An incredibly beautiful, incredibly sad book, this is the story of the stunningly gorgeous, rich planet we were given. Bloated humanity will be the ending of this story, our lives, and all the unfortunate flora and fauna along with us. ( )

This seems to me an unlikely format (at 34 x 31 x 4 cm, and 7 pounds) for a book with an important message about the incompatibility of a cherished capitalist notion that economic growth is necessary and must continue indefinitely with the reality of a finite world with finite space for people, finite resources, and a need to preserve some wildness on the earth. Sandwiched by essays of William Ryerson and Eileen Crist, the lavishly produced pages of color photographs are emblazoned with quotations from H. D. Thoreau, Aldous Huxley, Paul and Anne Ehrlich, Martin Luther King, Jr., Helena Norberg-Hodge, Juliet B. Schor, James Howard Kunstler, Annie Leonard, Pope Francis, among many others.

A favorite quote, superimposed on a panoramic photo showing masked workers spraying pesticides on endless rows of an unnamed crop in Nicaragua comes from Rachel Carson:

“Why should we tolerate a diet of weak poisons, a home in insipid surroundings, a circle of acquaintance who are not quite our enemies, the noise of motors with just enough relief to prevent insanity? Who would want to live in a world which is just not quite fatal?” ( )

This book moves beyond insider debates and tired arguments (human numbers and overconsumption are both responsible for the crisis of population overshoot). Anchored by a series of provocative photo essays, OVER presents the stark reality of a world transformed by human action that threatens our future and the buzzing, blossoming diversity of life with which we share the planet.