A Review of Something New Under the Sun by Kathe Winkler-Low
Rating: 3 Stars (OK)
The idea of looking at man's impact on the environment over the centuries is intriguing and this book provided a fascinating analysis. Many correlations and consequences were illuminated by the examples and statistics painstakingly documented by the author. However, some topics were overdone while others were merely skimmed. This uneven coverage was frustrating at times, especially when the copious footnotes hinted at yet more material left out of the main text.
An additional frustration was a lack of documentation for solutions, although this was not the stated intent of the book.
Submitted on 2:00 PM on 12/6/05
A Review of Something New Under the Sun by Hilda Salguero
Rating: 4 Stars (Good)
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I thought the subject matter was very diverse from chapter to chapter, and found myself learning something new from each one. I enjoyed reading about the environmental changes that have been made in the 20th century. My only complaint would be that chapter 7 seemed to drag on a little too long. Overall, I found the book to be very educational and an easy read. I will recommend this book to others.
Submitted on 8:49 AM on 12/6/05
A Review of Something New Under the Sun by Ae Ja Kim
Rating: 3 Stars (OK)
In the beginning, this book was a little bit boring to me because of magnitude of information about the earth and environment but I was able to get some diffenrent perspective of our environmental issues by noticing how I had been ignorant of very important issues around us. Because of the same reason, ironically, I thought it was a good textbook for seminar class. A lot of environmental issues this book covered motivated me to have more curiousity of our world environment. However, there were two things to be desired. Some statistics seemed a little out of dated considering this book was published in 2005. Also, it would be better if some of the footnotes at the bottom of almost each page had moved into the main context.
Submitted on 2:53 PM on 12/5/05
A Review of Something New Under the Sun by Nassir Kowdan
Rating: 5 Stars (Excellent)
I really enjoyed reading this wonderful and very informative book. “Something New Under The Sun” is one of those books that after reading each chapter, you feel that you gained a lot of knowledge about the discussed topic. Furthermore, Mr. McNeill illustrated many of his points with data, examples, and graceful linguistic skills. The only recommendation I have for his upcoming editions, if there are any, is to include charts such as: bars and pies. I believe such tools will help reads to have a deeper understanding for the discussed data. ..Thank you
Submitted on 12:30 PM on 12/5/05
A Review of Something New Under the Sun by Hilda Salguero
Rating: 4 Stars (Good)
I thought the book was very diverse in its subject matter from chapter to chapter and learned new things from every one of them. Great details about the environmental history of the 20th century. I enjoyed and thought it was an easy read.
Submitted on 12:05 AM on 12/5/05
A Review of Something New Under the Sun by Mark Jenkins
Rating: 3 Stars (OK)
The book, Something New Under The Sun, is a different kind of book that reflects a lot about history of many different environmental issues. It has lots of really good facts in this book and really doesn’t point fingers at who is at fault for the different issues but it lets us decide for ourselves what the problems are buy showing us the facts and history. It is an interesting concept that I didn’t think much of or maybe I did but I never went into such depth before. The footnotes at the bottom of each page seemed to be the biggest confusion that I ran into while reading this book it was kind of a throw off sort of thing but all around I found the book fascinating and full of history. So if you like history and environmental science I do recommend this book.
Submitted on 4:16 PM on 12/2/05
A Review of Something New Under the Sun by Nicole Garito
Rating: 3 Stars (OK)
For what it was, I would consider this book adequate. A main reason why I think this book didn't stand out to me as a great book to me is the strange style in which it was written. I would have liked to have seen more conceptual content instead of lengthy in-depth examples that just seemed to drag on and on. Also, the occasions where there were conceptual statements, they were often not backed up. When broad generalizations come out of nowhere, it would be nice to see the logic behind them. Thirdly, this book sometimes became tiring because of the insane amount of footnotes. Many seemed to be either unnecessary or to contain information that should have been in the main text to begin with.
On the other hand, the main strength I found in this book was how thorough it was in involving all aspects of environmental history. I do not feel like it left anything to be desired in terms of topics that were covered.
My rating sums up my opinion of this book: OK.
Submitted on 2:18 PM on 12/2/05
A Review of Something New Under the Sun by Heather Bevering
Rating: 4 Stars (Good)
The book was only "Good" because there were lots' of times when I almost fell asleep-- many paragraphs just dragged on, and on, with the same things being said over and over again. But I understand the author was trying to be as thorough as possible so that it could soak into peoples' brains easily-- I guess it soaked into my brain too fast. I liked that the author not only talked about the history and issues of the environment, but also educated us on what things are and why they are important to our needs. So I at least understood what the author was talking about when she/he got to the point.
Submitted on 10:26 AM on 12/1/05
A Review of Something New Under the Sun by Alhaji Suwaneh
Rating: 4 Stars (Good)
I think overall the book is good in discussing the environmental issues of this century. I think the author is very clear and not very scientific which makes it suitable for a variety of readers. However, as an African, I was a little disappointed that war-toned countries in Africa such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, to mention but a view, are not fully discussed. These are countries that have been environmentally exploited because of diamond mines. Despite these shortcomings, I think the book serves a valuable tool for me and makes me more aware of my environment.
Submitted on 9:30 PM on 11/30/05
A Review of Something New Under the Sun by Ryan Stribling
Rating: 4 Stars (Good)
I think the book was a good overall review of the history of environmental impacts in the 20th century. The writer covered a lot of ground in a fairly short amount of time. I personally got a lot of new information from reading the book. However, I found at times that the author struggled with verbage and tone, and was not always a fluid read.
Submitted on 8:39 PM on 11/29/05
A Review of Something New Under the Sun by Austin Buck
Rating: 3 Stars (OK)
The book was interesting becuase it gave the magnitude of many different environmental forces over the twentieth century and gives insight to what may happen in the future. It was neat to read about the effects that humans have had in the twentieth century and the environmental changes that have happened from what we bought, to the politics involved in different areas, to how small chemical inventions such as the CFCs destroyed and are still destroying the ozone layer. When I read the book I felt like I already knew most of the topics covered...but...the book gave a rough estimate to how much each topic affected the environment. If everyone knew this information then the world would deffinately be a better place. The reasons I gave it 3 stars instead of 5 are because there were certain parts that were too emphasized and other areas that I wanted to know about that I felt were underemphasized. It gave a good background to the environmental changes that took place recently and I would recommend it as a good read for yourself but not really for something to be talked on or debated on in class...too broad...gives the big picture but on too many topics.
Submitted on 9:49 PM on 11/28/05
A Review of Something New Under the Sun by Sergey Smirnov
Rating: 4 Stars (Good)
The central thesis of John McNeill's book is given in its title. For once there is something new under the sun. Up to now there has been a pattern for most things: population explosions of particular plants or animals; changes in soil fertility; periodical extinctions; rapid global cooling and rapid global warming; even impacts of objects from outer space. But in the history of life, ever since the cyanobacteria caused the switch to an oxygenated atmosphere some two billion years ago, there has been nothing like the impact of one animal species - our own - on the condition of the earth, and most of it within a single century.
McNeill takes the reader through it inch by inch, with bountiful statistics to support his case. The drastic multiplication of human numbers (now amounting to around five percent of total animal biomass), our ever increasing skills and technology in abusing natural resources, the enormous changes in the earth's cover of water and land, the concentration of humans in cities, and the accelerating extinctions of other organisms, have come together to make a different world.
However, the necessary change of mind is never easy, and the need for one emerges clearly from this book. But McNeill is poorly modest about what direction change should take, and what we should do now. He suggests a new and cleaner energy regime, steps to accelerate lower mortality and fertility, and market interventions in the energy field, together with such desirable initiatives as improvement of education (particularly of girls and women), conversion of "the masses to some creed of ecological restraint" or "coaxing rulers into considering time horizons longer than the next election or coup."
It is not so much the masses - whoever they are - as our leaders in government, industry, business and elsewhere who need to exercise ecological restraint. The arguments and statistics packed into the rest of the book make this ending peculiarly limp. Moreover although McNeill ventures briefly from time to time into the wider biological implications of human impacts, his focus is narrowly human. His case would have been enhanced by a broader treatment of the effects on ecosystems and living organisms among whom we are no more than a small however arrogant part.
Submitted on 1:26 PM on 11/28/05
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