This book is breath; 4 different kinds: 1. The breath of fresh air that this book is, upending conventional thinking. 2. The breath of the earth, as the author comports fiercely with the Gaia hypothesis. 3. The breath of relaxation, as the author validates my opinion of the workings of the earth, which I’ve felt for quite some time, and I’m thrilled to see in print. 4. The breath of anticipatory inhalation, when cracking open the book, and satisfied exhalation, when concluding. What a pleasant experience. It’s good to breathe.
A vivid account of a major shift in how we understand Earth, from an exceptionally talented new voice. Earth is not simply an inanimate planet on which life evolved, but rather a planet that came to life.
“Glorious . . . full of achingly beautiful passages, mind-bending conceptual twists, and wonderful characters. Jabr reveals how Earth has been profoundly, miraculously shaped by life.”—Ed Yong, Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author of An Immense World
One of humanity’s oldest beliefs is that our world is alive. Though once ridiculed by some scientists, the idea of Earth as a vast interconnected living…
Do you want nightmares? Like actual nightmares? Like wake-you-up with heart palpitations in middle of the night nightmares? Well-told nightmares? Freakish worry nightmares? Well belly up on to this book and enjoy the end of the world.
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! NATIONAL BESTSELLER
Most Anticipated Book by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times A Next Big Idea Book Club Selection The New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice
Jeff Goodell's "masterful, bracing" (David Wallace-Wells) investigation exposes "through stellar reporting, artful storytelling and fascinating scientific explanations" (Naomi Klein) an explosive new understanding of heat and the impact that rising temperatures will have on our lives and on our planet. "Entertaining and thoroughly researched," (Al Gore), it will completely change the way you see the world, and despite its urgent themes, is injected…
What a rare voice to hear from, and how generous the storyteller is, and how loving the author is to replace his own name with the interview subject, and how poignant and startling the subject's memory is, and how specifically detailed some passages are, and how terrible and terrorizing is the fog of war and the experience of the partisans, and how perfect, and affirming, and glorious, and resonant and with-a-flourish is that last page of the book, and one simply cannot conclude this work of importance and excellence without dwelling on it for a long, long time.
Suddenly two pairs of black boots appeared in the shrubbery near us… I looked up very, very slowly, from the boots to the uniforms and all the way up to the caps against the blue sky, and then quickly looked down… Two German officers… Finally, one of them addressed us in German, his attitude business-like, but with a touch of compassion, 'Mensch, du hast keine Zukunft (Man, you have no future).'
In a Land of Forest and Darkness is a story of coming of age in the shadow of the Holocaust. Sara Lustigman was fifteen years old when the Nazis…
Benzion Malik was on a path of discovery. He was keen to learn about everything in life through the teachings of his faith and only something cataclysmic could throw him off this course. In 1939, the 21-year-old Benzion was called up to the Romanian Army. Little did he know that he would not be a free man until 1945.
During six long years, Benzion served in three further armies. He was forced into hard labor and was constantly abused because of his Jewishness by the Hungarian army. He was then made to serve the German army which simply needed disposable bodies to be targets for Soviet bullets. Finally, the Soviet army needed young men like Benzion to help with the effort to fight the Nazis.
None of these acts of service and servitude were easy. Benzion was in a continuous dance with death but clung to life through the goodness of strangers. When WWII was over, Benzion had to make the 2,600-kilometer walk home and narrowly escaped being poisoned to death by mushroom soup. At home he was confronted with the ruins of his family, community, and people. Yet, he was not defeated.
Lovingly written by his grandson, this book provides an account of a man’s resilience to not give up on the world after extreme destruction, but instead to help rebuild a community and practice Tikkun Olam - Repairing of the World - by believing in cosmic justice and leaving an imprint on his family, friends, and strangers for generations.
