REVIEW:

Anthropocene (noun): the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment.

Have you ever heard that term before now? I sure hadn’t heard of it before coming across John Green’s excellent 2021 essay collection, written during COVID lockdown, in which he reviews a wide range of aspects of our existence.

Yes, John Green is the author of uber-popular Young Adult novels like The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska. But no, this is not really a book targeted to those readers. Rather, it’s written for those who delight in the mundane and revel in the extraordinary. Nonfiction lovers who read to learn could do a heck of a lot worse than to give a chance to Green’s first nonfiction foray.

In this collection, topics covered include anything and everything: teddy bears, Kentucky bluegrass, velociraptors, whispering, viral meningitis, Monopoly, Diet Dr Pepper, sunsets, and many more. Green gives a bit of historical or contextual background, shares his perspective on the subject, then rates it on a 5-star scale.

I rarely quote from books in my reviews, but seeing as how this particular one is quite meta in that I’m reviewing a book about reviews for people that primarily read and write reviews, I found this section of the Introduction fascinating:

“The five-star scale has only been used in critical analysis for the past few decades. While it occasionally applied to film criticism as early as the 1950s, the five-star scale wasn’t used to rate hotels until 1979, and it wasn’t widely used to rate books until Amazon introduced user reviews. (It) really doesn’t exist for humans; it exists for data aggregation systems, which is why it did not become standard until the internet era. Making conclusions about a book’s quality from a 175-word review is hard for artificial intelligences, where as star ratings are ideal for them.”

And with that, The Anthropocene Reviewed = 4.5 stars.

PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:

A deeply moving and insightful collection of personal essays from #1 bestselling author John Green.

The Anthropocene is the current geologic age, in which humans have profoundly reshaped the planet and its biodiversity. In this remarkable symphony of essays adapted and expanded from his groundbreaking podcast, bestselling author John Green reviews different facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale — from the QWERTY keyboard and sunsets to Canada geese and Penguins of Madagascar.

Funny, complex, and rich with detail, the reviews chart the contradictions of contemporary humanity. As a species, we are both far too powerful and not nearly powerful enough, a paradox that came into sharp focus as we faced a global pandemic that both separated us and bound us together.

John Green’s gift for storytelling shines throughout this masterful collection. The Anthropocene Reviewed is a openhearted exploration of the paths we forge and an unironic celebration of falling in love with the world.