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Stewart Brand

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Stewart Brand is an American writer, best known as editor of the Whole Earth Catalog. He founded a number of organizations, including The WELL, the Global Business Network, and the Long Now Foundation.
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A Bright Future book cover
A Bright Future
How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow
Joshua S. Goldstein, Staffan A. Qvist - 2019-01-08
Goodreads Rating
Discover a practical way to prevent catastrophic climate change with this must-read book by Joshua S. Goldstein and Staffan A. Qvist. Learn how several countries have already replaced fossil fuels with low-carbon energy sources in just a matter of decades, and how we can decarbonize the global economy by midcentury. Combining clean energy sources with a new energy source called käkraft, we can avoid personal sacrifice without sacrificing prosperity. With extensive technical references and a compelling message, this book could spark a shift in world energy policy that saves the world.
Stewart Brand
2022-08-09T15:02:11.000Z
Looks promising. Joshua Goldstein's book, A BRIGHT FUTURE, is excellent.      source
The History of Middle-earth, Part Two book cover
The History of Middle-earth, Part Two
Christopher Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien - 2020-10-06
Goodreads Rating
Explore the rich mythology and stories of Middle-earth with this must-read collection. This hardcover edition brings together four books that provide a complete account of the writing of The Lord of the Rings, including rare scenes, maps, and illustrations never seen before. Christopher Tolkien, the youngest son and literary heir of J.R.R. Tolkien, has done an incredible job in detailing the thousand-year war between the Elves and the evil Morgoth and his lieutenant, Sauron. Discover the fascinating history behind one of the greatest literary works of all time.
Stewart Brand
2022-05-19T23:18:54.000Z
Thread. Because I'm writing, these days, I'm reading for pleasure a book filled with detail about an occasion of great writing. It is Christopher Tolkien's THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE EARTH, Part Two, which chronicles the early stages of his father's crafting of THE LORD OF THE RINGS      source
Vanishing Asia book cover
Vanishing Asia
Three Volume Set
Kevin Kelly - 2022-05-24
Goodreads Rating
"Vanishing Asia" captures the rapidly disappearing ancient and beautiful traditions of Asia, spanning 35 countries from Turkey to Japan and Siberia to Indonesia. This 3-volume set boasts 9,000 images on 1,000 uniquely designed pages, showcasing the diverse cultures through costumes, architecture, festivals, and lifestyles. The author/photographer passionately traveled to remote places for 49 years to create this one-of-a-kind book. Don't miss the chance to experience and preserve what's left of a disappearing Asia.
Stewart Brand
2022-05-12T02:04:46.000Z
Kevin Kelly's astonishing book is a lifetime work. It's available at Amazon:      source
Recommended by
Richard Bernabe
Jackpot book cover
Jackpot
How the Super-Rich Really Live—and How Their Wealth Harms Us All
Michael Mechanic - 2021-04-13
Goodreads Rating
Explore the fascinating and otherworldly realm of extreme wealth and its insidious effects on society with this compassionate and perversely humorous journey into the American wealth fantasy. Jackpot delves into the social, psychological, and societal downsides of great affluence, asking important questions about wealth's impact on our collective psyche and how it exacerbates economic differences. With deep reporting and interviews with a wide array of fortunate citizens, Jackpot offers a thought-provoking window into the world of the wealthy and the costs of their affluence.
Stewart Brand
2022-04-14T05:40:38.000Z
@matisse_enzer The book is very well researched. Full of news to me.      source
Recommended by
Deborah Blum
World of My Own book cover
World of My Own
Robin Knox-Johnston - 2004-01-30 (first published in 1969)
Goodreads Rating
Sail around the world non-stop single-handedly, facing hazards and temptations along the way. Experience one of the greatest sea adventures of our time in this gripping and moving book. Join the journey of a man who risked it all and became the first to sail around the world in a tiny ketch. An instant bestseller, this reissued book is sure to thrill and inspire a new generation of readers.
Stewart Brand
2021-10-07T21:21:25.000Z
@jscottshipman @slapout9 The other two books are worth your time too--Knox-Johnston's A WORLD OF MY OWN and THE STRANGE LAST VOYAGE OF DONALD CROWHURST.      source
The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst book cover
The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst
Nicholas Tomalin - 2003-05-21 (first published in 1970)
Goodreads Rating
This investigative masterpiece delves into the tragic self-delusion of a man who attempted to cheat his way through a sailing race in 1968. With meticulous research and in-depth interviews, the authors reconstruct one of the greatest hoaxes of our time. A haunting portrait of a deeply troubled man, this book takes readers on a journey into the heart of darkness.
Stewart Brand
2021-10-07T21:21:25.000Z
@jscottshipman @slapout9 The other two books are worth your time too--Knox-Johnston's A WORLD OF MY OWN and THE STRANGE LAST VOYAGE OF DONALD CROWHURST.      source
The Clock Of The Long Now book cover
The Clock Of The Long Now
Stewart Brand - 2000-04-06 (first published in 1999)
Goodreads Rating
Discover how to adopt a long-term perspective in this thought-provoking book, which uses the construction of The Clock of the Long Now as a framework. The author tackles important questions like: How do we make long-term thinking more common? What role does discipline in thought play? Why is taking the time to think about the future more essential than ever? Combining visionary philosophical inquiry with the chronicling of fantastic technology, this mind-expanding book is a must-read for anyone who wants to think differently about time.
Stewart Brand
2021-09-27T18:02:04.000Z
"[Brand's] book is the first I know to explicitly explore what long-term thinking really is, or could be. He takes it as a concept and pulls it apart to examine it. That’s a real intellectual shift in the history of long-term thinking.... He’s an amazing, pithy prose stylist."      source
Recommended by
Phil Libin
Impro book cover
Impro
Improvisation and the Theatre
Keith Johnstone - 1987-01-07 (first published in 1979)
Goodreads Rating
Unlock your improvisation skills with this classic book by Keith Johnstone. Originally published in 1987, the book focuses on the art of improvisation, exploring the subjects of spontaneity, storytelling, and creativity. Get ready to challenge your notions and unleash your creativity in this must-read for anyone interested in improvisation.
Stewart Brand
2021-07-26T05:15:37.000Z
I was lucky enough to take several classes from the great improv coach, Keith Johnstone. Worth studying is his 1979 seminal book IMPRO: IMPROVISATION AND THE THEATRE.      source
The Cambridge Centenary Ulysses book cover
The Cambridge Centenary Ulysses
The 1922 Text with Essays and Notes
James Joyce, Catherine Flynn - 2022-07-12
Goodreads Rating
A celebrated masterpiece of twentieth century literature, this new edition of Ulysses provides a vivid and illuminating context for the experiences of its characters on June 16, 1904. With maps, photos, explanatory footnotes, and introductions by leading Joyce scholars, readers can dive into the pleasures and challenges of this monumental work. Featuring a facsimile of the 1922 Shakespeare and Company text and references to later amendments, this edition unlocks the mysteries of Ulysses for modern audiences.
Stewart Brand
2021-07-17T17:37:27.000Z
For me, the best Folio Society books are: Aubrey-Maturin series, Patrick O'Brien (20 books) DUNE, Frank Herbert EAST OF EDEN, John Steinbeck THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY, Michael Chabon GULLIVER'S TRAVELS, Jonathan Swift FINNEGANS WAKE & ULYSSES, James Joyce      source
Gulliver's Travels book cover
Gulliver's Travels
Jonathan Swift - 2017-01-01 (first published in 1726)
Goodreads Rating
Satire at its finest. This timeless classic by a masterful author is still bringing laughs nearly 300 years later. With clever wit and boundless imagination, this book will captivate readers for generations to come.
Stewart Brand
2021-07-17T17:37:27.000Z
For me, the best Folio Society books are: Aubrey-Maturin series, Patrick O'Brien (20 books) DUNE, Frank Herbert EAST OF EDEN, John Steinbeck THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY, Michael Chabon GULLIVER'S TRAVELS, Jonathan Swift FINNEGANS WAKE & ULYSSES, James Joyce      source
The Iliad by Homer
The Premonition by Michael Lewis
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Second Nature by Nathaniel Rich
The Good Ancestor by Roman Krznaric
The Human Planet by George Steinmetz
The Half-Acre Homestead by Lloyd Kahn
Dune by Frank Herbert
Novacene by James Lovelock
Wilding by Isabella Tree
The Water Will Come by Jeff Goodell
Scale by Geoffrey West
Time Travel by James Gleick
The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan
Machines of Loving Grace by John Markoff
Rust by Jonathan Waldman
The History Manifesto by Jo Guldi
Learning to Breathe Fire by J. C. Herz
The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker
Turing's Cathedral by George Dyson
Memory of the World by Unesco
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Triumph of the City by Edward Glaeser
A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil Macgregor
Why the West Rules--for Now by Ian Morris
The Coming Population Crash by Fred Pearce
The Merck Manual Home Health Handbook by Robert Porter
Elements by Theodore Gray
The Encyclopedia of Earth by Michael Allaby
Dirt by David R. Montgomery
The State of the Art by Iain M. Banks
The Shock of the Old by David Edgerton
The Odyssey of Homer by Homer
The Singularity Is Near by Ray Kurzweil
Epic of Gilgamesh by Morris Jastrow
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Military Misfortunes by Eliot A. Cohen
The Map Book by Peter Barber
Collapse by Jared Diamond
The Past From Above by Charlotte Trümpler
Conceptual Physics by J. K
The Long Summer by Brian Fagan
The Complete Aubrey/Maturin Novels (5 Volumes) by Patrick O'Brian
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Infinite in All Directions by Freeman J. Dyson
Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Foundation and Empire by Isaac-Asimov
Foundation by Isaac-Asimov
The Histories by Herodotus
One True God by Rodney Stark
The Future of Life by Edward O. Wilson
The Oxford Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
Look to Windward by Iain M. Banks
The Complete Greek Tragedies by Sophocles
Renaissance Man of Cannery Row by Edward F. Ricketts
The Eternal Frontier by Tim Flannery
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
With a Daughter's Eye by Mary Catherine Bateson
Beowulf by Maria Dahvana Headley
The Log from the Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
Gaia by James Lovelock
Across Realtime by Vernor Vinge
Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon
The Pattern On The Stone by Danny Hillis
The Story of Writing by Andrew Robinson
Red Power, 2nd Ed by Troy R. Johnson
Imagined Worlds by Freeman Dyson
Organizing Genius by Warren Bennis
Our Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women'S Health Book Collective
Excession by Iain M. Banks
The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by Samuel P. Huntington
The Complete Guide to Trail Building and Maintenance by Carl Demrow
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Idea of Decline in Western History by Arthur Herman
The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
The Art of the Long View by Peter Schwartz
The Way Life Works by Mahlon Hoagland
The Western Canon by Harold Bloom
A History of Civilizations by Fernand Braudel
The Civilization of the Middle Ages by Norman F. Cantor
Powers of Ten by Philip Morrison
The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell
Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks
Medieval Civilization 400 - 1500 by Jacques le Goff
Governing the Commons by Elinor Ostrom
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
The Causes of War by Geoffrey Blainey
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
Grand design by Georg Gerster
the Jesus Incident by Frank Herbert
Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse
Thinking in Time by Richard E. Neustadt
The Discoverers by Daniel J. Boorstin
The Gift by Lewis Hyde
A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander
Venice, A Maritime Republic by Frederic Chapin Lane
The Landmark Thucydides by Thucydides
The King and the Corpse by Heinrich Zimmer
Homo Ludens by Johan Huizinga
The Rise of the West by William H. McNeill
The Nature of Things by Lucretius