Social Ecology after Bookchin

Book Description

For close to four decades, Murray Bookchin's eco-anarchist theory of social ecology has inspired philosophers and activists working to link environmental concerns with the desire for a free and egalitarian society. New veins of social ecology are now emerging, both extending and challenging Bookchin's ideas. For this instructive book, Andrew Light has assembled leading theorists to contemplate the next steps in the development of social ecology. Topics covered include reassessing ecological ethics, combining social ecology and feminism, building decentralized communities, evaluating new technology, relating theory to activism, and improving social ecology through interaction with other left traditions.

Customer Reviews:

The Lyin' in Winter.......2000-10-23

This is the third book in print about Murray Bookchin -- the others are BEYOND BOOKCHIN and ANARCHY AFTER LEFTISM -- with the words "After" or "Beyond" in their titles. They reflect an emergent consensus that Bookchin, long overrated as a social theorist, now stands for opinions mostly untenable and increasingly ridiculous. The contributors to this book should know -- most are his former followers and, in several cases, his closest collaborators. They show him rather more respect than Bookchin has ever shown to them, or to any of his other critics. But if their criticisms are understated they are nonetheless stated, and they are devastating. Implicit in these essays, as in the title of the book, is the judgment that it is no longer worthwhile even to read and engage with Bookchin's eccentric ideas about natural and human evolution, urbanism, ecology and anarchism.

In recent years, Bookchin has increasingly reverted to his original Marxism, including its mystical metaphysics, dialectics. Part I of this book deals with the arbitrariness and obscurantism of the way he divines, by some occult faculty, the "directionality" of nature, and its inherent ethical content. It is pointed out that these intuitions are without emperical grounding and seem to be denied to everybody else (except, I should say, the Catholic theologian Teilhard de Chardin -- but Teilhard, like Hegel, could assign the purposefulness of the Universe to God, wheeras Bookchin is an atheist).

Part II addresses the most glaring contradictions in Bookchin's social philosophy. The founder of social ecology is at the same time a strident advocate of "municipal socialism" and high technology. Even aside from the absurdity of sovereign city-states in the 21st century, obviously the city has always had a more or less adverse impact on the environment, and this is still more obvious with respect to technology. It's amazing that someone who, as does Bookchin, exhibits hatred for nature not under human control -- for wilderness (which, inconsistently, he sometimes says does not exist) -- can refer to himself as any kind of an ecologist.

In Part III, several contributors explore the ways in which Bookchin has used and abused anthropology and history. Bookchin insists that in essence, the city tends toward widely-based direct democracy. In fact, every self-governing city in history -- including Bookchin's beloved Athens -- was an oligarchy, and change is invariably in the direction of smaller, tighter oligarchy. As for ethnography, Bookchin uses these materials both carelessly and tendentiously to bolster curious theses (such as gerontocracy as the origin of social stratification)the contributors reasonably consider to be not only unproven but irrelevant to social ecology.

The contributors combine politeness reflecting their former adherence to Bookchin with an implicit impatience to go forward with what they consider to be still viable in his social ecology. Certainly, after reading this book no one would have any reason to waste his time reading Bookchin himself, at least not the Bookchin of the last 20 years.

dont waste your time.......2000-04-23

I read this after reading Bookchins Anarchism, Marxism, and theFuture of the Left.

If you must read this book, please do yourself afavor and read some of Bookchins work also. ...

the most intelligent response to Bookchin yet published.......1999-03-29

Don't believe the vituperative bile of orthodox social ecologists on this book. The mere fact that they're so peeved means the book is good. Murray Bookchin has systematically attacked all his former students who have disagreed with him in even the slightest ways, typical of totalitarian minds or whining leftists everywhere. John Clark and other former students who contributed to the volume have been systematically cast off from the fold. This book dares to take social ecology seriously, with great respect to Bookchin. To take the approach seriously, you may start with Bookchin, but should go beyond Bookchin. It's such a shame that such a smart man has gotten so full of himself that he can't take even a whiff of criticism. May social ecology evolve, thrive, and move beyond its cranky founder at last! This book shows the way...

An extremely hostile collection of essays........1999-01-23

The book is a strange collection of essays, mostly written by people extremely hostile to their subject. There's not even a common thread in the book. The claim of the editor that this collection could be considered a 'tribute' to Bookchin is absurd.

Largely hostile to Bookchin and social ecology........1999-01-11

The title "Social Ecology After Bookchin" suggests that the essays in this book build on the left-libertarian political philosophy that Bookchin formulated under the name social ecology starting in the 1960s, and which has since gained an international reputation. But these essays do no such thing. Most of them are written by critics of social ecology and by those who wish to remake social ecology according to their own political beliefs. Not surprisingly, in this era when the entire political spectrum has shifted to the right, those beliefs are generally more conservative than Bookchin's. For example, where Bookchin's social ecology is explicitly libertarian-communist, antistatist, secular, and social-revolutionary, some of these authors look with favor on economic enterprise, the state, mysticism/spirituality, and reformism. The creation of the book appears to have been motivated by hostility to Bookchin, yet ironically a great part of its sales will probably result from the fact that the title contains the name "Murray Bookchin."

The anthology is part of a Guilford series whose overall editor, James O'Connor, is a Marxist and hence politically antipathetic to Bookchin's left-libertarian ideas. Nor are many of the others invovled in the book social ecologists at all. To be sure, John Clark and David Watson call themselves social ecologists at present, but they are determined to "reformulate" social ecology in the mystical terms they prefer. But others do not even claim to be social ecologists. The editor, Andrew Light, is an avowed democratic socialist, while among the contributors, the "ecocentric" Robyn Eckersley is far closer to deep ecology, and Joel Kovel and (to all appearances) Alan Rudy are Marxists. Tellingly, no one who teaches, alongside Bookchin, at the Institute for Social Ecology in Vermont contributed an essay to this book.

Nor do the essays, taken together, constitute a coherent critique of Bookchin's social ecology. Some, for example, criticize him for being a Marxist, while others criticism for his libertarianism. Many of the essays are greatly ad hominem, concerned at least as much with Bookchin's personal manners and habits, and with his supposed (but nonexistent) claim to "possess" social ecology, as they are with the content of his ideas. One essay, by a psychiatrist, even psychoanalyzes Bookchin, concluding that he has a "Messiah complex." This level of discussion could not be much lower.

I live with Bookchin, so I know the following story is true. In 1995-96 when Bookchin learned that this project was under way, he contacted Guilford, asking to be given the opportunity to write an essay in response to the criticisms, for inclusion at the end of the book. (This is a courtesy commonly extended to individuals who are subjects of critical anthologies while they are still alive.) Editor Andrew Light held a referendum among the contributors: Should Bookchin be permitted to respond to them? Their majority reply was no, he should not. What were they afraid of?

Book Description

Insight City Guides draw on the best features of the original Insight Guides, combining insightful writing and lavish full-colour photography with a more portable format and greater emphasis on practical information to create the most complete portable travel guide. .Magazine-style articles .Lively essays written by local writers on culture, history, and people .Expert evaluations of must-see-sites - plus maps and floor plans .A bonus "take-it-with-you" Mini Restaurant Guide and City Map .An 8-12 page street atlas .Tabbed Travel Tips section for quick reference .Comfortable, rounded spine makes these volumes ideal for use on the go

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One of an excellent series of travel books
.Eyewitness: Moscow
DK Eyewitness Travel Guides- Moscow & Prague
GOOD, BUT NOT GREAT
Moscow for Dummies

Insight Guides: Moscow (Insight Guides)

Manufacturer: Apa Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0395664365

Book Description

The guide that shows you what other travel books only tell you!

A city of opulent architecture, striking art, and history of epic proportions, Russia's cultural showplace is vividly depicted in DK's Eyewitness Travel Guide: Moscow. The guide covers the city's five main sections with street-by-street maps and 3-D aerial illustrations that lead you to many magnificent sights. View major works of Renoir, Cezanne, Matisse, and Botticelli at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Examine art collected by the tsars and their families at the State Armory. Additional sections highlight the Bolshoy Theatre, St. Basil's Cathedral, and the Tretyakov Gallery. In the Beyond Moscow chapter explore the Novodevichiy Center, the elaborate gardens at the Kuskove Estate, and the village of Kolomenskoe. The guide also provides an enthralling overview to the city's turbulent history, outstanding cultural contributions, remarkable people, and regional cuisine.

Customer Reviews:

One of an excellent series of travel books.......2007-01-07

I have used this series for other cities and have found them always excellent, the best at what they do.

.Eyewitness: Moscow .......2007-01-05

This book gives ou a nice overview of the region, and incredible specific tips for visiting Moscow.

DK Eyewitness Travel Guides- Moscow & Prague.......2006-03-24

These are by far the best travel books out there, because of the detailed picture maps and the specific historical info for each area of the cities.

GOOD, BUT NOT GREAT.......2005-08-23

Its up to the minute information is invaluable as you travel around St. Petersburg. But, its AAA apearance is so dull you hardly want to use it. My recommendation is to buy this for the current info. and the EYEWITNESS GUIDE for its intelligent and beautifully illustrated usability.

Moscow for Dummies.......2004-01-03

Greetings,

As the founder of a company devoted to enriching cultural and business travel to Russia, we are always looking for a good, general guidebook for clients. We give "Moscow Eyewitness Travel Guide" to all of our full-service clients going to Moscow. It is a good visual and historic guide to St Petersburg,

We call "Moscow Eyewitness Travel Guide" the "Moscow for Dummies" as it is designed to be browsed. The thumbnail-sized color photographs will inspire you to read a bit more about the attractions, so it is ideal to review before the trip, as well as during the first meeting with a local tour guide ("Gee, this building looks interesting, how do I see it?"). Most of our clients read the book before going, and put Post-It notes on pages with interesting attractions to ask about.

"Moscow Eyewitness Travel Guide" is also ideal for the cruise ship visitors who will be in Moscow for less than three days, as the photos give a good appreciation to the visitor of what there is to see, especially in a limited amount of time.

The history and art sections are reasonably good for a guide book. The restaurant and hotel suggestions are accurate (as far as quality and general pricing range, although the pricing itself is not accurate)..

Note, however, that we always tell clients and other visitors to Russia that you should get the most current guidebook, as attractions, hotels, restaurants and transportation options do often change--AND THEN VERIFY THE INFORMATION! All in all, we recommend "Moscow Eyewitness Travel Guide" as the first guidebook to purchase when planning on journey of Discovering Russia's capital city, Moscow.

Marc David Miller, Discovering Russia, New York

Insight Compact Guide Moscow (Insight Compact Guides)

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Insight Compact Guide Moscow (Insight Compact Guides)
Leonid Bloch
Manufacturer: Langenscheidt Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0887295479

Insight Compact Guides Moscow (Insight Compact Guides)

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Insight Compact Guides Moscow (Insight Compact Guides)
Leonid Bloch
Manufacturer: Apa Productions
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0395717450

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Insight Guides: Moscow
Insight Guides
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Moscow Insight Compact Guide (Insight Compact Guides)

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Moscow Insight Compact Guide (Insight Compact Guides)
Leonid Bloch
Manufacturer: APA Publications Pte Ltd,Singapore
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Moscow Insight Compact Guide (Insight Compact Guides)

Manufacturer: APA Publications Pte Ltd,Singapore
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Moscow Insight Guide (Insight Guides)

Manufacturer: APA Publications Pte Ltd,Singapore
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Moscow Insight Pocket Guide

Manufacturer: APA Publications Pte Ltd,Singapore
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Moscow Insight City Guide

Manufacturer: APA INSIGHT GUIDES (
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GM696G

Book Description

Let this down-to-earth book be your guide to the statistical integrity of your work. Without relying on the detailed and complex mathematical explanations found in many other statistical texts, Principles of Experimental Design for the Life Sciences teaches how to design, conduct, and interpret top-notch life science studies. Learn about the planning of biomedical studies, the principles of statistical design, sample size estimation, common designs in biological experiments, sequential clinical trials, high dimensional designs and process optimization, and the correspondence between objectives, design, and analysis. Each of these important topics is presented in an understandable and non-technical manner, free of statistical jargon and formulas. Written by a biostatistical consultant with 25 years of experience, Principles of Experimental Design for the Life Sciences is filled with real-life examples from the author's work that you can quickly and easily apply to your own. These examples illustrate the main concepts of experimental design and cover a broad range of application areas in both clinical and nonclinical research. With this one innovative, helpful book you can improve your understanding of statistics, enhance your confidence in your results, and, at long last, shake off those statistical shackles!

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful Guide for Designing Research Studies.......2000-09-06

This slim volume offers a great overview for how to design experimental research studies for the life sciences. It is relatively light on mathmatical formulas, but emphasizes the rational step by step approach one needs to take to plan out a study that will avoid the pitfalls of experimental design (or lack thereof) that can spell disaster for the researcher. The writing is understandable and straight forward. A number of practical examples are presented throughout the book which facilitate an understanding of the concepts presented. One key area which I especially appreciated was Selwyn's discusion of Power from the standpoint of sample size and how this can influence the selection of a particular experimental design.

In summary, this is an excellent text for classes which study scientific methods and design in the life sciences, and a good companion for a standard statistics text book. It is also great for investigators who want to conduct their research in a scientifically sound and efficient manner.

Book Description

This volume contains the proceedings of the twelfth conference of the European Consortium for Mathematics in Industry. The contributions illustrate the breadth of applications and the variety of mathematical and computational techniques that are embraced by ECMI.

Book Description

This Elibron Classics book is a reprint of a 1891 edition by Macmillan & Co., London.

Download Description

Lady Agnes's idea had been that her son should go straight from the Palais de l'Industrie to the Hôtel de Hollande, with or without his mother and his sisters, as his humour should seem to recommend. Much as she desired to see their brilliant kinswoman and as she knew that her daughters desired it, she was quite ready to postpone their visit, if this sacrifice should contribute to a speedy confrontation for Nick.

Customer Reviews:

Why is this classic only available in an "e"edition........2007-06-11

I am appalled that this fabulous novel is only available new in this barebones edition, no intro, no scholarly apparatus. What happened to the lovely Penguin edition????? What is happening to literature?
The novel itself is a gem, the only (that I know) serious literary representation of the development of a theatre actress.

The Muse Is A Jealous God.......2006-08-14

In THE TRAGIC MUSE, Henry James broached the topic of art in what was for him a new perspective. Rather than merely write about art in a novel, he attempted to infuse his own guiding principles about art into a fabric that dared both James and the reader to ponder the rightful balance between art, its devotees, and one like himself who tried to use words as his easel to divorce himself from his appointed role of artist-novelist and gradually meld into that of his intended subject--art itself.

James' three primary characters collectively represent the discrete corners of the artistic triangle. At the lower left hand of the base is Nick Dormer, an Englishman who is torn between a career in politics (towards which his girlfriend Lady Julia relentlessly pushes him) and one in painting. At the lower right base is Nick's cousin Peter Sherringham, who is similarly split between his annointed career as a diplomat and one in the theater. Both Nick and Peter have reached a level of contented stasis with this push-pull ambivalence, at least until Miriam Rooth, the apex, appears to force them both into some serious considerations about the role of the artist in society. Nick and Peter like art but for them art is not primary, but in their attempts to discover just how close to primary it may be, their approaching the burning flame of art threatens their primary careers. They are talented enough in politics and diplomacy to survive quite nicely without art centering as a distraction, but neither is talented enough in art to survive well enough without their non-art careers as a distraction. Into this mix steps Miriam, a young and beautiful actress. Nick and Peter call her the "tragic muse" of the title. She is the living symbol of what both men see as the apotheosis of artistic sainthood. They can aspire to achieve with great effort and only with partial success what she can with no effort and total success. But to operate on such a god-like level is deceptively easy. To act and become someone else on the stage is no easy task; it requires constant and diligent devotion to one's art. James suggests that Miriam has made an informed choice, a trade-off between success on the stage and a life off it. Miriam is so good at her craft that both men are discouraged from becoming the paragon that they see her as. Her success on the stage is her failure off it. The tragedy of the title lies in the tacit acceptance that the unreality of artistic success makes the successfull practitioner increasingly more tragic with each new laurel earned. Nick and Peter see themselves as failures only because they do not reach the heights of Miriam. The irony is that they never learn that the rarified air of success on Mt. Olympus is a debilitating one, and that the price that one must pay to wear that laurel excludes one from meaningful human contact back on planet earth. Henry James in THE TRAGIC MUSE makes this point clear to the reader even if Peter and Nick never catch on.

The Lessons of the Master.......2006-02-12

In an interview, Vladimir Nabokov once spoke of the distinction Russians draw between a genius (such as Tolstoy), and a mere "talent", and the example Nabokov gave of the latter was Henry James. Nabokov never did rate James highly (nor Thomas Mann, Hemingway and many other undoubtedly great writers). Nabokov was of course mistaken. Henry James is one of the true geniuses of literature. His capacity to portray nuances of character through subtle changes of light and shade has never been equalled.

The later James style is notoriously dense, elliptical and difficult to read. And yet through this density, the Victorianisms of the language spoken by James' characters, the important - often critical - things that are only half spoken, and sometimes never spoken, James reveals characters facing moral and personal dilemmas of a kind that seem startlingly immediate to us. James' characters are always complex, rarely do what we expect them to, and are often as frustrating and intriguing as any "real" people.

The Tragic Muse is a lengthy discussion of the role of the artist in society, and the choices - sometimes hard choices - people make in becoming artists and leaving the conventional world behind. James certainly would have been conscious of these issues from his own career. And yet The Tragic Muse is often very funny, with very sharp, witty dialogue, amusing characters and an engrossing story.

I agree with the previous reviewer, who described it as an overlooked masterpiece. I rate it as highly as, say, The Ambassadors, one of James' final three great completed novels.

The later Henry James can be difficult going, and I have found these books to be a taste slowly acquired. I would therefore not recommend this book to readers new to James (instead I would suggest Washington Square, The Europeans or the Bostonians). However, once you have acquired the taste for James his prose style, frustrating as it sometimes is, becomes addictive, especially for the deep insights into character that he offers and the ability to conjure up reality through a seeming haze of words.

For those who enjoy reading Henry James - and, like Nabokov, not everyone does - this book is very highly recommended.

A Wonderful Surprise.......2004-06-09

This James novel is an overlooked masterpiece. I'm not entirely certain I don't like it every bit as much as the often praised "Wings of the Dove".

Art with a capital "A" is the subject at hand and Miriam Rooth (the Tragic Muse), Peter Sherringham and Nick Dormer all have their own way of coming to terms with the idea of a life given over to Art.

Favorite chapters are those on a visit to the Green Room of the Theatre Francaise and the magnificent Chapter XLVI.

Book Description

The great nineteenth-century tragedienne known simply as Rachel was the first dramatic actress to achieve international fame. Composing her own persona with the same brilliance and passion she demonstrated on stage, she virtually invented the role of "star." Rumors of her extravagant life offstage delighted the audiences who flocked to theaters in Boston and Paris, London and Moscow, to see her perform in the tragedies of Racine and Corneille. In Tragic Muse, Rachel M. Brownstein reveals the life of la grande Rachel and exploresâat the boundary of biography, fiction, and cultural historyâthe connections between this self-dramatizing woman and her image.
Born to itinerant Jewish peddlers in 1821, Rachel arrived on the Paris stage at the age of fifteen. She became both a symbol of her culture’s highest art and a clue to its values and obsessions. Fascinated with all things Napoleonic, she was the mother of Napoleon’s grandson and the lover of many men connected to the emperor. Her storyâthe rise from humble beginnings to queen of the French state theaterâechoes and parodies Napoleon’s own. She decisively controlled her career, her time, and finances despite the actions and claims of managers, suitors, and lovers. A woman of exceptional charisma, Rachel embodied contradiction and paradox. She captured the attention of her time and was memorialized in the works of Matthew Arnold, Charlotte BrontÃ«, George Eliot, and Henry James.
Richly illustrated with portraits, photographs, and caricatures, Tragic Muse combines brilliant literary analysis and exceptional historical research. With great skill and acuity, Rachel M. Brownstein presents Rachelâher brief intense life and the image that was both self-fashioned and, outliving her, fashioned by others. First published by Knopf (1993), this book will attract a broad audience interested in matters as wide ranging as the construction of character, the cult of celebrity, women’s lives, and Jewish history. It will also be of enduring interest to readers concerned with nineteenth-century French culture, history, literature, theater, and Romanticism. Tragic Muse won the 1993 George Freedley Award presented by the Theater Library Association.

Customer Reviews:

Where is the woman beneath the costume?.......2001-02-05

"Tragic Muse" will leave you with two regrets, albeit worthy ones: first, that her performances are lost to history; second, that you still don't have a grasp on her. This book is not meant so much as a biography as a recounting of Rachel as social and psychological phenomenon. It's an unusual and enjoyable approach, and Brownstein does a beautifully researched if nonlinear job of it. But while we're looking at the world's view of Rachel -- femme fatale, keeper of the antique flame, courtesan, child of Israel -- I'd enjoy more of a look at Rachel's view of herself. What were her letters really like? Why did so many men love her so well? What did she offer that the world in general did not have? There are lessons that could be learned from these answers; hopefully they too won't be lost to the ages.

Chaucer's Tragic Muse: The Paganization of Christian Tragedy (Studies in Mediaeval Literature, V. 23.)

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Chaucer's Tragic Muse: The Paganization of Christian Tragedy (Studies in Mediaeval Literature, V. 23.)
Christine Herold
Manufacturer: Edwin Mellen Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0773468552

Frames in James: The Tragic Muse, the Turn of the Screw, What Maisie Knew, and the Ambassadors (Els Monograph, No 59)

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Frames in James: The Tragic Muse, the Turn of the Screw, What Maisie Knew, and the Ambassadors (Els Monograph, No 59)
Paul G. Beidler
Manufacturer: Univ of Victoria Dept of English
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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HOMAGE TO THE TRAGIC MUSE
Dimitri Terzakis , and Athan Anagnostopulos
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 039527088X

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Homage to the Tragic Muse

Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000I323VS

Sir Joshua Reynolds' Portrait of Mrs. Siddons As the Tragic Muse

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Sir Joshua Reynolds' Portrait of Mrs. Siddons As the Tragic Muse
Robert R Wark
Manufacturer: Henry E. Huntington Library and art gallery
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: B0006BMKF6

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The Tragic Muse
Henry James
Manufacturer: London: Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IUBSSU

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The Tragic Muse
Henry James
Manufacturer: Rupert Hart-Davis
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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