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

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More About This Book

Overview

"What capacity for good lies in the hidden depths of people?"

Starting with this question, award-winning author Charles Wohlforth sets forth on a wide-ranging exploration of our relationship with the world. In The Fate of Nature, he draws on science, spirituality, history, economics, and personal stories to reveal answers about the future of that relationship.

There is no better place to witness the highs and lows of our treatment of the natural world than the vast wilds, rocky coasts, and shifting settlements of Alaska.  Since the first encounter between Captain Cook's crew and the Alaskan Natives in 1778, there have been countless struggles between people who have had different plans for the region. Some have hoped to preserve Alaska as they found it, while others aimed to create something new in its place.

Incidents such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill may seem like cause for despair. In the face of such profound tragedies, Charles Wohlforth has found heartening developments in the science of human altruism. This new understanding of what causes humans to cooperate and act conscientiously may be the first step toward taking the actions necessary to preserve an environment that has already been altered drastically in our lifetime.

A clear-eyed, original work of research, reportage, and philosophical reflections, The Fate of Nature gives us a chance to change the way we think about our place in society and the world at large.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal
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
Publishers Weekly
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)

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780312377373
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Press
  • Publication date: 6/8/2010
  • Pages: 448
  • Sales rank: 1,087,892
  • Product dimensions: 6.56 (w) x 9.62 (h) x 1.41 (d)

Meet 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.

 

Learn more online at www.fateofnature.com.

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Sort by: Showing all of 5 Customer Reviews

  • Posted June 6, 2010

    Compelling account

    The Fate of Nature examines eco-systems of the PWS in a thoughtful, poetic way. No doubt years of careful personal studies and encounters with wildlife, Native residents and scientists alike have forged this very sensitive and detailed account. Charles Wohlforth's realistic yet optimistic views of where we as a specie on Earth are headed and of where humankind personal responsibilities lie make this book compelling and a must-read as the Gulf spill unfolds before us. It gently reminded me that selfless respect, compassion for all things and a responsible caring way of living might restore health and balance not only to our societies but to the world as a whole.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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