Anthropocene is the period of time during which human activities have had an environmental impact on the Earth regarded as constituting a distinct geological age. This book is about the author reviewing the different facets and aspects of humanity in this human-centered planet by giving star rating for each essay topic. For examples, he gives sunsets five stars but viral meningitis one star. Each essay has its own story which related to his life. He tells the origin of Liverpool Football Team’s anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, history of Lascaux Cave Paintings, QWERTY keyboard, Monopoly board game and the song ‘Auld Lang Syne’.
I enjoy reading about Teddy Bears, named after US President Teddy Roosevelt who refused to shoot a semiconscious bear that has been tied up to a tree during his bear hunting activity. The story of what leads to Jerzy Dudek performance in Champions League Finals 2005 also interest me (not necessarily because I am a Liverpool die-hard fan). John Green shares how classic movie ‘Harvey’ has helped him with his struggle against depression. This is the product when a novelist trying to write a non-fiction. John Green famously known for his best-selling novel ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ and this book is his first non-fiction book.
This book is filled with quotes. But I like to share a quote from the author himself:
“What does it mean to live in a world where you have the power to end species by the thousands, but you can also be brought down to your knees, or to your end, by a single strand of RNA? I have tried here to map some of the places where my little life brushes up against the big forces shaping contemporary human experience, but the only conclusion I can draw is a simple one: We are so small, and so frail, so gloriously and terrifyingly temporary.”
This book is about humanity, humility and gratitude. Definitely it is my book of the year. I give ‘The Anthropocene Reviewed’ five stars.
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