It is back from the printer's and is shipping. I talk about this momentous occasion (for me anyway) and many other things on C-Realm Podcast Episode 96; please have a listen.
I share this episode with James Howard Kunstler, who talks about his new novel, World Made By Hand. There was a time when novels had a large impact on society and I hope that their time will come again. There are aspects of reality that non-fiction cannot adequately reflect, but in a work of fiction one can capture anything.
17 comments:
I'm happy for you, Dmitri. Looking forward to reading your book.
Moe G
Thanks for the book.....
I'm also eagerly waiting for my copy of Reinventing Collapse to arrive. Another book I went searching for lately was The Mountain People, largely because you said it informed your thinking on the subject of collapse. While on this hunt I encountered this article.
The author's thesis was that Turnbull's contention that the Ik society was in terminal collapse was mistaken, and that he was merely seeing the result of a short-term period of famine (apparently common in the region). Exhibit A for the author is the fact that Ik society still exists, at a higher level of population than before. I'd be curious to get your thoughts on Mr. Abraham's criticism of Turnbull's work.
I'm also curious as to the make/model of sailboat you own. I'm one of those people who was inspired by The New Age of Sail, and am looking at various boats with an eye towards becoming a liveaboard sailor (I don't really have the time/resources to build my own, as you suggested in your essay).
Thanks again for all of your good work.
On "The Mountain People:" Abraham largely confirms Turnbull's observations, but rightly disputes his claims that the Ik society is in terminal stage of collapse. Turnbull had something of a weak stomach for this kind of research, and allowed emotion to color his science - something I find charming. Although in times of famine Ik society reverts to a form we, with our humanistic values, find distasteful, it is clearly a valuable adaptation to be able to preserve the life of breeding couples to the exclusion of all other social "niceties" such as taking care of the young and the old, sharing food within the family, and so forth. Abraham's other criticisms are weaker. For instance, why would the Ik not be displeased by Turnbull's portrayal of them, and why is that even worth mentioning? Given that, why convey the Ik representatives' criticisms of Turnbull, especially given Turnbull's compelling portrayal of how the Ik take pride in their ability to mislead outsiders?
I have come across other negative appraisals of Turnbull's book, and they all seem to proceed from the same basic need to mend the rift in our comfortable notions of what is humanity.
On sailboats: my boat, Hogfish, is a high-tech version of what I describe in The New Age of Sail: an ocean-going sharpie executed in fiberglass over marine plywood with extruded aluminum masts and spars. The basic hull design has been validated through and through, in many thousands of ocean miles, coastal cruising, and island hopping. Boats like mine are an extreme rarity, because they go against so many of the received (Western) notions of what a sailboat (yacht) must be like. But there are quite a few junks, which are not too dissimilar and also quite practical. In fact, if I ever build a boat to replace this one, it will probably be a 34-foot junk-rigged sharpie.
Congratulations!
The podcast link doesn't seem to be working.
Podcast link fixed. Thanks for pointing out the problem.
Kunstler's book is a good read (recommended), and yours arrived yesterday. ^_^
I'm looking forward to getting started on it.
-fallout
Look forward to your book. I'm visualising two copies winging their way to Dunedin, New Zealand, to the public libraries (I recommended that they order our book). I also looked up and read Turnbull's 'The Mountain People'. Rugged! [shudder]
Dmitry,
Congratulations on the book! It is on order at my local public library. Do you have any plans to have it published in Russia? Thanks.
Pavel -
Thanks for prodding your library to order it. As for releasing it in Russia, it may not be such a bad idea. Especially if somebody were to translate it... I would help, of course... (помогу советом ;)
Nice job on the book Dmitry and congratulations for making it happen.
Your concept of 'boondoggle event horizon' is new to me, but it explains a lot. I think we reached it some time ago.
Right now, I'm trying to figure out my post-collapse career. Coastal trader sounds good, if I can just work out the pirate issues.
Fine job. Thanks. Review here:
http://solari.com/blog/?p=1037
Dimitri's new book is part of a one hour radio show on climate, militarism, and American collapse. The Dimitri Orlov segment includes a reading of the 5 stages of collapse from this blog, plus 3 minutes from your interview with KMO from the C-Realm Podcast #96.
Find Dimitri's segment at:
http://www.ecoshock.org/downloads/peakoil/ES_Orlov_Collapse_LoFi.mp3
The whole one hour show (with guests Bruce Gagnon & Michael T. Klare) is at:
http://www.ecoshock.net/eshock08/ES_080530_Show_LoFi.mp3
This program goes out to 15 college and community radio stations in Canada and the U.S., plus thousands of podcasts and downloads.
Thanks Dimitri - I look forward to your book. Maybe we can talk on air?
Alex Smith
host
Radio Ecoshock
http://www.ecoshock.org
This made me think of your predictions for suburbia:
There goes the neighbourhood: bloodsuckers thrive on credit slump
Chris Ayres in Los Angeles
Of all the crises triggered by America's property crash, the economists never predicted a plague of blood-sucking mosquitoes — spawned in the stagnant swimming pools of unsold or abandoned luxury homes.
The phenomenon is threatening to turn into a disaster for cities such as Las Vegas, where land values in some areas tripled every year during the boom, prompting developers to build thousands of million-dollar mansions, complete with lavishly proportioned swimming pools and outdoor Jacuzzis.
Unsurprisingly, no one gave much thought to what would happen if most of the sparkling desert oases were left to stagnate in the desert heat — a result of owners either defaulting on their superjumbo mortgages, or developers being unable to get rid of their inventory amid the global credit crunch that has brought America's lending industry almost to a halt.
Now, the very developments where upwardly-mobile homeowners once splashed around under clear blue skies are quickly turning into the world's unlikeliest swampland — and an ideal place for mosquitoes to lay their eggs.
...
Amazon just shipped my copy. I look forward to reading it. Your series that Matt Savinar ran over at LATOC has really helped me frame a lot of my planning. I appreciate your work and insight.
I got my copy already and am almost done -- absolutely BRILLIANT book Dmitry, there are intelligent thought-provoking comparisons and ideas on virtually every page. I'll read it again and I'm recommending it to all my friends.
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