Jem Bendell

There's a REALLY good book here... in need of a good editor.

Jem Bendell explains Karl Popper's Falsification theory, Critical Theory and gives the most lucid explanation as to the role of Capitalism in the breakdown of life on Earth. FANTASTIC!

After this, there seems to have been a need to continue. We are told that progress is a bad goal. In fairness, I think that this is probably more clumsy narrative than pro troglodytism: I'm sure that his ire is aimed at the 'progress' that is measured by the number of useless plastic trinkets that can be purchased to prove superiority over a less well endowed person. We then get an extraneous dive into Buddhism. I have nothing against Buddhism, but I struggled to see why it made its way into this book.

The above were all fairly minor irritants but, where I drew the line, was at a rant about Covid. It started with a history of Bubonic Plague during which, the authorities apparently killed pet cats and dogs. This lead to fewer rats being killed and the plague becoming more virulent. This is proof positive that lockdown was a conspiracy. Segregating people was an unnecessary assault upon people's freedom. No mention is made of the United States, where that rational, freedom loving, Mr. Trump took this view (to the cost of many American lives).

Jem then argues, coherently, against an elite uprising to halt the collapse of civilisation but suggests that a group of people who had the foresight to expect collapse to be ready to take over and rounds off with a theory that the Greek story of Atlas shows that the ancient Greeks were aware that man would destroy the planet. I find it hard to believe that even our author bought into that one!

The real pity of this book, is that there are parts that should be compulsive reading for every sentient human being, and other bits that I wouldn't want to let see the light of day.… (mer)

This book is really an expanded paper with a plethora of footnotes and, for the most part, little discussion beyond one-sentence summaries of the references. As a result, it's tough reading, especially for readers trying to get a basic grip on the material. If you've already read numerous climate change books, however, these references may prove stimulating and suggest avenues for expanding your research.

The first section is a useful summary of very recent research on climate change. Spoiler alert. The sobering conclusion is that global cataclysmic disruption from climate change is foreseeable and inevitable. Prepare to be shocked as many have been by reading this book. Four stars for this section.

The remaining sections examine individual and societal reactions to the unprecedented challenges these climate changes will present. I found these sections to be, well, tortured in terms of writing, analysis, and arguments. Two stars for these sections.… (mer)

Wow! That's a book!

I have been a compulsive reader for more than 60 of my 66 years of life. As most serious readers will recognise, in that time, I have read some very silly books, some clever ones and some with life changing philosophies. I think this could well be the most significant that I have ever read.

The theory of Deep Adaptation is too complex for me to sum up in a couple of smart sentences (if, I have ever been capable of such!) so, all that I can do is beg you to read it for yourself. It needs more work and, the more people that get involved, the better the refinement will be.

A word of warning here: this book is only 308 pages long and yet, it took me nearly three weeks of the hardest work, reading a book, that I think that I have ever experienced. There are pages, and indeed chapters, where I screamed, "No!" Some interpretations, I am certainly not ready to accept, at the minute: some, I doubt will ever become part of my climate argument. It is, however, an imperative read.

This book moves the climate argument forward by several miles.… (mer)