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HomeBooks and VideoThe Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century |
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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 The Long Emergency Apr 21, 2010
I enjoyed this book because it made me think. Where would I like to be living when the long emergency really takes hold? What would I like to be doing? What could I do to organize the society around me to protect my family?
Kunstler describes the collision when the end of cheap oil meets global warming. He discusses the end of cheap oil in depth, he discusses the potential results of global warming in depth and then visits various geographic areas and shows the impact we can expect from this collision.
As someone who lives in Southern California I am certainly aware of the drying of the southwest. It's interesting to watch how other areas are faring - how West Nile Virus progresses through the country as the line of warmth moves northward - ditto for malaria.
If I have a problem with this book it's that there are no suggested action steps that would act as a guide for people who believe what Kunstler wrote. He himself is taking no more action than to use his bike more often and to pledge not to replace his car. Perhaps that's for another book. Perhaps that's for another author.
Joan MeijerLucifer's Hammer : Complete & Unabridged
author of "Tranquillity Initiative"
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Heard that already... Mar 17, 2010
I thought that this book was a little boring because it just rehashed material that I have heard before: localizing the market, how the government must gain the public's trust, etc. I was looking for a book that supplied interesting facts and statistics about our current situation and I didn't find it here. The way the book was worded and the complicated vocabulary just didn't excite me.
prescribed read for anyone with a brain Feb 11, 2010
This book tells all those truths that nobody wants to hear. Hard truths that we need to hear. Beware anyone who does not heed this advice.
Admirably written in a language understandable to all. Wide ranging in its scope but always right on target with solid arguments. Essential reading.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Review of "The Long Emergency" Nov 30, 2009
"The Long Emergency" by James Kunstler is a must read for any individual who wants a stark and frigtening look into the future that await the End of Oil. Kunstler has done his homework. Big Oil wants us to believe that there's no end to oil; that cheap fossil fuel will continue to be pumped from wells far into the future if only they can drill where they want to.
Kunstler shows why this is not so, and is abacked by a dozen or so of Americas leading geologists, some investment bankers, and an "oil engineer." The Big Oil companies want us to believe the end is not near in order to keep the price of their stocks from dropping. But, as Kunstler points out, they are not building any new infrastructure and machinery for doing that, in spite of the fact the present infrastructure, the pumps and refineries are wearing out.
A look into the future with Kunstler is not for those who a weak of heart or who are more comfortable reminaing in denial. It is a truly frigntening look. Roughly 99% of all the artifacts and agriculture you see around yourself is dependent on fossil fuels. If you read "The Long Emergency" you will never see the world in the same light. It even affected a dream of mine about a week after I read it.The World's Greatest Books Volume 02 Fiction
0 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 Surviving James Kunstler Nov 16, 2009
Kunstler fails to demonstrate a basic knowledge of foreign policy or history. In addition to the inaccuracies in the the historical and international-relations perspective. Kunstler also makes many questionable if not contradictory arguments.
Some of Kunstler's claims are downright contradictory. For example, in the section about alternative fuels he points out the necessity of cars. Earlier in the book he's railing against the disconnect between SUV drivers and oil dependency, however, the situation is as dire as Kunstler alleges it is, the car paradgim will have to shift (he alludes to this).
Kunstler alleges that the rural lifestyle is better prepared for surviving the "long emergency." He overlooks the fact that: (1) car dependency is inherent in such a lifestyle; (2) in many parts of the country such a lifestyle is only possible because of subsidies. If the paradigm Kunstler advocates is correct, the subsidies will eventually go away.
Moreover, Kunstler's rants against all things corporate did not lend credibility to himself. He selectively cites Matthew Simmons' work on the possible peaking of Saudi Arabia fields, but with undertones that Simmons worked for the "evil industry."
Kunstler lost any credibility he had left in the final section when he started stereotyping: e.g. everyone in the South is a bible-thumper, people in the Rocky Mountains are survivalists who want to violently overthrow the government, etc.
I agree with the premise that there will be a paradigm shift in the American lifestyle and as well as a decline in the American standard of living. However, Kunstler played fast and loose with the facts and made too many far-fetched arguments to be taken seriously. A much better book for anyone interested in oil-dependency and the possible paradigm shifts related to to it is $20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better" This book ($20 per gallon) has its flaws and its assumptions a stretch at times, it is a far better read that "The Long Emergency."
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