The end of the end of the earth : essays

Summary: The End of the End of the Earth is a collection of Jonathan Franzen's essays and speeches from the past five years, in which he grapples with the most important and heated ethical subjects of the day: environmentalism, capitalism, wealth inequality, race, technology and the role of art. He challenges us to ask difficult questions: What is our civic responsibility in the face of climate change, the greatest ever threat to our planet and species? Does technology give us a sense of control or community or is it stripping these from us? Above all, in these essays, Franzen asks us to care--about causes great and small, with subjects as big as our planet and specific as a rare species of birds. These essays are in praise of empathy, and of the beauty and power of nature and art.