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Quill & Quire
Geneticist, broadcaster, author, and social critic David Suzuki is one of the loudest voices in the global green community, and is surely the elder statesman of Canadian environmentalism. Suzuki adds to an already impressive body of work with The Legacy, framed as a photo-illustrated “last lecture,” because the septuagenarian host of CBC’s The Nature of Things is facing reality: “Now that my parents are gone and I too have become an elder, my mind turns to my own mortality. I hope I can approach my death with the dignity and acceptance my father did.”
A tie-in with Suzuki’s (carbon-weighty) world tour, The Legacy recapitulates and condenses decades of advocacy work. Writers repackage their oeuvres all the time, but how they do so is just as important as why. In this regard, The Legacy falters in significant ways. For one thing, although it is about the length of a novella, the book somehow manages to be internally repetitious.
No one could argue with Suzuki’s overall message, or indeed, with the many cogent points he makes. However, even well founded passion for the natural world – and distress at the uncontestable destruction our species is wreaking on it – could do with less anger and more warmth (and even a touch of levity). Citizens are bombarded with “do-this” and “don’t-do-that” imperatives every day, and resent being talked down to. In The Legacy, Suzuki pounds the podium less than in his 2009 essay collection, The Big Picture, but seems intent on taking himself every bit as seriously as a graduate student canvassing for Greenpeace.
Despite this stridency, he does close the book with a gentle, eloquent observation: if there is hope that humanity can change in time, it will be due to our love of the natural world, not just scientific understanding. Anyone would do well to leave behind a message like that.
Review
"Suzuki locates his vision of nature's order even more deeply, as an 'elder,' in the healing resources of aboriginal wisdom...The imaginative reach of Suzuki's earth-vision grounded in scientific fact is astounding. Single sentences can change our perceptions of space and time ranging from the pre-Cambrian era to future millennia...to this reader, Suzuki's grasp of the magic, profound complexity of nature's underlying matrix is the strength of his new book." (Telegraph Journal 20100827)
"Occasionally we encounter someone who appeals to the better angels of our nature and reminds us of values we once held dear. For me that person was David Suzuki. It was a privilege and a joy collaborating with him on this project for the past two years and I take great pride in the result." (Sturla Gunnarsson 20100908)
"The 'legacy' in this lecture is one of truthful words about the hard place we're in, but it's also one of hopeful words: our chance if we will take it for 'opportunity, beauty, wonder and companionship with the rest of creation.' My hope is that we ourselves will emulate David Suzuki and leave legacies in our turn." (Margaret Atwood 20100910)
"Readers...will find Suzuki's tangential musings on subjects like argon molecules, shrinking swordfish, or the role of salmon in fertilizing forests some of the book's best reading...at the core of his writing lurks a scientist's wonder at the world, and a compelling sincerity that makes you believe -- or at least, want to believe -- [there is] still some hope for this muddled planet." (Winnipeg Free Press 20100911)
"The Legacy is part autobiography, part history, part basic science -- and above all, a plea for the planet." (Montreal Gazette 20100919)
"With environmental crises facing the planet -- climate change, ocean acidification and loss of biodiversity, to name a few -- Suzuki says this is the time to act. The Legacy is part autobiography, part history, part basic science -- and above all, a plea for the planet. Buy it." (National Post 20100930)
"The book reads as if Suzuki is speaking to you, taking you by the hand on a journey...[It] is a summary of some of the big concepts that are being thrown around in the media today. It takes them, simplifies them for the everyday reader and makes them easy to digest. Not surprisingly, it's written in a way that can be easily digested by teens." (Green Living 20101001)
"David Suzuki is one of the loudest voices in the global green community, and is surely the elder statesman of Canadian environmentalism. Suzuki adds to an already impressive body of work with The Legacy." (Quill & Quire 20101001)
"Suzuki, one of the planet's best-known environmentalists, explains how earth got where it is today and presents his vision for a better future...The Legacy encapsulates Suzuki's thoughts, philosophies and hopes for a sustainable future." (Arabella Magazine )
"Occasionally we encounter someone who appeals to the better angels of our nature and reminds us of values we once held dear. For me that person was David Suzuki. It was a privilege and a joy collaborating with him on this project for the past two years and I take great pride in the result." (Sturla Gunnarsson 20100908)
"The 'legacy' in this lecture is one of truthful words about the hard place we're in, but it's also one of hopeful words: our chance if we will take it for 'opportunity, beauty, wonder and companionship with the rest of creation.' My hope is that we ourselves will emulate David Suzuki and leave legacies in our turn." (Margaret Atwood 20100910)
"Readers...will find Suzuki's tangential musings on subjects like argon molecules, shrinking swordfish, or the role of salmon in fertilizing forests some of the book's best reading...at the core of his writing lurks a scientist's wonder at the world, and a compelling sincerity that makes you believe -- or at least, want to believe -- [there is] still some hope for this muddled planet." (Winnipeg Free Press 20100911)
"The Legacy is part autobiography, part history, part basic science -- and above all, a plea for the planet." (Montreal Gazette 20100919)
"With environmental crises facing the planet -- climate change, ocean acidification and loss of biodiversity, to name a few -- Suzuki says this is the time to act. The Legacy is part autobiography, part history, part basic science -- and above all, a plea for the planet. Buy it." (National Post 20100930)
"The book reads as if Suzuki is speaking to you, taking you by the hand on a journey...[It] is a summary of some of the big concepts that are being thrown around in the media today. It takes them, simplifies them for the everyday reader and makes them easy to digest. Not surprisingly, it's written in a way that can be easily digested by teens." (Green Living 20101001)
"David Suzuki is one of the loudest voices in the global green community, and is surely the elder statesman of Canadian environmentalism. Suzuki adds to an already impressive body of work with The Legacy." (Quill & Quire 20101001)
"Suzuki, one of the planet's best-known environmentalists, explains how earth got where it is today and presents his vision for a better future...The Legacy encapsulates Suzuki's thoughts, philosophies and hopes for a sustainable future." (Arabella Magazine )
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Summation,
By
This review is from: The Legacy (Hardcover)
The Legacy is based on the documentary film Force of Nature produced by Laszlo Barna and directed by Sturla Gunnarson. It is a short book, a series of summaries of the key points from the film and a distillation of the most important things that Dr. Suzuki has learned and wants to offer as his gift to the future. To me the book reads like the summation of the argument in a trial (and it is all of us and our civilization that it on trial). It is easier to understand the summation if you have followed the arguments and seen the evidence, and the summation is best understood if one can also hear the other side of the argument. (I would be happy if people can suggest other books that do a good job of presenting the other side of the case in the comments.)The case, as I understand it, is that - Humans have developed into a superspeices that is reordering other natural systems in its own short-term interests. - This new order is not sustainable, it is consuming non-renewable resources (burning down its capital) and destroying the information and feedback loops it needs to self correct. - Homogenizing metrics (my term) such as GDP (or the idea that the sole purpose of the corporation is to maximize short-term shareholder value) do not direct cultures and economies in directions that optimize sustainability, resilience or human well being. - We need to widen our frame of reference and learn from traditional societies that lived within their means for many generations. - Our cities, our industries and our agriculture can become much more beautiful, livable and enjoyable if we change what we try to optimize, learn from nature and each other, and see our self worth as people who live in order to learn, understand, foster and grow rather than just to consume (and in consuming pile up debt while drawing down our capital - economic, human and natural). This is a lovely little book. It does not answer many questions, and it is not larded with facts, but I think it can help us to ask better questions of ourselves. Note: I live in the same neighborhood in Vancouver as David Suzuki, and occasionally see him around, but I do not know him personally or socially.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Compelling Read!,
This review is from: The Legacy (Hardcover)
A very compelling book... I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting!A lifetime of wisdom is contained within its 113 pages. From the state of the environment and why it matters to economics, relationships, spirituality, and more, its a profound journey through the eyes of a man who has seen much. Yet the book is hopeful as Dr Suzuki remains optimistic about our shared future. It's the kind of book that stays with you long after you've read it. I'd definitely recommend "The Legacy" to all readers. In fact, I've already ordered copies for my friends and family.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Eloquent, passionate, informative,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Legacy (Hardcover)
An eloquent and moving description of this scientist's direct experience with the disastrous impacts of global warming on the fish, birds, and other creatures which depend on the ocean.
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