Greetings and Salutations

I am proud to announce the long-awaited release of Sustainable or Bust.  It’s immediately available in paperback and Kindle versions from Amazon outlets around the world.  It will shortly be available via non-Amazon booksellers — the printer indicates that my book will slither its way through the various independent distribution channels in “approximately six weeks.”  It may just be the perfect gift for every occasion! 

As a rule, I have no affection for corporations, but I do have gratitude for Amazon (the seller), and its subsidiary CreateSpace (the printer), for allowing me to share my work with the world.  They roll out the red carpet for authors who wish to self-publish — a lifesaver for folks who are writing to a limited audience.  The book is “print on demand,” so if someone orders five copies, five copies are printed.  Thus, unsold copies will never be tossed in a dumpster.  It will remain “in print” indefinitely, whether or not it sells briskly.

Creating this book has been fascinating and satisfying.  I’m thrilled to share it with the world.  But from a business perspective, it’s been a pure loss — all expenses and zero income.  It would be fun to recover my expenses.  It would be even more fun if I could spend my remaining days as a wordsmith, in some way.

My primary interest is in nurturing the discussion of genuine sustainability, so the unborn generations of all species might suffer less — and to share the dream of humankind once again returning to balance with the family of life, a dream of great healing.  Having this project pay for itself is a secondary interest.

Anyone can read early versions of the contents of the book on my blog, free of charge.  On the blog, the sequence of the posts is random.  In the official book, the sections are ordered in a sequence that I feel has more coherence and impact, and a significant number of imperfections have been thrown overboard, screaming.

PLEASE (!!!) contemplate the notion of writing a review and posting it on Amazon, if you can conjure at least 20 words of commentary.  Positive reviews provide encouragement to pilgrims who do not know my work.  The reviews are relayed to all Amazon outposts on Earth, and you do not have to use your real name, or buy the book from them.  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

Sustainable or Bust is priced at $14.95, and it can be purchased from many outlets.  I’m sometimes asked which purchase option provides the most income to me, the author. 

If you buy directly from the printer’s CreateSpace eStore, I receive $8.11.  CreateSpace is an Amazon subsidiary, not a shady enterprise running in a Hoboken garage.  It has printing facilities in several locations on Earth, to control shipping costs.  Approved booksellers can buy books at wholesale prices via CreateSpace Direct.    Sustainable or Bust    What Is Sustainable

If you buy from Amazon, I receive $5.12.  At Amazon, the “Look Inside” feature is enabled, allowing you to examine portions of the book’s content, and to search the contents.  Amazon is where to post comments, even if you don’t buy from them.    Sustainable or Bust    What Is Sustainable

If you buy from other booksellers, I receive $2.13.

The Kindle versions of my books are priced at $2.99, of which I get $2.09.  The books can be downloaded in seconds, with no shipping charges, and no cardboard box dies in the process.  A Kindle device is not needed; you can download free software for reading books on your computer, tablet, or phone.  Lending is enabled, so buyers can temporarily “lend” the digital book to a friend.  Also, Amazon Prime members can “borrow” the book from Amazon, free of charge, and Amazon will pay me a varying commission in the neighborhood of $2.00.    Sustainable or Bust    What Is Sustainable

The following is the official description jabber for Sustainable or Bust:

Clearly, the “normal” way of life is the opposite of genuine sustainability, and it has an expiration date.  Any way of life that is fully in balance with the family of life must be genuinely sustainable, a healthy path with a future.  At present, too few really comprehend this concept.  It would be wise to learn, and Sustainable or Bust is a useful tool for the job.

Seven-point-something billion people can’t switch to sustainable living this afternoon, because it’s temporarily impossible.  But the collapse of industrial civilization is now in its early stages, and when it’s done, the human sphere will be much smaller, slower, and simpler.  Decades down the road, many new options will become possible, including genuine sustainability.

We could help our descendants find a more direct path to health and balance by learning about sustainability now, and sharing this wisdom with the young ones.  There’s never been a better time to hit the books and feed our minds — before the lights go out.  Nothing can change until ideas change.

My first book, What Is Sustainable, presented an introduction to genuine sustainability, with an emphasis on food.  Sustainable or Bust is a collection of 64 book reviews, and 16 rants.  It’s a gallery of thinkers, scholars, and ideas that might make “normal” minds itch and squirm.  This book is for pilgrims who are awake, alive, and weary of normal — minds hungry for outside-the-box ideas.

I don’t expect to see the end of the collapse.  What the survivors, if any, choose to do is entirely beyond my control.  I am not responsible for the decisions they make, but I am responsible for doing what I can to help them understand their history, predicament, and options.  Who are we?  Where are we from?  How did we get here?

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For over 20 years, Richard Adrian Reese has been on a quest to comprehend the mysterious riddle of the Earth Crisis.  His primary focus is exploring genuine sustainability and ecological history.  These are tremendously important subjects, but poorly understood.  He has a history degree from Western Michigan University, and lives in Oregon.

NOTE:  Because of software quirks, the Kindle version of Sustainable or Bust has a gray cover, and the paperback version has a white one.  The content is the same, except that the Kindle version has no index, since it’s searchable.