The Ecology of Eden

This author has a rare ability of turning prose into poetry. Much of what I could write about his work I could borrow from descriptions of other science/philosophy/biology writers such as Carl Sagan, Stephen Pinkard or Daniel Dennett (but with a poetic touch). He's THAT good. Maybe I'll add more to this review later but for now I can say it's BRILLIANT AND ENGROSSING. Super fine book.

You can tell Mr. Eisenberg has a mastery of the broad scope of disciplines that this book covers. Much of what I could write about his work I could borrow from descriptions of other science/philosophy/biology writers such as Carl Sagan, Stephen Pinkard or Daniel Dennett (but with a poetic touch). He's THAT good. Maybe I'll add more to this review later but for now I can say it's BRILLIANT AND ENGROSSING. Super fine book.

This book is one of my all time favorites. It continues to influence and enrich me to this day. The style of the book is more conversational than scientific; its information is trustworthy and well researched. The central arguement of the tower (city) versus the mountain (wilderness) is facinating and as a former urban and environmental studies major in college, I loved the connection. Weaving together myth and religion, human history and natural history, it offers a compelling structure for understanding the relationship between humans and the physical world.

I read with disbelief some of the reviews, because I thought this book a work of genius - one of the very few that bridge the gulf between a scientifc and an arts view of history. My impression is that one reviewer is a fundamentalist Christian and that the others are mostly narrow scientists unfamiliar with ideas about myth and metaphor. Each seems to slate the book because it is not written from the standpoint of the reviewer's specialist interest. My own problem with the book was the many Americanisms and analogies from baseball and other sports about which I am too narrow to be informed, but I am not willing to knock off even half a star for that. I have made it my top recommendation for students of human ecology.

This is the essential book for understanding the next wave of environmental consciousness. Eisenberg is a gifted writer and an engaging guide on a journey that takes us from paradises lost to the ecology of bioengineering. This is THE book you need to read to comprehend where we are, have been, and need to go in our relationship with this planet.