"The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight," by Thom Hartmann
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Hours-Ancient-Sunlight-Revised/dp/1400051576/...

http://graphoilogy.blogspot.com/2007/04/elp-plan-economize-localize-prod...

Author Thom Hartmann, in his book, “The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight,” described a high tech company that he consulted for that went through several rounds of start up financing, and then collapsed, without ever delivering a real product. At the peak of their activity, that had several employees and lavish office space--until they ran out of capital. His point was that this company was analogous to a large portion of the US economy, which has the appearance of considerable activity and uses vast amounts of energy, but how much of this economic activity delivers essential goods and services?

Hornborg, "The Power of the Machine" or Odum, "Environment, Power and Society" for energy/entropy/thermodynamics

Monbiot, "Heat" or Lynas "Six Degrees" (I think that's the name) vs Kolbert

Klein's "Shock Doctrine" or Phillips' "Bad Money" for economics

Homer-Dixon "Upside of Down" fits in with McKibben's "Deep Economy". "Limits to Growth - 30 Year Update"

cfm in Gray, ME

A couple very important ones;

Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change, by william Catton
http://www.amazon.com/Overshoot-Ecological-Basis-Revolutionary-Change/dp...

Also;

Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update
by Donella H. Meadows (Author), Jorgen Randers (Author), Dennis L. Meadows (Author)

http://www.amazon.com/Limits-Growth-Donella-H-Meadows/dp/193149858X

Although these might seem kind of out in left field, they do offer practical advice of what people can do to become more self-reliant and, in the process, probably reduce their energy impact.

Emery - The Encyclopedia of Country Living

Storey Publications - Country Wisdom and Know-How

Faralones Institute - The Integral Urban House

Bradford and Vena Angier - Wilderness Wife

Todd

For some historical perspective on the confluence between economic and environmental disaster, set against a backdrop of human nature and drama, I’d suggest “The Worst Hard Time” by Timothy Egan.

It focuses on the dust bowl years, centered on Cimarron County in the Oklahoma panhandle.

A very sobering, cautionary tale that shows that humans do indeed have the capacity to alter the climate, and it was only about 70 years ago that we did it, with often gruesome results.

These two are just a couple that are companions to "crisis" tomes that speak to some of the values-shifts (values re acquired) necessary as we seek solutions:

The Art Of The Commonplace, The Agrarian Essays Of Wendell Berry, 2002

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, 2007

Although it's bound to be a controversial nomination, I would add Michael Ruppert's "Crossing the Rubicon" to the list. I've been re-reading much of it in recent days; he definitely understood Peak Oil long before many others, and I think his map of the broader political implications is at least worth seriously considering.

With Speed and Violence - Fred Pearce
http://www.amazon.com/Speed-Violence-Scientists-Tipping-Climate/dp/08070...

Homer Dixon's The Upside of Down is the best synthesis of the varied threats. I have been using it as a text in my Environmental Politics course.
http://www.theupsideofdown.com/

Hi Carl,

For your book list:

ORDER BOOKS NOW - they will be sold out after an emergency, and then maybe you can never get them.

* Antibiotic Alernative: Natural Guide to Fighting Infection and Maintaining a Healthy Immune System, Cindy L. A. Jones
* Composting Toilet System: A Practical Guide, David Del Porto
* Crisis Preparedness Handbook: Guide to Home Storage and Physical Survival, Jack A. Spigarelli
* Doctors Book of Home Remedies, Series, Eds. of Prevention Mag.
* Donde no hay Dentista, Murray Dickson
* Donde no hay Doctor Para Mujeres, A. August Burns
* Donde no hay Doctor, David Werner
* Emergency Food Storage & Survival Handbook, Peggy Layton
* Encyclopedia of Country Living, Carla Emery
* Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, 2nd ed. Michael Murray
* Gardening When it Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times, Steve Solomon
* Green Pharmacy, James A. Duke
* Herbal Antibiotitcs: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug Resistant Bacteria, Stephen Harrod Buhner
* Human Manure Handbook: A Guide to Composting Human Manure, Joseph Jenkins
* Natural Alternatives to Antibiotics, Dr. John McKenna
* New Organic Grower, Eliot Coleman
* Organic Gardner's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control, Ed. Barbara W. Ellis
* Oxford Handook of Tropical Medicine, 2nd ed., Michael Eddleston
* Practical Encyclopedia of Natural Healing, Mark Bricklin
* Rainwater Catchment Systems for Domestic Supply, John Gould
* Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardenting, Robert Rodale
* Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing, Suzanne Ashworth
* Storey's Basic Country Skills, John and Martha Storey
* The Herbal Medicine Maker's Handbook: A Home Manual, James Green
* Water Storage: Tanks, Cisterns, Aquifers and Ponds, Art Ludwig
* Where there is No Dentist, Murray Dickson
* Where there is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook, David Werner
* Where Women have No Doctor: A Health Guide for Women, A. August Burns
* Wilderness Medicine: Beyond First Aid, William W. Fogey, MD

And I sent you an email.

Be Prepared (the Boy Scott motto)

Thanks,

Cliff Wirth

I really like Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen's "The Entropy Law and the Economic Process". I believe it was published in the 1970s but it is a classic and not out of date. Particularly good are his explanations of what an elite class is and how elites function in a society. I feel when I read certain passages of this book like I am navigating the deep aquifers, heretofore unexposed, that connect humans to the earth and the universe. I read this book over and over again and I never get bored, there is so much in it. Some of the popular titles you listed (I have read most of them) are good and functional but for poetry and depth and the transcendent get "The Entropy Law and the Economic Process" and you can fill hours meandering through his excellent prose, almost IMHO a sacred forest. (OK I'll stop now!)

Also Tainter's "The Collapse of Complex Societies" is great.

Thanks to all for the suggestions! The column length is too short to incorporate them all, but several of them I hadn't thought of will definitely make it in. And some classics I've never gotten to, like Georgescu-Roegen, will be bumped higher up my to-read list.

The column is published every other Sunday; if Leanan's powerful search engine doesn't root out the column, I'll post a link here Sunday or Monday.

Cheers,
Carl