Living in the Long Emergency: Global Crisis, the Failure of the Futurists, and the Early Adapters Who Are Showing Us the Way For

Description

Forget the speculation of pundits and media personalities. For anyone asking 'Now what?' the answer is out there. You just have to know where to look. In his 2005 book, The Long Emergency, James Howard Kunstler described the global predicaments that would pitch the USA into political and economic turmoil in the 21st century-the end of affordable oil, climate irregularities, and flagging economic growth, to name a few. Now, he returns with a book that takes an up-close-and-personal approach to how real people are living now-surviving The Long Emergency as it happens. Through his popular blog, Clusterf**ck Nation, Kunstler has had the opportunity to connect with people from across the country. They've shared their stories with him-sometimes over years of correspondence - and in Living in the Long Emergency: Global Crisis, the Failure of the Futurists, and the Early Adapters Who Are Showing Us the Way Forward, he shares them with us, offering an eye-opening and unprecedented look at what's really going on 'out there' in the US - and beyond. Coming from all walks of life, the individuals you'll meet in these pages have one thing in common: their stories acutely illustrate the changing realities real people are facing - and coping with - every day. In profiles of their fascinating lives, Kunstler paints vivid, human portraits that offer a 'slice of life' from people whose struggles and triumphs all too often go ignored. With personal accounts from a Vermont baker, homesteaders, a building contractor in the Baltimore ghetto, a white nationalist, and many more, Living in the Long Emergency is a unique and timely exploration of how the lives of everyday Americans are being transformed, for better and for worse, and what these stories tell us both about the future and about human perseverance.

James Howard Kunstler is the author of more than twenty books, both nonfiction and fiction, including The Geography of Nowhere, The Long Emergency, Too Much Magic, and the World Made By Hand series, set in a post-economic-collapse American future. Kunstler started his journalism career at the Boston Phoenix and was an editor and staff writer for Rolling Stone, before "dropping out" to write books. He's published op-eds and articles in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Atlantic, and The American Conservative. He was born and raised in New York City but has lived in upstate New York for many years.

"Kunstler, author of 19 previous works, including The World Made by Hand series of speculative post-collapse novels in which he ingeniously imagines a what-if future US, is a master storyteller whether he's writing fiction or nonfiction . . . Kunstler chronicles the issues and all that's at stake with journalistic skill and energy." -Booklist "You won't find a better, more concise summary of what's really happening, the predicaments we face, and real-life examples of how ordinary people are responding. Optimism for the future begins with the awareness that things cannot continue as they have been. This book jumps that hurdle, and explores the past, the present, and the future in a way that is ultimately and surprisingly optimistic." -Chris Martenson, author of The Crash Course and blogger at Peakprosperity.com "Kunstler possesses the alchemy of describing a comprehensive disaster with a light touch. This is that rare, book on the future that is entertaining to the last page. The impression is that, along with the troubles, a more pleasant way to live will gradually emerge." -Andres Duany, author of Suburban Nation