Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist and Other Essays

Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist and Other Essays by Paul Kingsnorth, 284 pages



Kingsnorth is English and England plays a part in several of his essays. In fact, the political mood that ended up leading to England voting to leave the EU (although he doesn't talk about Brexit) is talked about several times.

Through the essays we find out how he became an environmentalist and decided he didn't want to be one anymore. It isn't that he no longer cares about the Earth and how it is treated. Rather, he has broken ranks with what environmentalists believe. He believes civilization will collapse at some point and we are better off preparing for what comes after. Environmentalists see this as giving up. Even more scary to him is the possibility of us surviving in a world that is devoid of nature and the wild.

Kingsnorth does not say that he has answers. He presents alternative explanations and possible paths to explore.

Kingsnorth has a bleak and pretty unique viewpoint. People who care about the environment are likely to find this book depressing. Despite that, I would recommend it and consider it worthwhile reading.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, 300 pages

After finding the notes of a famed alchemist, an intrepid Professor and his skeptical nephew embark upon an expedition to discover a passage to the Earth's core. Together with their devoted guide Hans they journey down an extinct Icelandic volcano and discover an astonishing subterranean world.

To me this wasn't as good as some of Verne's previous books that I read. I felt that the slower pace at the beginning of the book made it a little harder to get into. The characters themselves weren't all that interesting as we really don't learn that much about them, that and the wordy over descriptiveness hinder the enjoyment of this book.