Essays & Correspondence
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The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet
"Masterful. The Anthropocene Reviewed is a beautiful, timely book about the human condition-and a timeless reminder to pay attention to your attention." -Adam Grant, #1 bestselling author of Think Again and host of the podcast Re:Thinking
The instant #1 bestseller from John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All the Way Down, is now available in paperback with two brand-new essays!
"Gloriously personal and life-affirming. The perfect book for right now." -People
"Essential to the human conversation." -Library Journal, starred review
The Anthropocene is the current geologic age, in which humans have profoundly reshaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays, bestselling author John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale-from the QWERTY keyboard and sunsets to Canada geese and Penguins of Madagascar. Funny, complex, and rich with detail, the reviews chart the contradictions of contemporary humanity.
John Green's gift for storytelling shines throughout this masterful collection. The Anthropocene Reviewed is an open-hearted exploration of the paths we forge and an unironic celebration of falling in love with the world.
The instant #1 bestseller from John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All the Way Down, is now available in paperback with two brand-new essays!
"Gloriously personal and life-affirming. The perfect book for right now." -People
"Essential to the human conversation." -Library Journal, starred review
The Anthropocene is the current geologic age, in which humans have profoundly reshaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays, bestselling author John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale-from the QWERTY keyboard and sunsets to Canada geese and Penguins of Madagascar. Funny, complex, and rich with detail, the reviews chart the contradictions of contemporary humanity.
John Green's gift for storytelling shines throughout this masterful collection. The Anthropocene Reviewed is an open-hearted exploration of the paths we forge and an unironic celebration of falling in love with the world.
Editorial Reviews
From the Introduction
When I reviewed books, "I" was never in the review. I imagined myself as a disinterested observer writing from outside. My early reviews of Diet Dr Pepper and Canada geese were similarly written in the nonfictional version of third-person omniscient narration. After Sarah read them, she pointed out that in the Anthropocene, there are no disinterested observers; there are only participants. She explained that when people write reviews, they are really writing a kind of memoir-here's what my experience was eating at this restaurant or getting my hair cut at this barbershop. I'd written 1,500 words about Diet Dr Pepper without once mentioning my abiding and deeply personal love of Diet Dr Pepper.
Around the same time, as I began to regain my sense of balance, I reread the work of my friend and mentor Amy Krouse Rosenthal, who'd died a few months earlier. She'd once written, "For anyone trying to discern what to do w/ their life: PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU PAY ATTENTION TO. That's pretty much all the info u need." My attention had become so fractured, and my world had become so loud, that I wasn't paying attention to what I was paying attention to. But when I put myself into the reviews as Sarah suggested, I felt like for the first time in years, I was at least trying to pay attention to what I pay attention to.
•••
This book started out as a podcast, where I tried to chart some of the contradictions of human life as I experience it-how we can be so compassionate and so cruel, so persistent and so quick to despair. Above all, I wanted to understand the contradiction of human power: We are at once far too powerful and not nearly powerful enough. We are powerful enough to radically reshape Earth's climate and biodiversity, but not powerful enough to choose how we reshape them. We are so powerful that we have escaped our planet's atmosphere. But we are not powerful enough to save those we love from suffering.
I also wanted to write about some of the places where my small life runs into the large forces of the Anthropocene. In early 2020, after two years of writing the podcast, an exceptionally large force appeared in the form of a novel coronavirus. I began then to write about the only thing I could write about. Amid the crisis-and writing to you from April of 2021, I am still amid it-I find much to fear and lament. But I also see humans working together to share and distribute what we collectively learn, and I see people working together to care for the sick and vulnerable. Even separated, we are bound up in each other. As Sarah told me, th...
When I reviewed books, "I" was never in the review. I imagined myself as a disinterested observer writing from outside. My early reviews of Diet Dr Pepper and Canada geese were similarly written in the nonfictional version of third-person omniscient narration. After Sarah read them, she pointed out that in the Anthropocene, there are no disinterested observers; there are only participants. She explained that when people write reviews, they are really writing a kind of memoir-here's what my experience was eating at this restaurant or getting my hair cut at this barbershop. I'd written 1,500 words about Diet Dr Pepper without once mentioning my abiding and deeply personal love of Diet Dr Pepper.
Around the same time, as I began to regain my sense of balance, I reread the work of my friend and mentor Amy Krouse Rosenthal, who'd died a few months earlier. She'd once written, "For anyone trying to discern what to do w/ their life: PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU PAY ATTENTION TO. That's pretty much all the info u need." My attention had become so fractured, and my world had become so loud, that I wasn't paying attention to what I was paying attention to. But when I put myself into the reviews as Sarah suggested, I felt like for the first time in years, I was at least trying to pay attention to what I pay attention to.
•••
This book started out as a podcast, where I tried to chart some of the contradictions of human life as I experience it-how we can be so compassionate and so cruel, so persistent and so quick to despair. Above all, I wanted to understand the contradiction of human power: We are at once far too powerful and not nearly powerful enough. We are powerful enough to radically reshape Earth's climate and biodiversity, but not powerful enough to choose how we reshape them. We are so powerful that we have escaped our planet's atmosphere. But we are not powerful enough to save those we love from suffering.
I also wanted to write about some of the places where my small life runs into the large forces of the Anthropocene. In early 2020, after two years of writing the podcast, an exceptionally large force appeared in the form of a novel coronavirus. I began then to write about the only thing I could write about. Amid the crisis-and writing to you from April of 2021, I am still amid it-I find much to fear and lament. But I also see humans working together to share and distribute what we collectively learn, and I see people working together to care for the sick and vulnerable. Even separated, we are bound up in each other. As Sarah told me, th...
Readers Top Reviews
AriAngelaChase W.
I've watched John Green for a while, but this is the first book of his I've ever read. If you know John Green, you probably already know why this book is worth reading. It's a deeply sincere, vulnerable and ultimately optimistic set of memoirs that made me cry several times. I recommend this book to everyone, and I've lent my copy multiple times now.
Jordan JeffersonA
Easily my favorite book of 2022. It's taken directly from his podcast, so if you're a listener, you've likely heard what's in the book. This is my first go round with John Green, and I found it informative, readable, and thought provoking.
LWJordan Jefferso
This book is so good. John Green wrote such a though provoking book. It has funny parts, sad parts, and a lot of thoughts that I could identify with (Scratch n Sniff stickers!). This is definitely an excellent book.
LWJordan Jeffe
Loved this book. Will definitely read again. If you are a John Green fan, like the person not just his books, you'll love this!
Dean Krosecz LW
I am grateful for John Green and his essays in “The Anthropocene Reviewed.” With his honest and hopeful words, he reminds us that, though we live in a hopeless, meaningless, and ugly world, we can still hope, make meaning, and beauty. Mr. Green reminds us that, even though our current situation seems to be hopeless, yet we chose to hope…and work to make this planet better and to give hope to others. He brings us back to understanding that, even though there is no real meaning in the universe, we chose to create meaningful relationships, communities, and families. Finally, John (because I now think of him as a friend even though we’ve never met and, probably never will meet), reminds us that, yes, we have made this beautiful planet an ugly place to live but, we choose to fight to preserve and hopefully replenish the splendor that is left. We also create more beauty every day for beauty’s sake. In “The Anthropocene Reviewed” you will be confronted with the world as it is. You will also have hope, meaning, and beauty gifted to you in a way that is difficult to refuse. I give John Green and “The Anthropocene Reviewed” five stars.
Short Excerpt Teaser
From the Introduction
When I reviewed books, "I" was never in the review. I imagined myself as a disinterested observer writing from outside. My early reviews of Diet Dr Pepper and Canada geese were similarly written in the nonfictional version of third-person omniscient narration. After Sarah read them, she pointed out that in the Anthropocene, there are no disinterested observers; there are only participants. She explained that when people write reviews, they are really writing a kind of memoir-here's what my experience was eating at this restaurant or getting my hair cut at this barbershop. I'd written 1,500 words about Diet Dr Pepper without once mentioning my abiding and deeply personal love of Diet Dr Pepper.
Around the same time, as I began to regain my sense of balance, I reread the work of my friend and mentor Amy Krouse Rosenthal, who'd died a few months earlier. She'd once written, "For anyone trying to discern what to do w/ their life: PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU PAY ATTENTION TO. That's pretty much all the info u need." My attention had become so fractured, and my world had become so loud, that I wasn't paying attention to what I was paying attention to. But when I put myself into the reviews as Sarah suggested, I felt like for the first time in years, I was at least trying to pay attention to what I pay attention to.
•••
This book started out as a podcast, where I tried to chart some of the contradictions of human life as I experience it-how we can be so compassionate and so cruel, so persistent and so quick to despair. Above all, I wanted to understand the contradiction of human power: We are at once far too powerful and not nearly powerful enough. We are powerful enough to radically reshape Earth's climate and biodiversity, but not powerful enough to choose how we reshape them. We are so powerful that we have escaped our planet's atmosphere. But we are not powerful enough to save those we love from suffering.
I also wanted to write about some of the places where my small life runs into the large forces of the Anthropocene. In early 2020, after two years of writing the podcast, an exceptionally large force appeared in the form of a novel coronavirus. I began then to write about the only thing I could write about. Amid the crisis-and writing to you from April of 2021, I am still amid it-I find much to fear and lament. But I also see humans working together to share and distribute what we collectively learn, and I see people working together to care for the sick and vulnerable. Even separated, we are bound up in each other. As Sarah told me, there are no observers; only participants.
When I reviewed books, "I" was never in the review. I imagined myself as a disinterested observer writing from outside. My early reviews of Diet Dr Pepper and Canada geese were similarly written in the nonfictional version of third-person omniscient narration. After Sarah read them, she pointed out that in the Anthropocene, there are no disinterested observers; there are only participants. She explained that when people write reviews, they are really writing a kind of memoir-here's what my experience was eating at this restaurant or getting my hair cut at this barbershop. I'd written 1,500 words about Diet Dr Pepper without once mentioning my abiding and deeply personal love of Diet Dr Pepper.
Around the same time, as I began to regain my sense of balance, I reread the work of my friend and mentor Amy Krouse Rosenthal, who'd died a few months earlier. She'd once written, "For anyone trying to discern what to do w/ their life: PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU PAY ATTENTION TO. That's pretty much all the info u need." My attention had become so fractured, and my world had become so loud, that I wasn't paying attention to what I was paying attention to. But when I put myself into the reviews as Sarah suggested, I felt like for the first time in years, I was at least trying to pay attention to what I pay attention to.
•••
This book started out as a podcast, where I tried to chart some of the contradictions of human life as I experience it-how we can be so compassionate and so cruel, so persistent and so quick to despair. Above all, I wanted to understand the contradiction of human power: We are at once far too powerful and not nearly powerful enough. We are powerful enough to radically reshape Earth's climate and biodiversity, but not powerful enough to choose how we reshape them. We are so powerful that we have escaped our planet's atmosphere. But we are not powerful enough to save those we love from suffering.
I also wanted to write about some of the places where my small life runs into the large forces of the Anthropocene. In early 2020, after two years of writing the podcast, an exceptionally large force appeared in the form of a novel coronavirus. I began then to write about the only thing I could write about. Amid the crisis-and writing to you from April of 2021, I am still amid it-I find much to fear and lament. But I also see humans working together to share and distribute what we collectively learn, and I see people working together to care for the sick and vulnerable. Even separated, we are bound up in each other. As Sarah told me, there are no observers; only participants.
