The New Village Green: Living Light, Living Local, ... (ISBN 0865715998)

What's Right!:
Too many books today tell us what's wrong in the world without offering real, practical solutions. Morris has brought together many different voices and perspectives on all manner of topics, each shining a bright light down a path already cleared to the New Village Green. The variety of voices and subjects makes every page fresh. This book is inspirational, enlightening, and fun to read. It offers solutions to the worldly woes we like to ignore, and shows us what's going right!

MANY THANKS:
It is a unique occasion when one feels they are making a connection with our planet's current heroes. For that I say many thanks to Stephen Morris and the Editors of the Green Living Journal. By including writings by or on Rachel Carson, Euell Gibbons, Lynn Margulis, and Dan Chiras, The New Village Green has the beginnings of a new kind of encyclopedia. Drawn from wisdom already in print and requiring only reprint rights its' essays will challenge you, enlighten you, and remind you: we are all in this together. Whatever area of our cosmos you inhabit, caring for it and yourself is our best bet for not making the "what became extinct in the 21st century" list. Arrived at after viewing pictures of the Earth from space concepts like James Lovelock's Gaia Theory, Masanobu Fukuoka's One Straw Revolution,and Bill McKibben's book The End of Nature which explained climate change to a mass audience, have been around awhile. Presenting them along with the new thoughts of Tamsyn Jones on the importance of soil and Eben Fodor's ideas on solar food drying shows the wide variety of essayists and brilliant choices by the editors. And while you are also learning about corn moons, magical flocks, Salt Spring Island dollars, and eco-hoods, begin to think of all the places that could use a copy of this book. It's one of the cheapest ways out there to get those around us excited about the possibilities it puts forth about regaining the balance we once enjoyed on our planet.

Great bedside book:
The New Village Green is a collection of essays and quotes meant to be read at different times, whenever the need for inspiration arises. The organization of the readings may confuse the reader who expects a story from start to finish, but like the snippets of conversation one hears in their own village green, this book is like being in the midst of a gathering of folks who all have different stories to share. Stephen Morris provides a comprehensive collection of the voices of the sustainability movement, with some old familiar faces and some new words of wisdom. This is a great book for people who have been working within or intrigued with the sustainability movement who want a great bedside book to pick up now and then. The New Village Green is like fine wine, you'll want to have it in your collection on your bookshelf but to also keep it nearby so you can share it with friends.

Enjoyable, Informative, Timely!:
I won't repeat the accurate comments of the other reviewers who gave this book 5 stars, but I wanted to add a few things. This book is a broad collection of short essays (just right for my short attention span) on myriad topics from green building to the value of local foods, from green weddings to commuting by bicycle. Writers range from Dave Smith (Smith & Hawken) to Michael Pollen (actually, an interview with him) to Rachel Carson. Every few pages you're greeted by a new topic, a new author, a new set of ideas, and frequent side-bar quotes and recommendations for further reading. This an enjoyable book for anyone interested in learning more about the planet and new (and not-so-new) ways to live sustainably. Highly recommended!