This Can't Be Happening
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- Create Date：2021-09-01 06:51:05
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：George Monbiot
- ISBN：0241514630
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Summary
In twenty short books， Penguin brings you the classics of the environmental movement。
In the galvanising speeches and essays brought together in This Can't Be Happening， George Monbiot calls on humanity to stop averting its gaze from the destruction of the living planet， and wake up to the greatest predicament we have ever faced。
Over the past 75 years， a new canon has emerged。 As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans， visionary thinkers around the world have raised their voices to defend the planet， and affirm our place at the heart of its restoration。 Their words have endured through the decades， becoming the classics of a movement。 Together， these books show the richness of environmental thought， and point the way to a fairer， saner， greener world。
In the galvanising speeches and essays brought together in This Can't Be Happening， George Monbiot calls on humanity to stop averting its gaze from the destruction of the living planet， and wake up to the greatest predicament we have ever faced。
Over the past 75 years， a new canon has emerged。 As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans， visionary thinkers around the world have raised their voices to defend the planet， and affirm our place at the heart of its restoration。 Their words have endured through the decades， becoming the classics of a movement。 Together， these books show the richness of environmental thought， and point the way to a fairer， saner， greener world。
Reviews
A。 _____
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This Can’t Be Happening is a collection of short essays and speeches by Monbiot between 2016-2020。 They’re all centred on （as with most of his work） climate change， and what we can potentially do about it。 George Monbiot is an angry man， one who quite often puts off the people he rails against because he does his railing passionately and to great effect。 But， what choice does he have？ We’re past the time of complacency or passive optimism。 To be aware of the state of the world is “to take on a b This Can’t Be Happening is a collection of short essays and speeches by Monbiot between 2016-2020。 They’re all centred on （as with most of his work） climate change， and what we can potentially do about it。 George Monbiot is an angry man， one who quite often puts off the people he rails against because he does his railing passionately and to great effect。 But， what choice does he have？ We’re past the time of complacency or passive optimism。 To be aware of the state of the world is “to take on a burden of grief that is almost unbearable。”In the foreword， he writes ”The moral compass needed to guide us through this crisis has had to be constructed almost from scratch。 We need to understand that we can inflict great harm on others， without harbouring any such intent。 We need to connect our humdrum activities on one side of the world （generally in the rich nations） to catastrophic effects on the lives of people on the other side （generally in the poorer nations）。 We need to see that the way we live can destroy the life chances of those who are not yet born。” Monbiot is not， against all odds， pessimistic in this collection。 Angry and desperate， even sad， but he holds on to some hope for change （which is more than I can say for myself）。 He recognises that it is possible to change the system， that people from Greta Thunberg and movements like Extinction Rebellion can make a difference。 This collection also touches （briefly） on examining perspectives， economic systems， political philosophies and polices that might help us fix the mess we’re in。 But I wonder if this book is lacking a story that Monbiot says is so essential to changing the narrative。 ”We are creatures of narrative， and a string of facts and figures， however important facts and figures are， has no power to displace a persuasive story。 The only thing that can replace a story is a story。 You cannot take away someone’s story without giving them a new one。” Perhaps the collection needs a little bit more of a story to hold it together， perhaps a clearer thread between cause and effect？ While Monbiot is not pessimistic and he accepts that he doesn’t have all the answers， he has expanded on stories and solutions in other works that would have fit this collection。 It felt a bit…thin， a bit rushed。 All in all though， the three books I’ve read of the Green Ideas series via NetGalley have all been interesting， compelling and from different perspectives/ world views。 I will definitely been reading more （if not all） from this collection。 。。。more
Stephanie Jane
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See more of my book reviews on my blog， Literary FlitsPenguin's 'Green Ideas' series is a new publication of twenty short books each written by an eminent environmental thinker and focusing on different aspects of our planet's environmental crisis。 I am grateful to Penguin for sending me review copies of five of these works and， on the strength of what I have read so far， I look forward to completing the set myself。I began with George Monbiot's book， This Can't Be Happening， which is a collectio See more of my book reviews on my blog， Literary FlitsPenguin's 'Green Ideas' series is a new publication of twenty short books each written by an eminent environmental thinker and focusing on different aspects of our planet's environmental crisis。 I am grateful to Penguin for sending me review copies of five of these works and， on the strength of what I have read so far， I look forward to completing the set myself。I began with George Monbiot's book， This Can't Be Happening， which is a collection of eleven essays， ten of which were originally published between 2017 and 2019 in The Guardian newspaper and one was a TEDsummit talk。 Although I am familiar with Monbiot's name and frequently encounter his words on Twitter， I tend to avoid newspapers as a rule so don't think I've previously read a complete article of his before。 I need to change that！ Through these essays， Monbiot did reinforce plenty of the ideas I had already learned myself， particularly since my own awakening to veganism， however he also challenged other assumptions I had made particularly around issues such as the devastation wrought by vast monoculture farms。I recognised echoes of Nesrine Malik's influential work in Monbiot's call for new stories to tell about our culture and its path forward。 Without drastic change very， very soon we are unlikely to have a recognisable future at all and I struggle to comprehend why so many people seem content to remain oblivious。 Monbiot's thoughts around our pre-adapted blind spots and evolved biases helped to explain the paradox for me。 I feel I have a lot to learn from his writings so am delighted to have been given this opportunity to sample a concise collection of his essays。 I dearly hope that This Can't Be Happening's inclusion in the Green Ideas series leads to a far wider， actively engaged audience。 。。。more
B。S。 Casey
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In this collection of short essays and speeches spanning just over two years， Monbiot explores the many different ways people are able to turn a blind eye to the inevitable capitalist climate distaster we are facing， whether through dissonance and ignorance。 Drawing on his own experiences from Extinction Rebellion to scientific observations - each essay is succinct， factual and evokes a visceral emotional reaction from the reader。 There is a clear message of anger and urgency throughout each ess In this collection of short essays and speeches spanning just over two years， Monbiot explores the many different ways people are able to turn a blind eye to the inevitable capitalist climate distaster we are facing， whether through dissonance and ignorance。 Drawing on his own experiences from Extinction Rebellion to scientific observations - each essay is succinct， factual and evokes a visceral emotional reaction from the reader。 There is a clear message of anger and urgency throughout each essay - but this anger is clearly utilised into passionate action rather than outright aggression。 Now， there is no ground-breaking research or revelations in these pages， but it is an excellent peice of literature for anybody who wants to start learning or just reflect on the environmental and societal issues we are all facing。 "What you see is not what others see 。。。 What is obvious to some is invisible to others。" 。。。more
Michael Ewins
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#4 of Penguin's Green Ideas series， due to be published on August 26 （five books sent to me by the publisher）。This volume， which consists of eleven short articles Monbiot wrote for The Guardian between December 2017 - October 2019 （stopping a bat's wing short of the Covid-19 pandemic）， feels like a précis of Feral's （2013） thesis， while also elaborating that book's ideas into the future - particularly through Brexit， and the rise of Extinction Rebellion。 At 83 pages it's an easy volume to read i #4 of Penguin's Green Ideas series， due to be published on August 26 （five books sent to me by the publisher）。This volume， which consists of eleven short articles Monbiot wrote for The Guardian between December 2017 - October 2019 （stopping a bat's wing short of the Covid-19 pandemic）， feels like a précis of Feral's （2013） thesis， while also elaborating that book's ideas into the future - particularly through Brexit， and the rise of Extinction Rebellion。 At 83 pages it's an easy volume to read in one sitting， and I would recommend doing so。 It's fascinating to track Monbiot's thinking， his increasing frustration and radicalisation， across the eleven pieces， and recognising the conclusions he comes to later as having been seeded in earlier articles。 The first three or four articles are primarily about wildlife， landscape， and conservation， but the pieces become increasingly concentrated on politics， political reform， and capitalism。 Titles like The Unseen World （as quaint and vague as anything by Jacques Cousteau） quickly give way to issues like Hopeless Realism and Intergenerational Theft。 In Embarrassment of Riches， he gets right down to the core of it: "If everyone is to flourish， we cannot afford the rich。" Monbiot is reflective without being Romantic， hopeful without naiveté， and despairing only where a lack of cooperation stands in the way of progress。 The world is not lost， he argues， if only people will stand together to rediscover it。 His prose is lucid， sensible， and easy to apprehend - he has a gift for turning philosophical ideas into a catchy phrase， and talking about science in a way that's infectiously passionate。 He's fucking angry， but knows how to bend that anger to a beneficial， rather than destructive （insulting， shit-throwing） purpose。 To anyone well-read on these topics already， he's likely saying nothing new， and the slimness of this volume will make it easy to ignore。 But anyone looking for a compact， thorough， and persuasive introduction to why capitalism is destroying the world， and why conserving and rewilding that world should be our most important agenda， This Can't Be Happening couldn't be more ideal。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=This Can't Be Happening
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=This Can't Be Happening&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft