The Last Tree on Easter Island

Oct 8, 2024 6:40 AM

Author:Jared Diamond

In twenty short books, Penguin brings you the classics of the environmental movement.

This is Jared Diamond's haunting account of visiting the mysterious stone statues of Easter Island, showing how a remote civilization destroyed itself by exploiting its own natural resources - and why we must heed this warning.

Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary thinkers around the world have raised their voices to defend the planet, and affirm our place at the heart of its restoration. Their words have endured through the decades, becoming the classics of a movement. Together, these books show the richness of environmental thought, and point the way to a fairer, saner, greener world.

Reviews

Smith takes readers on a tour of the world's great rivers. The result is fascinating, eye-opening, sometimes alarming, and ultimately inspiring.

—— Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction

A tour de force - a narrative as powerful as the rivers he documents. He is up there with Jared Diamond - a storyteller with real craft. From Herodotus musing on the Nile to the dam makers of modern China, this is their story.

—— Fred Pearce, author of When The Rivers Run Dry

This book about rivers is as fascinating as it is beautifully written

—— Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs and Steel, and Upheaval

Passionate... and infectiously enthusiastic ... an eclectic journey through several millennia.

—— Victor Mallet , The Financial Times

Instructive and entertaining. Smith's prose is clear and he explains scientific concepts well.

—— The Times

A hymn to hydrology ancient and modern.

—— The Spectator

With scholarship, literary flair, and a personal touch, Smith takes the reader on a fascinating and surprising voyage of discovery. He also sounds a clarion call for all of us to invest in protecting our rivers as a means of improving our own lives.

—— Eric Jay Dolin, bestselling author of Black Flags, Blue Waters

How can one write a world history of rivers? Laurence C. Smith triumphantly meets the challenge, fluently comparing the role of rivers in wartime, in trade, in water management, in floods and droughts, and, looking to the future, in a world of rising temperatures.

—— David Abulafia, author of The Boundless Sea

Engaging, informative, magisterial in its coverage, intimidating in the scope of its command of the material, there's no end to the good things to be said about this book.

—— Geography Realm

Absorbing. Smith is not only an excellent storyteller, he is also perhaps the world's leading scientist using satellites to unlock the secrets of the planet's rivers. His deep understanding will inspire readers to see rivers in wholly new and surprising ways.

—— Paul Bates, Professor of Hydrology, University of Bristol

Smith demonstrates compellingly and engagingly that rivers have played a key role in the development of nations and, indeed, of humankind itself.

—— Professor Julian Dowdeswell, Director of the Scott Centre for Polar Research, University of Cambridge

[Winterson] reflects on the history - and future - of technology in essays that whirr with anarchic intelligence

—— Daily Telegraph

What makes this audiobook essential listening is not just its content...but the electricity of Winterson's narration. Lively, funny...the 12 essays in 12 Bytes use history, science fiction and electronics to extend our mental horizons.

—— Christina Hardyment , The Times, *Audiobook of the Week*

Wry, reflective and acerbic essays looking at the impact of artificial intelligence.

—— Guardian

Previous Article：Rivers of Power Next Article：The Consequences of Love

Comments

Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.