The Anthropocene Reviewed

I'm only a moderate fan of John Green's fiction, so I was delighted to find how much I like his nonfiction essays. The book is a collection of short studies on a particular topic of our human-centered planet, ranging from the best of what humanity has to offer, to the mundane and bad.

Green trained to be a pastor, and you can tell: he has an earnest love for so many of the wonders of our world, and some of his feel like sermons. He has a delicate balance between seeing all of the bad things that have come with humanity's rise on planet earth and critiquing them, while still being present to and in love with the world. It reminds me of the old Discovery Channel commercial, “Boom de yada,” about the great things on planet earth. But he never makes it feel like a silver lining, and never shies away from exploring the terrible things we are losing in our new world, from extinctions to social connections. He's at times hilarious, vulnerable, heartbreaking, and full of hope. Highly recommended. Many of these are available on the podcast of the same name, if you want to try them out.