The Best Ten
Population Books
Collapse
- Jared Diamond
Diamond examines why past societies, such as the Easter Islanders, the Anasazi, and the Viking
colonies of Greenland, suffered dramatic collapses. The primary culprit was the destruction of their
environment - many times by their own actions - and their failure to recognize the ultimate
consequences until it was too late. The story of the Easter Islanders is exactly what is happening
today - except on a world-wide scale. Don't say you weren't warned.
Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change
- William R. Catton Jr.
First published in the early 1980's, this classic remains as relevant today as then - probably more
so. Go read the reviews on the Amazon page (referenced above).
Eating Fossil Fuels: Oil, Food and the Coming Crisis in Agriculture
- Dale Pfeiffer
Pfeiffer examines the link between fossil fuels and the Green Revolution in agriculture that made
possible the last few decades of excessive population growth. Basic message: when oil goes away,
we won't be able to produce enough food. Simple, obvious…and frightening.
Limits to Growth: The 30 Year Global Update
- Meadows, Rander, and Meadows
This is the second update (by the same authors) of the classic "The Limits to Growth" first published
in 1974 by the Club of Rome. Detailed analysis and lots of science support the proposition that a
collapse of frightening proportions is inevitable unless we change our behavior dramatically and soon
(unlikely...).
The World Without Us
- Alan Weisman
Weisman's great thought-experiment description of what the world would look like, and how it would
change over time, if all humans suddenly went away. Not just personnel speculation, Weisman
consults many experts and travels to remote places (including Chernobyl) to give authority to his
projections. A fascinating read.
Endgame
- Derrick Jensen
(From the Press Action website) "The recipient of this award was never in doubt. Derrick Jensen's
Endgame, released in late spring, was the best work of nonfiction in 2006. Given the significance of
its subject matter and the urgency of Jensen's message, Endgame is the most important book of the
decade and could stand as the must-read book of our lifetimes. But be careful. The book is likely to
send you into periods of despondency over the bleak future of the planet."
Jensen stands alone as the eloquent spokesperson of the real truth.
The Ismael Trilogy
- Daniel Quinn
Telepathic conversations with a gorilla in captivity. If you've educated yourself to the extent that you
can almost see the staircase and want to take the next step - then read these iconic classics.
Quoting Ishmael (the gorilla):
"There's nothing fundamentally wrong with people. Given a story to enact that puts them in accord
with the world, they will live in accord with the world. But given a story to enact that puts them at
odds with the world, as yours does, they will live at odds with the world. Given a story to enact, in
which they are the lords of the world, they will act as the lords of the world. And, given a story to
enact in which the world is a foe to be conquered they will conquer it like a foe, and one day,
inevitably, their foe will lie bleeding to death at their feet, as the world is now."
The Eden Proposition
- Kurt Dahl
An exploration of the unthinkable alternative to unstopable population growth. In this novel, set in the
near future, one man of extrodinary means decides to take matters into his own hands. What
transpires is shocking, thought provoking, and ultimately frightening in its realism and plausibility. A
can't-put-it-down thriller that will stretch your thinking to the breaking point. A must read if you care
about this issue.
Gardening in Hard Times - Steve Solomon
Seed to Seed: Seed saving techniques - Ashworth and Whealy
Preserving Food Without Canning or Freezing
Want some brutally honest advice?? Here it is: teach your children how to grow and preserve food. It
is likely to be a far more important skill than anything they will learn in college. And even if it turns
out that it is not strictly necessary - it's still a good thing to do.
(Return to home page)
Send any suggestions for additions to this "TopTen" list to populationelephant@gmail.com