agingerg's review against another edition
5.0
Met me where I'm currently at with thinking our society is a sinking ship. But... I really do wonder if she stuck too hard to "our society is going to collapse" because she can't/doesn't see alternatives outside of the ruling-class’s approach to everything. Sure, if we keep doing exactly what we're doing, we'll crash and burn. But what if we let other people, who haven't had a chance to create things/solutions/systems take control, right the ship? She talks about how every society that collapses thinks towards the end, “we’re smart, we can use our smarts to get out of this”. And that they never can. But how many people ruling the collapsing societies at the end of their run say, “you know what? We suck, let’s give the marginalized a chance to run this.” Seems like there could end up being some different results.
kateraed's review against another edition
5.0
Wheatley does what so few in the ecological movement are doing: She looks at the human impact. The information she lays out on how ecological destruction will lead to civilization collapse is frightening and, for those who can accept it, a revelation that should alter our approach to the problems of the coming century.
My only criticism: Wheatley conflates true hope (which faces reality in all its complexity and despair, and says "keep going" anyway) with optimism (which is "oh everything will be okay don't worry"). So she speaks against hope, when she really wants to be speaking against optimism. Without hope, we would sit down and numbly give up (rub ashes on our face? binge Netflix?).
My only criticism: Wheatley conflates true hope (which faces reality in all its complexity and despair, and says "keep going" anyway) with optimism (which is "oh everything will be okay don't worry"). So she speaks against hope, when she really wants to be speaking against optimism. Without hope, we would sit down and numbly give up (rub ashes on our face? binge Netflix?).
alybcan's review against another edition
4.0
Heavy read at times, but really excellent. The breadth of disciplines that she weaves into her work makes for a much deeper, more insightful read than your typical leadership book.
farmeral's review against another edition
4.0
This book is going to be too bleak and too dry for many people. As a coach, I'm glad to have it in my toolkit, because Wheatley does a great job making sense of the current state of the world through a variety of scientific lenses. She makes the case that we're experiencing the decline of our civilization, and that while the chaos we're experiencing is new to us, it's part of a much longer and larger pattern. She doesn't try to paint with a hopeful brush - instead she argues that we should each do as much as we can, with what we have, with the people around us to impact our communities and networks for the better. Lots to chew on in here.
ewf's review against another edition
Important message. Need to go back to it someday--but not right now.
stefanieh's review
4.0
A good, thoughtful and thought-provoking book on leadership in a world heading for collapse. Wheatley is wide read and bring in ideas and theories from physics and biology, social science, psychology, and spiritual traditions to create her proposal for sane leadership. The book is peppered with inspirational quotes and lovely black and white photos. At the base of good leadership is a constant working on the self and choosing who you want to be. There are great notes on resources and a for further reading section as well.
More...