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Review Summary: Book and HTML versions are very different |
Date: 2007-01-03 |
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Details: I bought the "HTML edition" thinking that I'd save a tree and burn pixels instead. But the HTML is not the book; it is a very short essay. If you're expecting the same content as what's on paper, be warned. |
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Review Summary: Excellent information! An Easy & Fun Read! |
Date: 2006-07-31 |
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Details: Ryan and Durnings book contains excellent information about products we use everyday, and how our choices matter. After reading the first section tracing the history of coffee, I was prompted to go to my health food store and purchase "shade coffee" (organic or cooperatively produced).
I especially liked the sections at the end of each chapter on "What to Do?" with their helpful recommendations. I'm a social psychologist and author of "Quotes, Questions & Actions for Global Understanding". I highly recommend Ryan and Durning's book to all who want to easily make better choices in their day-to-day activities. |
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Review Summary: Serious but fun read |
Date: 2006-02-07 |
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Details: This is one fun and informative book and one I am buying for young as well as older friends. I sit here typing on a computer keyboard and because of the book I see things I never really stopped to see before. And with this comes questions and answers about how many people and natural resources does it take to make all the elements of this modern marvel. Not just the keyboard, monitor and speakers, but the people behind Amazon.com who are consuming coffee, flushing toilets, using lights and machines to process my order.
This is what the book is all about. Becoming quiet and looking around at everything we touch and consume and looking at the bigger picture and 'seeing' all the hands, and natural resources it has taken to produce the coffee we drink, water we drink, car we drive, magazines we read, lights we use, clothes we wear, and the list goes on.
At the end of each chapter, rather than leave the reader feeling like a glutton and bad, the authors have suggested better choices or alternative. Like writing about the average T-shirt and what it takes to make one to what it takes to care for one the authors suggest that one wash only full loads and don't wash after every use but when the item is actually dirty. T-shirts in summer cool the body better which means less AC use, and in winter extra layers of clothing means less heating costs.
Anyway, the book is one that even when I re-read it I discover something new that I hadn't read before. Will check out their other books as well. |
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Review Summary: Limited as an Environmental Guidebook, but Informative. |
Date: 2004-09-02 |
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Details: In "Stuff", Ryan provides a comprehensive description of the materials and processes used to produce, use, and dispose of a variety of everyday consumer products (automobile, hamburger, coffee, newspaper, etc.). He presents precise statistics on the quantity of raw and recycled materials, energy, and pollution caused by this production and consumption of each product. "Stuff" is concise and thoroughly researched.
While it's truly astonishing to learn the massive amount of resources used in production of these goods, the usefullness of "Stuff" is somewhat questionable. Ryan focuses almost entirely on the production process itself, only offering small "bubbles" (squares actually) at the conclusion of each chapter which present moderately helpful, but meager advice for reducing environmental impact.
"Stuff" is certainly interesting and informative; understanding all the minute details associated with the production of automobiles is interesting trivia. However there are other similar books which are more useful. After this book, Ryan subsequently wrote, "Seven Wonders" (among others), in which he presents seven common products that could profoundly improve the environment if used en mass. "Seven Wonders", is the mirror image of "Stuff" because he focuses on how to improve the situation, rather than the situation itself. I would also recommend (as another reviewer did) "The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices", by The Union of Concerned Scientists; a comprehensive guidebook that is both informative and practical. That said, while "Stuff", could be more advisory, it's still a highly informative resource. |
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Review Summary: Stuff you should know |
Date: 2004-08-31 |
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Details: This book takes a day in the life of a typical U.S. citizen, living in the Pacific Northwest, and examines the products they use in that day. It dissects the history of those products, how they were made, what processes they went through, where they were shipped from, where all the parts came from, and ultimately, the impact they have on the environment. Quite an eye-opener. Chock full of facts to make you reconsider driving your car, or eating a burger. For instance, it might be surprising to discover that to make just one quarter-pound fast food burger, almost 700 gallons of water are used in the process. Very factual and practical, this book is a great eye-opener for anyone who consumes. Without being preachy, it makes the undeniable case that our current level of consumption is not sustainable. |
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out of 17 Reviews
