‘Ramblinactivist’ Paul Mobbs’ book review blog, examining a significant, ‘old’, or often overlooked book; but one that provides an insightful analysis of current political or ecological debates.
I’ve been actively researching ecological issues, and their associated political and scientific framework, for almost forty years; at first for personal interest, but that soon developed into a long career as an author, researcher, and consultant.
Over this time I have read many books and scientific reports. As I see issues discussed today, I find that a large amount of valuable insight from past writing and research is being ignored or overlooked because people today are not aware of this historic body of work.
Recent review posts
The four most recent reviews – see the Reviews Archive a complete list of previous reviews:
‘A Book in Five Minutes’, no.28, Strawberry Moon 2023:
Some books get a ‘reputation’ as a result of what people believe they say rather than on a detailed reading of the text. Just a word in the title – for example, ‘collapse’ – can be enough to invalidate their content without any appreciation of what they actually say.
Though, ‘Overshoot’, is ostensibly a book about biophysical limits, the theme that runs through it is about the human propensity for denying obvious facts: Our ability to deceive not only others, but more importantly, ourselves.
Politicians and the media obsess about ‘economic growth’; but what if that ‘glorious thirty years’ of economic expansion from the 1960s has ended? This landmark text of the degrowth movement explores why growth’s ‘end is nigh’, and why this should be welcomed.
Proudhon, Property, and the Political Panic over ‘The Great Resignation’ – how this classic text prefigures the contemporary debate over work and well-being.