Some of the dead are still breathing : living in the future

In more than a dozen groundbreaking books and many articles, Charles Bowden has blazed a trail of fire from the deserts of the Southwest to the centers of power where abstract ideas of human nature hold sway — and to the roiling places that give such ideas the lie. He has claimed as his turf "our soul history, the germinal material, vast and brooding, that is always left out of more orthodox (all of them) books about America" (Jim Harrison, on __Blood Orchid__).In this seminal book, Bowden turns his fearless gaze toward the future, the future we can feel hurtling toward us as fuel reserves dwindle, species die out, terrorism flourishes, the Earth warms, and our ability to be fully awake — alert and impassioned in our lives — wanes. Weaving together natural history, memoir, reportage, and sheer virtuosic writing, he takes us on a furious tour of our emerging reality, his observations from the borderlands — of nations, laws, species, and desire — all the more searing for his refusal to be our scourge.Bowden has always had the gift of prophecy, but __Some of the Dead Are Still Breathing__ is proof that the times have caught up with his vision. We need that vision now more than ever. In more than a dozen groundbreaking books and many articles, Charles Bowden has blazed a trail of fire from the deserts of the Southwest to the centers of power where abstract ideas of human nature hold sway and to the roiling places that give such ideas the lie. He has claimed as his turf "our soul history, the germinal material, vast and brooding, that is always left out of more orthodox (all of them) books about America" (Jim Harrison, on Blood Orchid ). In this seminal book, Bowden turns his fearless gaze toward the future, the future we can feel hurtling toward us as fuel reserves dwindle, species die out, terrorism flourishes, the Earth warms, and our ability to be fully awake alert and impassioned in our lives wanes. Weaving together natural history, memoir, reportage, and sheer virtuosic writing, he takes us on a furious tour of our emerging reality, his observations from the borderlands of nations, laws, species, and desire all the more searing for his refusal to be our scourge. Bowden has always had the gift of prophecy, but Some of the Dead Are Still Breathing is proof that the times have caught up with his vision. We need that vision now more than ever. Hardcover. Pub date: 2009 Pages: 256 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Praise for A SHADOW IN THE CITY Atruly gripping narrative-San Francisco Bay Guardian PRAISE FOR DOWN BY THE RIVER utal and illiantly reported ... Remarkably vivid .. . [Bowden] captures the way greed. ethnicity. and an old-school emphasis on honor interact to create a world in which violence is the only constant. - The New Yorker PRAISE FOR BLOOD ORCHID Blood Orchid is its own trip. illiant. .. always compelling. Bowden says what he means. hang the consequences. He is becoming one of our most important voices in the so-called New West.-William Kittredge Los Angeles Times PRAISE FOR BLUES FOR CANNIBALS [Bowden is a] .. . thrillingly good writer whose grandness of vision is only heightened by the bleak originality of his voice.-Ron Hansen The New York Times Book Review Evaluates The Prospects Of Our Near-future World In The Face Of Dwindling Fuel Reserves, Terrorism, And A Decreasing Capacity Of Everyday People To Experience Passion And Connection. Floating -- Red -- Serpent -- Room -- Ocean -- Red -- Lullaby. Charles Bowden.