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The Fate of Nature: Rediscovering Our Ability to Rescue the Earth

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The Fate of Nature: Rediscovering Our Ability to Rescue the Earth

Paperback(First Edition)

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Paperback(First Edition)
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Overview

The Fate of Nature is a profoundly relevant call to action from journalist Charles Wohlforth, whose award-winning reportage addressed the infamous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. In the wake of the tragic 2010 BP disaster, Wohlforth's voice has never been more necessary. Using as a stage coastal Alaska, populated by an array of odd and inspiring characters, he presents both an insightful assessment of our present state and a hopeful vision for our planet in his "thoughtful and felicitous new book . . . an inspired view of humankind's future" (Anchorage Daily News).

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312572976
Publisher:	Picador
Publication date:	03/29/2011
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

CHARLES WOHLFORTH is a lifelong Alaska resident and author of The Whale and the Supercomputer, winner of the L.A. Times Book Prize, as well as many other books and articles about nature, history, politics, and travel in the North. An avid cross-country skier, Wohlforth lives during the winter in Anchorage with his wife, Barbara, and their four children. In summer they live off the grid on a remote Kachemak Bay shore reachable only by boat. Wohforth began his career as a reporter for a small-town newspaper. As a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News he worked months in the field covering the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

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Editorial Reviews

Intellectual, philosophical and packed with feeling, Wohlforth's hopeful arguments for preserving our natural world are also practical and ring true as a bell, a gentle pause in the noise that often takes the place of civilized debate on the topic.” —Book Page

“A terrific if somewhat polemical book.” —Knight Science Journalism Tracker

“An immense book that confronts the biggest question we'll ever face: Do we humans have it in us to square with nature before it's too late?” —ALAN WEISMAN, author of The World Without Us

“The Fate of Nature is an important and compelling read. Wohlforth develops critical, unexamined issues about our relationship to nature through the vivid characters and magnificent landscapes of coastal Alaska. You'll be intrigued, and you may be changed.” —ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.

“The great question—to be settled in the next few decades—is whether 'human nature' will force us to wreck our planet, or whether it will turn out to be the saving grace. Charles Wohlforth doesn't make assumptions—he makes sense. And hopeful sense at that!” —BILL MCKIBBEN, author of Deep Economy

“An ambitious and big-hearted book, The Fate of Nature contains lessons we all need to learn. It should be read by everyone who cares about the oceans and the many lives—human or otherwise—that depend on them.” —ELIZABETH KOLBERT, author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe

“No one does a better job of bringing the real Alaska to life than Charles Wohlforth. In The Fate of Nature, he has combined compelling story-telling with a provocative contribution to our national environmental debate. I don't agree with everything Charles has to say, but his eye-opening book is an invaluable read for anyone who cares about my state and our planet and wants to leave it better than we found it.” —SENATOR MARK BEGICH, Alaska

“The hidden truths in The Fate of Nature gradually come into focus through the adventures, stories, and exhilarating experiences conveyed with masterful grace and deep understanding of ancient wisdom and modern realities by Charles Wohlforth. A must-read for all who care about securing an enduring future for humankind within the natural systems that sustain us.” —SYLVIA A. EARLE, Explorer in Residence, National Geographic

From the Publisher

Are we, by nature, like hermit crabs, wearing “discarded snail shells as armor against other hermit crabs, whom they attack in hopes of getting a better shell?” This wide-ranging book confronts the “competitive paradigm” to contend that “stronger than our greed and materialism, most of us feel a connection to other people, to animals and wild places, and when we're faced with a choice between meaning and material gain, we prefer fairness and the bonds of the heart over getting ahead.” Wohlforth, L.A. Times Book Prize winner (The Whale and the Supercomputer) and lifelong Alaskan, takes readers on a heart-wrenching journey through the tumultuous history of the state and its fragile land and seascape, from the complex, mysterious culture of killer whales through the clash of Native worldview and Hobbesian self-interest with the arrival of Europeans, the origins of the conservation movement and its ongoing battle with development, and the devastating Valdez oil spill. Wohlforth concludes, optimistically, provocatively, but convincingly, that “stepping off the material treadmill isn't denial, it's freedom.” (June)

Publishers Weekly

Los Angeles Times book prize winner Wohlforth (The Whale and the Supercomputer) considers whether modern society has the ability and the will to stop destroying the natural world in the rush to fulfill ever-expanding desires. He looks at cultural imperatives, psychological drives, and economic systems to understand our behavior and whether we can change in order to save the planet. Once again Wohlforth makes the issues discussed more relevant to readers by linking stories from the past and present—of individual and corporate greed, government control, and private and public ownership. VERDICT Unfortunately, this uneven book does not live up to the high standard set by the author's earlier work (which was an LJ Best Book of 2004). Some of the stories are fascinating—the section on the Exxon Valdez oil spill and Wohlforth's insightful conclusion make excellent reading. But other tales are dull and fail to move the author's thesis forward. Despite its flaws, this will interest readers concerned with modern consumption and environmental conservation.—Betty Galbraith, Washington State Univ. Lib., Pullman

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