Reviews

Books

The World Until Yesterday, by Jared Diamond, check out the great review from Chris Knight that we re-posted on the EF! Newswire.

The Divergent Trilogy, by Veronica Roth. Review “Another Revolutionary Tale for the Youth of a Crumbling Empire” by Luke. C, youth correspondent for the EF! Newswire

The Rebirth of Environmentalism, by Doug Bevington, 2009, Island Press. Click here for excerpts from, and comments on, this excellent book of the environment movements history, and how Earth First! and other no-compromise environmental groups shaped some of the most substantial victories ever won.

Technological Slavery: The collected writings of Theodore J. Kaczynski, 2009, Feral House. Click here for the an in-depth review by the Earth First! Journal.

The Post Carbon Reader, Edited by Richard Heinberg and Daniel Lerch; Watershed Media, Healsburg, CA 2010; 523 pgs. The Post Carbon Reader is a fantastic introduction to the fight against climate change. The editors bring together a tour de force of authors from scientific and activist communities to discuss topics ranging from global justice to sustainable community organizing. With authors like Bill McKibben and Heinberg, himself, it is difficult to pin down the greatest contribution in this collection, but if I had to narrow it down, I would say that EF!er Stephanie Mills’ beautifully wrought essay, “Peak Nature” hits all the most important points. Mills brings a brilliant array of vivid facts to reveal the delicate fiber of biodiversity that forms the tapestry of live on Earth. Bill Sheehan and Helen Spiegelman’s “Climate Change, Peak Oil, and the End of Waste” is another hit, elucidating new horizons of low-impact human existence. Some may argue that articles in The Post Carbon Reader don’t go far enough in resolving to fight climate change but, by and large, fascinating insights in the fields of anthropology, psychology and economics make this entire book a must-read for scholars interested in knowing the most recent figures and data of climate change and peak oil, as well as action-oriented activists looking for ways of getting out and changing the world. [Review by Sasha]

The Heart of the Monster: Why the Pacific Northwest & Northern Rockies must not become an ExxonMobil conduit to the Alberta tar sands, By David James Duncan and Rick Bass. Published and distributed by All Against The Haul, 2010. Click here to see feature review.

Sparking a Worldwide Energy Revolution, edited by Kolya Abramsky, AK Press, 2010. Click here to see feature review.

We Are an Image From the Future, by Void Network, et al, AK Press, 2009. Click here to see article on the Greek insurrection of 2008 published in the 30th Anniversary edition of the Earth First! Journal, featuring this great book.

Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed our Most Alluring Fruit, by Barry Estebrook, 2011, Andrews McMeel Publishing. Click here for the full EF! Newswire book review, “One fruits story of modern civilization,” by Sasha.

Dancing With Dynamite: States and Social Movements in Latin America, by Ben Dangl, AK Press, 2010. Check out an EF! Newswire reviewer’s reflection on how the stories of this book relate to the #Occupy movement, even considering the role of Earth First! activists in the dynamic of the “dynamite dance.”

William Morris: Romantic to Revolutionary,by EP Thompson, PM Press, 2011. Check out the EF! Newswire’s featured review, “The leading passion of my life has been and is hatred of modern civilization.”

The Natures of Maps, by Denis Wood & John Fels, Chicago University Press, 2008. Featured review, “The Problem with Mapping the World,” by Sasha.

Gun Thugs, Rednecks, and Radicals: A Documentary History of the West Virginia Mine Wars, by David Alan Corbin, PM Press, 2011. Feature review by Sasha,“The West Virginia Mine Wars, Then and Now.”

Green is the New Red, by Will Potter, City Lights 2011. Check out the EF! Newswire’s feature review.

Man Swarm, by Dave Foreman, Ravens Eye Press LLC, 2011. The human population explosion is indeed a terrible by-product of industrial civilization, but that’s no excuse to go associating yourselves with anti-immigrant bigots and white supremacists. C’mon Dave…

Send us your short reviews of both current and classic books, films, music and other forms of art or media relevant to the eco-resistance for consideration on the Earth First! Newswire. We also post longer “feature” reviews on occasion. Contact us if you are interested in writing for this section at collective[at]earthfirstjournal.org. Please put “Newswire Submission” in the subject line.

Films

Hunger Games, feature length review of the film and book trilogy. Check it out

Bold Native, feature length fictional account of life underground with the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). Click here to read a review and interview with writer and director, Denis Henry Hennely, by the Earth First! Journal.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes, From an Earth First! Film Review: “While the characters and quality of plot are typical of Hollywood hogwash, some underlying themes and concepts of the film standout as worthy of discussion and excitement. Biotech, human supremacy, animal sentience, apes liberating themselves from labs, zoos, and pet-hood and defeating a fully armed riot squad of police, make for an ALF wet dream…” [click to read the rest]

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, click here to read an interview with Daniel McGowan, inspired by the film.

The Last Mountain, directed by Bill Haney, Solid Ground Films, 2011. Official selection at Sundance Film Fest. Read our feature review by Sasha.

The Big Trees, featuring Eve Miller and Kirk Douglas, read the EF! Newswire’s exclusive belated review, Armed Struggle for the Redwood.

Music

Reviews of environmentally-based, deep ecology-oriented, direct action-themed and Earth First! specific music can be e-mailed to collective[at]earthfirstjournal.org. Include “Newswire Submission” in the subject line.