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The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience

Author: Rob Hopkins
Publisher: Green Books
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

5 reviews
Sales Rank: 1390

Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 8.9 x 0.9

ISBN: 1900322188
Dewey Decimal Number: 333.7913
EAN: 9781900322188
ASIN: 1900322188

Publication Date: March 6, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new book sourced directly from the publisher. Delivery in 3-5 days. Customer service 7 days per week

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Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars

Enabling July 1, 2008
Hooray. Despite some people's misgivings about the psychology section, which seem largely dependent on a definition of 'success', this is an outstanding book. It's primary achievement is to show the reader how societal change can take place in the absence of the usual too little too late response of governments, whose priorities lie with business, rather than people or environmental sustainability. The future security of Britain, and elsewhere, lies in groups of people with the will and power to make communities sustainable. It might seem unbelievable, but we have the power to transform our society, and are not at the whim of government. They will follow. If you admire Kohr, Schumacher, Papworth and Sale, you will respond positively to this book.

3 out of 5 stars

Brilliant in parts, dangerously foolish in others June 28, 2008
2 out of 6 found this review helpful

I've the greatest sympathy with this book's concept in many respects. Rob correctly identifies the overriding need to reduce energy dependence, and that we must not wait for "them" to do anything about it, or even help us. Correctly he sees that we need a "how-to" manual for how to make communities (rather than just the reader) self-sufficient in food and so on. But the devil is in the practical details, or more precisely the practical unknowns which are all too easily glossed over.

The book gets hideously, dangerously misguided in its important section on psychology, with its notion of the importance of a "positive vision". History is bursting full of "positive visions" which ended in huge disasters. Instead, what is needed is a judiciously realistic vision. It is vitally important to recognise that criticism and doubt are just as important as hope and "constructive" "enthusiastic" thinking. Otherwise huge energy and effort is almost certain to be lost in enthusing down disastrous dead-ends.

In a traumatised society, many people become lost to despair, depression, negativity. But there is the equal problem that too many people desperately pin their hopes on "positive" but false solutions which ultimately fail them.

Someone said that the transition concept has been "phenomenally successful". That is seriously unhinged fantasy. There hasn't yet been a transition to test out how or even whether the ideas work out in practice.
You need to be very careful to avoid assuming that action is the same as achievement of solutions, or that international fame and crowds of enthusiastic followers is the same as success in solving the problem.

I would strongly urge the author to revise the psychology section of his book to take account of these comments. The importance of a realistic vision.

4 out of 5 stars

essential reading April 30, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I'm two thirds way through this book and overall find it an inspiring read. The first section in particular summarises some of the issues in a very easy to understand style. I liked the section on psychology particularly - I think both grieving, shock and addiction models are useful to understanding the apparently irrational responses of people to climate change and peak oil.

The rest of the book is harder to read - a lot of detail about how one should go about starting a transition initiative. Some of this stuff makes very important points about embedding the initiative into the community and I appreciate that it is derived from experience. At the same time I found it somewhat prescriptive, especially the directions for conducting meetings/workshops etc. This is a bit of a turn off - there are of course lots of ways of doing these things and I feel it would have been better just to refer to some resources or put these in appendices.

We have to act on climate change and peak oil and I buy the resilient local economy model. There is lots of useful stuff in this book, maybe some of it just more detailed than necessary.

5 out of 5 stars

An exceptional book in its class. March 23, 2008
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

Rob Hopkins has produced a brilliant assessment of the two major problems facing the world today, that of the depletion of oil and the rapidly changing global climate. He explains the scale of the crisis we all face, and outlines how our response to this crisis could result in a better world for everyone, if we act now.

The first chapters of the book explain clearly how the duel problems of peak oil and climate change threaten every aspect of our modern way of life. Hopkins goes on to offer his own analysis of how each of us can respond to the crisis from the level of our local community. He makes it clear that only by acting together in an informed way, can we successfully bring about an effective transition to a viable future, no longer dependent on oil.

Extremely inspiring, relevant and a must read for everyone who is concerned about the future of our world. I give it 5 stars.

5 out of 5 stars

it is a transition handbook March 15, 2008
13 out of 15 found this review helpful

I've just read this book and found it informative, authoritative, positive, practical and very useful. Whatever your background this book gives information and insights that can enable all of us to engage (together) with today's real and urgent challenges. No doubt some people will nitpick that it hasn't addressed population, or the developing world, or this or that, but if they do then I would say that they are missing the point of the book.