nathan "N.R."]

James wrote: "Just got off the phone with Powell's. I was told there would likely be a pre-order for a signed edition, but that their April schedule wasn't finalized. I was also told to check back in about three..."

They are now offering pre=order for Signed copies :
http://www.powells.com/book/no-immedi...
And they're priced at list, no extra charge.

[T.R.]

About 50 pages in: https://imgur.com/a/7Wazd

Lots of footnote errors. But it's fantastic so far. Can't wait to get the final hardcover edition.

[James]

Thanks. I just saw this in my email. Ordered.

[Greg]

Here is a review from the Washington Post:

Why have we done so little to tackle climate change?

"It drowns us in calculations, facts, images, stories. It embodies the confusion of our current moment, the insidiousness of disbelief, and the mania-inducing reality that our greatest threat is the hardest to act upon. It is a feverish, sprawling archive of who we are, and what we’ve wrought."

[Alexander]

Greg wrote: "Here is a review from the Washington Post:

Why have we done so little to tackle climate change?

"It drowns us in calculations, facts, images, stories. It embodies the confusion of our current mo..."

Oh christ that is a good review

[Nathan "N.R."]

A bit of a Round=Up (for your soybeans) of the Press from the past Vollmannrich week ::

[please keep your beautiful Vollmann=Spotting (and owl spotting) photos in the Vollmann Spotting thread. that'd be great!!!]

_________________
"A Broad Look at the Fiction and Nonfiction of William Vollmann"
http://www.signature-reads.com/2018/0... [a small selection in fact!

"Taken as a whole, the works of William T. Vollman are frequently contradictory. He’s a writer drawn to the lives of outsiders who’s also written about some of the most essential and overarching subjects facing society. His bibliography encompasses both transgressive, unsettling writing and deeply accessible forays into historical and contemporary issues."


_____________
"The Curious Case of William T. Vollmann"
http://www.sactownmag.com/April-May-2...


__________
an excerpt :: "As Innocuous as Plant No. 1: William Vollman enters the radioactive red zone to visit the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant."
https://longreads.com/2018/04/10/as-i...


__________
another excerpt (from the Primer) ::
" William T. Vollmann: What If the Leftwing Hoaxers Are Right?
On Climate Change Denial and the Resurgence of Carbon-Fueled Ideology"
https://lithub.com/william-t-vollman-...


____________
"William T. Vollmann has a new book, and it should scare the hell out of you"
http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/b...

"His wife was home from work. It was time for domesticity and for a visitor to leave." [we need more journalism of this type]
____________
(review) " Why we can't comprehend climate change "
http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifesty...

__________
video of the reading at The Strand ::
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAY3N...

____________
(interview) "Climate Change is Probably Worse Than You Think, But Let’s Not Freak Out About It"
https://www.houstoniamag.com/articles...

___________
(whelp ; we missed this one) Vollmann + Powers ::
https://livestream.com/flp/PowersVoll...

________
(on the radio in Houston ) ::
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/ar...


____________
[my soundtrack ::
Testament live at Bloodstock 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu5DJ... ]

[Geoff]

Thanks for those!

[Greg]

I finished it this morning. It’s big, dense, and impressive, but volume One falls short of greatness standing on its own. I’ll wait for volume Two before judging completely. It’s still worth reading in any case.

[Alexander]

Nathan "N.R." wrote: "A bit of a Round=Up (for your soybeans) of the Press from the past Vollmannrich week ::

[please keep your beautiful Vollmann=Spotting (and owl spotting) photos in the Vollmann Spotting thread. tha..."

The Curious Case article says his reporter friends were killed by sniper fire. I believe that is false. I believe they were all killed in a car when it went over a landmine.

[T.R.]

I've always had it in my memory bank as sniper fire too. :shrugs:

[Nathan "N.R."]

Alexander wrote: "The Curious Case article says his reporter friends were killed by sniper fire. I believe that is false. I believe they were all killed in a car when it went over a landmine. "

[that one I've not read yet] My memory is taking me both directions. One of us should probably look into it...

[Griffin]

This book is incredible so far. I think that the introduction "When We Kept The Lights On" is some of the most emotionally affecting writing I've seen from Vollmann, approaching the quality of the sad, and somehow unresigned, fatalism of The Dying Grass. I already picked up an ARC of Volume 2, so think I am going to read straight through.

[Alexander]

Nathan "N.R." wrote: "Alexander wrote: "The Curious Case article says his reporter friends were killed by sniper fire. I believe that is false. I believe they were all killed in a car when it went over a landmine. "

[t..."

Buddy, I am so excited to read this.
I'm reading Naomi Klein's This Changes Everything in preparation. It's excellent so far

[David]

T.R. wrote: "I've always had it in my memory bank as sniper fire too. :shrugs:"

The confusion is because the initial reports were that their car hit a mine. Much later the real situation, that it was sniper fire, was revealed. I asked Bill about this, as it was rather shocking to me that he wasn't completely upfront with what happened. He told me that he was afraid of inflaming the situation.

It seems like yesterday that I heard this crackling over the radio as I was driving home "... two journalists killed, one survived..." and I braced for the bad news as I had two friends on that journey....

[Alexander]

David wrote: "T.R. wrote: "I've always had it in my memory bank as sniper fire too. :shrugs:"

The confusion is because the initial reports were that their car hit a mine. Much later the real situation, that it ..."

OH!
But if it was sniper fire, how did Bill survive?

[David]

Bill was in the back seat. The other two guys were in the front seat, so were easy targets. The sniper may not have seen Bill. He very wisely stayed hidden in the car. I guess his trucking around war zones paid off, knowing how to best handle a very bad situation.

[Alexander]

David wrote: "Bill was in the back seat. The other two guys were in the front seat, so were easy targets. The sniper may not have seen Bill. He very wisely stayed hidden in the car. I guess his trucking around w..."

Ok, thanks! How horrible.

[Alexander]

I have a question: does Vollmann's Into the Forbidden Zone show up in this Volume?

[Nathan "N.R."]

Alexander wrote: "I have a question: does Vollmann's Into the Forbidden Zone show up in this Volume?"

I didn't read Into the Forbidden Zone (ebook only is a blight!) : but, "'When the Wind Blows from the South' was first published in different form by Byliner in 2011" (copyright page). Which would be the Forbidden Zone piece.

[Greg]

Yes, Into the Forbidden Zone is in this book, or at least a version of it. It begins on page page 257 with the When the Wind Blows From the South chapter. I

[Alexander]

Thanks Nathan and Greg! Good to know I don't need to read Forbidden Zone as well :)

[Nathan "N.R."]

Alexander wrote: "Thanks Nathan and Greg! Good to know I don't need to read Forbidden Zone as well :)"

I don't think you need to read it any more than you need to read every Harpers article he publishes. It's the books that count!

[Alexander]

Although I would appreciate a collection of his writings that aren't in novel form (like Expelled from Eden, but updated)

[Nathan "N.R."]

Definitely need a Volume II of Expelled.

[Nathan "N.R."]

Another link dump. [i've not read all of these yet either]

"“Are we prepared to endure lives with less comfort?”: William T. Vollmann on climate change."
https://www.vox.com/conversations/201...

"“Could You Do Any Better Than We Did?”
Ted Hamilton interviews William Vollmann
http://bostonreview.net/science-natur...

Radio interview ::
https://kboo.fm/media/65069-carbon-id...

"'I Try Not to Have a Schedule': Talking Writing with William Vollmann"
https://longreads.com/2018/04/20/i-tr...

And apologies for losing the link to that one critical review by the nuclear ideologist who tells you there is nothing to fear but the ideology of fear. You should dig it up and read it. The steaming pile from Brietbart though you can just leave there in the red zone of radiating fascism ; don't need it.

[Jonathan]

I go on brietbart quite a bit, just to keep track on their world-view, so have already spent a little time in the comments section.

Two favorites:

1. "You have all the answers you need simply by looking at the picture of the author. His face is permanently etched with anger and frustration. The set of the eyes, the downturn to the mouth, the color -- this person has spent years being angry. That kind of anger has no other purpose but to strike out -- it does not care about collateral damage. It does not care about people that would be lost, by the 1000s. It welcomes that prospect.
Memorize that face. It can teach you a LOT about similar personalities and mentalities to look out for. Remember: the FBI considered this person as a potential suspect in the Unabomber case, from twenty years back. Think about that. For more than twenty years, this person has been angry... angry enough to write a 600 page screed that no one wants to read. Angry enough to blame rice farming for methane (forget about all the herd animals, all the algae in the ocean, all the tundra gasses, etc). It, this all-consuming anger... just hates humans."


2. "AN UNDER EDUCATED IDIOT. YOU WILL GET MY BOUGHT AND PAID FOR FOSSIL FUEL ONLY AFTER YOU PRY IT FROM MY COLD DEAD FINGERS. OH WAIT I CAN WARM UP MY COLD FINGERS WITH MY FOSSIL FUEL."

[Nathan "N.R."]

Jonathan wrote: "I go on brietbart quite a bit, just to keep track on their world-view, so have already spent a little time in the comments section. "

Well now yes at least these gentlemen are articulate. ; )

[Jonathan]

The 2nd one is actually pretty funny

[Aiden]

The second one typed his bio instead of his comment.

[Nathan "N.R."]

Nathan "N.R." wrote: ""The Curious Case of William T. Vollmann"
http://www.sactownmag.com/April-May-2..."

I'm really rather miff'd that this article mentioned a group of bloggers (organizing a Vollmann Completionism) that have been inactive since 2005 ;;.... ..... (wait for it) instead of mentioning this Group wherein is discovered several folks who didn't sweat it a bit reading all of Vollmann's many books.

"The group of bloggers divided up the works, in tacit acknowledgement that it was practically impossible for one person to read them all." utter=utter bullshit.

[Alexander]

Nathan "N.R." wrote: "Nathan "N.R." wrote: ""The Curious Case of William T. Vollmann"
http://www.sactownmag.com/April-May-2..."

I'm really rather miff'd that this article mentioned a group of bloggers (organizing a Vol..."

Hahaha, I remember reading this and then thinking the same. Perhaps this is due to the fact that a website is easier to search than a forum on another website? Like, does this group even come up on a google search?

[Just checked. Searched William Vollmann Group. This place came up as the second hit]

[Ken]

I had the honor of talking with Bill Vollmann for KBOO Radio's Between the Covers program. Bill was in Portland (the one in Oregon) to read at Powell's Books. This was my third interview with Bill, and, as those of you who've met him know, he's kind, curious, and a joy to talk with.

For this interview, we discussed Carbon Ideologies, both volumes -- No Immediate Danger and No Good Alternative -- and covered climate change, energy sources (nuclear, coal, natural gas, oil, solar), Fukushima, dosimeters and pancake friskers, the Buffalo Creek Flood of 1972, fracking, rose milkshakes, and what to expect in the not-too-distant future. Most likely it will be a hot, dark, and radioactive world. Is there hope or are we pretty much doomed?

You can download/stream the uncut version here: https://kboo.fm/media/65069-carbon-id...

No Immediate Danger: Volume One of Carbon Ideologies
No Good Alternative: Volume Two of Carbon Ideologies
William T. Vollmann

[Nathan "N.R."]

Ken wrote: "I had the honor of talking with Bill Vollmann for KBOO Radio's Between the Covers program. Bill was in Portland (the one in Oregon) to read at Powell's Books. This was my third interview with Bill,..."

Thanks for the interview Ken! And welcome to Vollmann Central!

Do you have links to your previous interviews handy?

[Ken]

Thanks, Nathan! I've been lurking on Vollmann Central for many months. Such a thrill to find so many smart and well-read fans of his work.

Here's a link to our Dying Grass talk in September 2015: https://kboo.fm/media/41840-dying-gra...

And a link to my first interview with Bill, on Last Stories and Other Stories in August 2014: https://kboo.fm/media/35338-last-stor...

[Nathan "N.R."]

Ken wrote: "Thanks, Nathan! I've been lurking on Vollmann Central for many months. Such a thrill to find so many smart and well-read fans of his work."

Lurkers most welcome! And thanks for the additional links.

[Ruben]

This may be of interest: impressions of both volumes of Carbon Ideologies from someone who read through the books twice (starts at 18:36): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5_Uj...

[Tom]

Thanks for pointing out that review. I'm reading volume one now, and will withhold comment until I've read volume two. Except -- WTV is right that the first section of that book is dreary stuff, although it IS useful. By the end of it, he has me convinced we're all fucked and it's too late to fix what we've done.

[Nathan "N.R."]

Ruben wrote: "This may be of interest: impressions of both volumes of Carbon Ideologies from someone who read through the books twice (starts at 18:36): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5_Uj..."

Steve's good people. (or at least his dogs are). But I'm (not yet) as impressed with this one as he is. [don't know if he's read Imperial or RURD yet]

[Aiden]

[don't know if he's read Imperial or RURD yet]

he has, he's read everything vollmann has written.

[Nathan "N.R."]

Aiden wrote: "[don't know if he's read Imperial or RURD yet]
he has, he's read everything vollmann has written."

ah. Then the second volume must be really good. Fingers crossed.

[Aiden]

ah. Then the second volume must be really good. Fingers crossed.

or he just liked the first better than you :-P

[Nathan "N.R."]

A feature piece in the LA Times ::

"William T. Vollmann turns his mammoth talents to climate change"
http://www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-jc...

[Nathan "N.R."]

Steve Donoghue's (short) review of both volumes ::

"'Carbon Ideologies' examines – exhaustively – non-renewable energy"
https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-...

[Tom]

Thanks. I just discovered this new review, focusing on a section of volume two about Bangladesh. The writer is very perceptive about what Vollmann is up to with "Carbon Ideologies.

http://www.iexaminer.org/2018/07/no-g...

[Alexander]

Hey, not sure if this has been covered or answered by someone else somewhere else, but does anyone know where the sources and bibliography for these volumes are? Is there some online repository? I can't find anything. I want to know how Vollmann made such a huge error with his: "Vollmann claims that “in each two days of 2009, the world burned the entire oil output of 1990,” which is wrong by 289 days.)"
That quote is from here: http://progressandperil.com/2018/04/0...

[Nathan "N.R."]

Alexander wrote: "Hey, not sure if this has been covered or answered by someone else somewhere else, but does anyone know where the sources and bibliography for these volumes are? Is there some online repository? I ..."

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/ca...

I usually read every note in every one of his books ; but I just couldn't bring myself to read them online. Let us know what you find.

[Nathan "N.R."]

Here it is ::

“in each two days of 2009, the world burned the entire oil output of 1990”—
Information from George A. Olah, Alain Goeppert and G. K. Surya Prakash, Beyond Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy, 2nd rev. ed. (Weinheim, Germany: Wiley- VCH, 2009), p. 35."

[page 16 of the notes]

[Alexander]

THANK YOU!!!!

[Alexander]

It's at my University's library. I'll check it out