The Edge of Extinction by Jules Pretty

The Edge of Extinction by Jules Pretty

Jules Pretty explores life and change in a dozen environments and cultures across the world, taking us on a series of remarkable journeys to show that there are many different ways to live in cooperation with nature.

[Pretty] describes an astonishing diversity of human experience in which our species has learned to live well with, rather than against, nature and often each other

-- Andrew Simms * The Guardian *

Jules Pretty traveled the world to find places where people live and work in concert with the land. In this book, he shares his story of these travels and the people he met along the way to emphasize the utter importance of caring for what we have before we have it no more.... He shares these stories to honor them and to educate us.

-- REH * Wildlife Activist *

The key to a long term sustainable future is an appeal to a loving care of beauty and the vibrant communities it gives rise to, rather than either the instilling of fear of catastrophe or utilitarian calculation. It is, finally, this recurring testimony that makes the book not only a thoughtful exploration of the lives of others, genuinely other, tracking different paths to the mainstream, but a tracing of the patterns of what it might mean to love a place and be at home in it. The homes themselves are all strikingly different but bound by being places that first and foremost are genuinely listened to—its possibilities and the stories it can give rise to.

-- Nicholas Colloff * Network Review *

Pretty (environment and society, Univ. of Essex; The Earth Only Endures) provides the reader with a verbal feast for the senses while detailing his experiences in a variety of landscapes, from the steppes of Russia to the farmland of Ohio's Amish country. The author reveals the ways in which many people around the globe continue to live in harmony with the land despite the unavoidable encroachment of modern technology and values. In what could be considered either a strength of the book or a weakness, Pretty stays away from divisive political statements regarding environmentalism, though he does advocate for governments to allow the indigenous peoples of their land to live with minimal intervention. This work is no political rallying cry; rather it is a celebration of the beauty and culture of "extreme" landscapes and slower lifestyles the world over. VERDICT Readers who delight in detailed travel writing will relish Pretty's masterly descriptions of deserts, swamps, and mountains, as well as the daily activities of those who live in these environments.

* Library Journal *

Jules Pretty is Professor of Environment and Society at the University of Essex. He is the author of many books, including This Luminous Coast, The Earth Only Endures, Agri-Culture, and Regenerating Agriculture.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780801453304
ISBN 10	0801453305
Title	The Edge of Extinction
Author	Jules Pretty
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Cornell University Press
Year published	2014-12-18
Number of pages	240
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.