{"product_id":"ecotopia-9780553348477","title":"Ecotopia","description":"\u003ch2\u003eEcotopia by Ernest Callenbach - A Visionary Environmental Novel\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\nErnest Callenbach's \u003cb\u003eEcotopia\u003c\/b\u003e stands as both a timely and prophetic work of environmental fiction, offering a hopeful vision for humanity's ecological future. Published in the 1970s and hailed by the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e as placing Callenbach alongside Wells, Verne, Huxley, and Orwell, this novel presents a detailed blueprint for planetary survival through sustainable living.\n\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Story\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\nSet twenty years after northern California, Oregon, and Washington seceded from the Union, \u003cb\u003eEcotopia\u003c\/b\u003e follows \u003ci\u003eNew York Times-Post\u003c\/i\u003e reporter Will Weston as he becomes the first officially sanctioned American visitor to this mysterious, isolated nation. The new country has established a \"stable-state\" ecosystem that maintains perfect balance between human civilization and the natural environment.\n\nWeston arrives skeptical but curious, determined to report objectively on this green society. What he discovers challenges every assumption: energy-efficient \"mini-cities\" designed to prevent urban sprawl, zero-tolerance pollution control policies, tree worship practices, ritual war games, and a woman-dominated government that has revolutionized work-life balance with twenty-hour workweeks and employee ownership of farms and businesses.\n\nAs Weston explores Ecotopia, his cynicism gradually transforms into hope. His encounter with a sexually forthright Ecotopian woman leads to an intense relationship that forces him to choose between his old world and this new vision of sustainable society.\n\n\u003ch2\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\nErnest Callenbach authored several works including \u003ci\u003eEcotopia Emerging\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Ecotopian Encyclopedia\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003ePublisher's Lunch\u003c\/i\u003e. He co-authored \u003ci\u003eThe Art of Friendship\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHumphrey the Wayward Whale\u003c\/i\u003e with Christine Leefeldt, and \u003ci\u003eA Citizen Legislature\u003c\/i\u003e with Michael Phillips. Callenbach edited natural history books and the journal \u003ci\u003eFilm Quarterly\u003c\/i\u003e at the University of California Press while lecturing on environmental topics worldwide.\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhy Read Ecotopia\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\nThis novel serves as an antidote to contemporary environmental concerns, presenting concrete ideas about sustainable living, alternative government structures, and ecological balance. The paperback edition from Bantam makes this influential work of speculative fiction accessible to readers interested in environmental literature, utopian societies, and visionary thinking about humanity's relationship with nature.","brand":"Bantam","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50680646598930,"sku":"9780553348477","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f4b0ff04-4103-4ff1-8368-8cf9bd1eb7d4.jpg?v=1734923722","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/ecotopia-9780553348477","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}