I just finished reading a great book called The Gods Themselves.
Isaac Asimov dedicates The Gods Themselves to mankind, and to the hope that the war against folly may someday be won after all. Asimov believed that mankind’s approach to environmental issues was skewed. In The Gods Themselves, we see, through the lens of science fiction, the holes in mankind’s approaches to dealing with the environment. This idea is summed up by the character Senator Burt (this is quoted on the first page of my copy of the book) when he says:
“It is a mistake, to suppose that the public wants the environment protected or their lives saved and that they will be grateful to any idealist who will fight for such ends. What the public wants is their own individual comfort.”
Thinking about the environment by reading a science fiction book was a new experience for me. I’m not planning on changing my lifestyle because I read this book, but I see the problem in a new way. I guess, as Senator Burt suggests, I just want my own individual comfort.
I decided to read this book because it is considered one of the classics of Science Fiction. It won the Nebula and Hugo awards for best novel. Many consider it one of Isaac Asimov’s best standalone novels. I was not disappointed. It was a book I couldn’t put down. Like all great sci-fi books you enter a world you could have never imagined before reading. I’m glad I visited.
You can watch a more detailed analysis of the book I did on YouTube.
If you are interested in reading The Gods Themselves you can purchase it from Amazon here.
Write to me: sam@samuelpedro.com