Product Description

An urgent look at our world's looming crises and what we must do to avert them

In Threshold, writer and Air America host Thom Hartmann looks at the deteriorating state of our planet, where the dynamics of environmental, economic, and population change are boiling over the limits within which society can function. In clear and impassioned prose, Hartmann busts the myths and ideologies of religious fundamentalism, capitalism run amok, male domination, and militarism that are draining our world of its natural and human resources and engendering the suffering of millions for the benefit of the few.

No mere jeremiad, Threshold examines cultures that have thrived, from the mother city of Caral, Peru, to modern Denmark, and targets five areas of policy-national, religious, economic, corporate, and environmental-for specific and immediate reform. Radical in its scope and boldness but simple in its commonsense logic, Threshold illustrates the mistakes we have made-as a culture, as a country, and as individuals-and provides the inspiration and motivation readers are looking for to build a better, more sustainable world for all. Part prophecy, part call to arms, part policy prescription, Threshold is, for readers of Jared Diamond, Thomas Friedman, and Paul Hawken, the wake-up call our society so badly needs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20984 in Books
• Published on: 2009-07-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780670020911
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
What begins as skillful (and scary) prognostications about climate change's impact devolve into an unfocused mishmash in this mélange of history, philosophy, science and anthropology. Air America Radio Network host Hartmann (The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight) marshals solid research to demonstrate how overpopulation, pernicious trade policies, rampant consumerism and other excesses are devastating the Earth. The utopia he envisions, which owes much to Scandinavian social democracies, is unimpeachable, what with its emphasis on gender equality, ecological consciousness and a renewed spirit of democracy. Unfortunately, the author cannot direct his ire, and the book buckles under breathless plaints that leap from the history of lacrosse to neurology to our relationships with animals in the span of a few pages. The result is a frustrating, hard-to-follow conclusion that obscures the valuable arguments that distinguish the book's striking opening. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"If you're looking for a book that offers BIG answers to the BIG questions and that lays it all out in concise, clear, common-sense English you have it in your hands! Hartmann both lays it out and lifts us up."
-Jim Hightower, Nationally syndicated columnist, radio commentator, best selling author and editor of the Hightower Lowdown.

"America's most popular progressive talk show host brings his powerful political and historical insight to bear on the most important question of our time: To what may we humans aspire in this time of crisis and how can we achieve it?"
-David Korten, board chair, YES! magazine, and author Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth and The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community

"At last: a book that defines the problems of our current robber baron economy and presents solutions that integrate natural laws with the way we live, work, and shop. Thom Hartmann once again dazzles us with brilliant ideas and eloquent writing."
-John Perkins, New York Times Bestselling Author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and The Secret History of the American Empire

About the Author
Thom Hartmann is the author of nineteen books, many of which have been spotlighted by NPR, CNN, the BBC, The Wall Street Journal, and others. He has won the Project Censored Award four times and is currently a daily host on Air America Radio Network.

Customer Reviews

An urgent look at our world's looming crisis and what we must do to avert it
In //Threshold: The Crisis Of Western Culture//, writer and Air America host Thom Hartmann argues that the deteriorating state of our planet, where the dynamics of environmental, economic, and population change are boiling over the limits within which society can function, is inevitably near at hand. In clear and impassioned prose, Hartmann busts the myths and ideologies of religious fundamentalism, capitalism run amok, male domination, and militarism that are draining our world of its natural and human resources and engendering the suffering of millions for the benefit of the few.

No mere jeremiad, //Threshold// examines cultures that have thrived, from the mother city of Caral, Peru to modern Denmark, and targets five areas of policy--national, religious, economic, corporate, and environmental--for specific and immediate reform. Radical in its scope and boldness but simple in its commonsense logic, //Threshold// illustrates the mistakes we have made--as a culture, as a country, and as individuals--and provides the inspiration and motivation readers are looking for to build a better, more sustainable world for all.

Part prophecy, part call to arms, part policy prescription, //Threshold// is the wake-up call our society so badly needs.

Reviewed by
Dominique James

Visionary
Particularly interesting in Hartmann's book is his assertion that restoring the rights of woman to control their own bodies and reproductive rights is a clear sign, or precursor to advancing sustainable solutions to our Earth Community of beings. I can think of no better observation to address sustainable solutions than to empower woman in the Third World, along with claiming opportunities to assert their authentic voice, rights, and personal power. In this regard Hartmann is right on the money.

He also accurately uses the metaphor of a cancerous condition of the body politic to describe our current unsustainable culture and its preoccupation with conspicuous consumption; advocating that it be curtailed if we are to survive as a species; and he does so with urgency to our collective predicament in a no nonsense manner.

The book offers some clear depth that I've not seen in his previous writings before, offering a comprehensive and insightful knowledge of plant medicine, herbs, and issues on third world health issues that go much deeper than anything I've seen on the subject by organizations associated with the duopoly.

Hartmann blends these issues in a creative fashion that obviously speaks to multiple concerns like politics, health, sustainability, and he covers the various ways different groups seek freedom, and offers insight on the way those groups use the word to frame issues and mobilize people to their ideologies.

The chapter on Denmark as a model we might follow in our own circumstance is worth the price of admission. I fully agree with his analysis on the subject, along with the Dane's enlightened social engagement. It is worth noting that a popular News program also ran a piece a year or so back on the same subject, asserting Dane's as the most socially adaptable modern culture on the planet.

It also begs the question as to why in our own culture we thrive on drama, stress, and building wealth, all at the expense of our own health; while diminishing our own 'soul' life in the quest for ephemeral values not sustained by value societies like the Dane's?

Are we affraid to look in the mirror of our own addictions?

I think this book supersedes Hartmann's previous effort in The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by leaps on bounds. In fact, I would go as far as to say it is his opus, and not likely to be surpassed by other commentators.

The only two things I found frustrating in the book is his lack of citations to quotes he uses of historic figures. It would have been nice to follow his lead and trace the history he offers to validate to my own satisfaction the points he was making. Another weakness in my opinion is Hartmann's penetrating critique against the neo-conservative forces contributing to the downward slide of culture; while this analysis is accurate in my view, it simply does not go far enough to encompass values of truth-telling which accurately reflect the entire political system we share. As such, his analysis ignores to mention that the duopoly of the two dominate parties have each morphed together into an oligarchy, hitching their horses to the corporate superstructure perpetuating the problems Hartmann seeks to overturn.

Now this brings me to the visionary side of the book which opens a portal and illumines mystery. The Greek word for "a mystery" is mysterion. Its interpretation describes something deeper than scholarship can capture. A `mysterion was something to be known, but it came about through some form of initiated knowledge, knowledge that a person can acquire only through his or her own individual insight and experience, and could not be communicated through an ordinary educational process. So the visionary side of the book opens us to a form of prophetic knowing;
it is walking toward cultural "edges" (a theme named in the first chapter of the book), a kind of no man's land where the faint of heart rarely go.

In my view this is area of engagement represents sacred ground because it can lead to transformational outcomes. It unleashes personal and collective energy to take on the hard work of planetary transformation. Of course, this awareness provides an invitation, but like everything else, it is only the individual who can ultimately choose to accept the offer. So the invitation is foundational and before each of us is a portal that opens to another way of being-in-the-world.

Despite my own personal bias regarding the way forward, this is not a book to be taken lightly regardless of one's personal affiliation with a political group: mine is the Green Party. The "edge" is also a place where I think transformational outcomes happen much more quickly than engaging routines, comfort zones, or apathy.

In closing, Hartmann clearly blends and understands complex issues and brings it together in a way of value and insight for anyone who cares about marginal populations and the Earth community of beings.

One person can indeed make a difference despite our political disagreements.

I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking to change the planet or working to make the world a better place for all of us; and as Hartmann so often notes on his radio show and suggests in his closing remarks in Threshold, "Tag, you are it."

Visionary, Smart, Loaded with New Information and a Great Read
It is nice to know that some things in this world are reliable and predictable. Books by Thom Hartmann fall into that category. This book is smart, loaded with new information and as with most of Thom's books, visionary, seeing both the forest AND the trees. He identifies some of the biggest problems we are facing in what we do and how we think... and he provides concrete solutions-- not necessarily easy though.

His discussion on the evolution of freedom is excellent.

His discussion of how we are connected is fascinating and the new info on how an ancient connection to nature is healing autoimmune diseases is incredible.

Thom explains why CEOs of the biggest companies are psychopaths. It makes a lot of sense.

If we're going to change this planet and save humankind, we need to change our ways of thinking and seeing. Hartmann delivers a lucid, enlightening, enjoyable read that gets to the heart of the matter. As always, Hartmann weaves in new facts and an incredible access to history and historical anecdotes that puts new ideas into historical context.