Hopedance

The present ecological and social peril and the future salvation of humanity if we take drastic, remedial steps immediately are subjects about which William Kötke is clearly passionate. His 1993 book, THE FINAL EMPIRE: The Collapse of Civilization and the Seed of the Future, is, at 401 pages, a more detailed and scholarly treatment of the same material. THE FINAL EMPIRE has become something of a cult favorite and although out-of-print, may be found in used bookstores and on Amazon.com. As a newly published redux, GARDEN PLANET may, perhaps, find an even wider audience and awaken more people to the imminent ecological danger we face.

Kötke draws on a wide array of data and examples throughout Garden Planet, and especially in the first 20 pages, where he brings together a cogent argument that we are not only approaching collapse, we are well into it. This set-up may be a little too much gloom-and-doom for many, but, as he promises in the first chapter, the author does go on to present his ideas about what it will take to consummate what he calls the phase change of our species.

Many of the solutions and strategies Kötke presents are, he admits, already on the ground and in practice, having "intuitively come up out of the masses of us." Likewise, many of the ideas and materials he writes about have been described and discussed much better in other literature, including the growing wealth of books, articles, periodicals and websites about permaculture and the intentional communities movement, to name two topics treated in some depth.

Kötke cites impressive, often disturbing statistics and anecdotal information from cultural anthropology, the military, biology, linguistics, spiritualism, psychology, permaculture, and other fields to support his case. I wish he had consistently supplied more complete reference information about these facts, figures and quotes. There are too many mysterious and unaccredited references, such as "a secret study done by the Pentagon and recently obtained by the media..." to really cement his position, especially to the skeptical. Careful acknowledgement of his sources and a bibliography would have been extremely helpful to readers. But to his credit, Kötke does present a big picture that will certainly provoke thought in readers who have little or no prior exposure to the issues and ideas he covers, though more references would have led them to more in-depth information.

The book unfortunately perpetuates a widely-held misconception about permaculture. Kötke specifically refers to permaculture as a food-growing strategy. In fact, the ethics and principles of permaculture as created, codified and re- and re-defined by its originators, Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, apply to much more than gardening or farming. Social and community structures, economics and energy are also part of its gestalt.

I found Kötke’s writing style difficult. He can’t seem to make up his mind whether to write in dry academic style or in a more familiar, reader-friendly voice. While I am sure his intention is to be inclusive and inviting, his use of "We" (for example, "We are discussing the creation of a new world." Or "We are growing a wide diversity of foods." ) comes off a bit patronizingly professorish.

In spite of its shortcomings, GARDEN PLANET is an impassioned and right-spirited call to action just when we need it most.

Scott Horton is a permaculture designer and teacher and eco-artist who recently moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to the San Jacinto Mountains of Southern California. The Softcover price is $12.95 and the hardcover price is 22.95. These can be ordered from AuthorHouse at (888) 280-7715. The EBook price is $3.95. http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/literaryservices (All contact info at this site) Free download of the underground classic book: THE FINAL EMPIRE at: http://www.Rainbowbody.net/Finalempire