- Paperback: 286 pages
- Publisher: Holmgren Design Services (1 Dec 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0646418440
- ISBN-13: 978-0646418445
- Product Dimensions: 24.2 x 18 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
400,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #26 in Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical > Agriculture & Farming > Agricultural Science
- #82 in Books > Science & Nature > Food & Farming > Environmental Issues
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Product Description
Synopsis
In this challenging work, leading permaculture expert David Holmgren questions whether mainstream concepts of sustainability dodge the critical issue of global energy peak, and asks if there are ways to live within nature's limits whilst providing a secure future for our children and justice for everyone.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Rob Hopkins of the Transition Towns movement rates this book highly and having nearly finished it can see why, and tend to agree. If you just want to get stuck in then try more practical guides (in the UK try The Earthcare Manual; albeit not cheap) first however if you're looking to marry the work of your head and hands then I recommend it; he's obviously been doing a lot of thinking as well as doing. It's quite oriented to Australia but no less interesting for that for myself, being 'English' and therefore with a cultural link to that part of the world, Tasmania being however very different to the uk situation (as the farmers there are gradually realising the author might add). Check it out on Amazon.com reviews too as there are more, mostly positive. The thought might be self-serving but reading it (and being open to the concepts of permaculture) you can't help think average/'normal' people in 100-200 years will recognise and admire his insights. Let's hope so.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having been interested in permaculture for a year or so, i've heard the Holmgren principles bandied about. This book explains, in fairly simple terms mostly, the rationale behind each of the 12 principles. At times it is heavy on scientific stuff, but it goes to show how deeply it's all been thought through. It's been really helpful in putting my mind at ease about certain things, there's a particular passage where he talks about the use of fossil fuels as being evil. When in fact it's not, but we over-use them. So it helps to know that you're not expected to dig 3 acres by hand, get a machine in and do it. It's a one time thing and it can be justified. And another passage where he compares solar cells to photosynthesis and makes the point that the embodied energy of the things doesn't really match green leaves for efficiency, after billions of years of evolution. So grow trees and burn them for electricity. At least that's what I think he's saying. It's a real head-scratcher of a book and something i'll keep coming back to over the years i'm sure, and a good one to give people to stimulate a bit of conversation on these issues, being as important as they are.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book really filled a vacuum in the permaculture literature by providing a sort of philosophical framework allowing to place the collection of techniques that permaculturists rely on in a larger context. As co-founder of the permaculture concept, David Holmgren is well-placed to reflect on the deeper meanings of all that he has been devoting his time to for the last 30 years or so. Certainly in comparison to Mollison, whose brash statements and lack of structured argumentation have frustrated more than one reader. While I certainly wouldn't recommend this as the first or only book for discovering permaculture, it is certainly the ONE to read if you want to understand the deeper implications of permaculture as a movement and (design) philosophy. Holmgren's insights into the most probable future of our oil-dependent society really gives the approaches used in permaculture an even greater 'edge' compared to conventional ways of doing things. But perhaps above all what most people will appreciate are his 10 (or is it 12?) core principles he uses to explain and illustrate permaculture all throughout the book - if anything remember these. It is probably no exaggeration to say that most teachers in the world have adopted these principals to guide and structure permaculture design courses. These same principles have also been adopted as guiding principles by the Transition Town movement. But don't by this book if you want to plan(t) your garden permaculture style, you wouldn't find the substance you need or want!
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