The upshot of the book is that humanity's whole philosophy of designing technology is destructive to the planet. What we need to do is realize that since the Earth is a closed system, we need to use industrial processes that both avoid toxifying the environment and produce finished products whose raw materials can be endlessly reused. We're not talking convential recycling programs, where various kinds of plastic get melted together to produce a big mass of low-quality material. The authors provide several examples of products that meet their conditions. They're well-equipped to do so, since for a decade they've run a design firm that helps companies do exactly what they preach.

There's more to this book than just a "2nd industrial revolution". When the authors apply the same basic ideas to urban planning, economic "efficiency", or health issues, it really gives us some great points to ponder. Hopefully some of us will even be inspired to action. It's really a very important book.


People and their stuff CAN co-exist   May 9, 2002
 24 out of 28 found this review helpful

At 1-1/4 lbs, "Cradle to Cradle" is more than twice as heavy as a same-size paperback edition of John Steinbeck's "The Winter of Our Discontent" and the fact is more than incidental.

"Remaking the Way We Make Things", the book's subtitle, is the social agenda of its authors, architect Bill McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart. They take issue with the three R's of environmentalism, "reduce, reuse and recycle." The process by which plastic bottles are recycled into carpet, for example, also produces considerable waste and the carpet itself "is still on its way to a landfill; it's just stopping off in your house en route."

The authors advocate designing products so that after their useful lives, either the product components provide biological nutrients for new products or circulate in a closed industrial loop.

The Yanomamo of Brazil whose banana soup dish may contain the ashes of their dearly departed was one source of inspiration for Braungart and McDonough was moved by the simple, natural and effective technology of the Bedouin whose goat hair tents ventilate hot air up and out and, when it rains, swell with absorbed moisture and provide protection.

The authors are walking the talk with the physical design of this new book. It is made of a waterproof polymer developed by Melcher Media so it can be read in the bath or at the beach, provided you have sufficient wrist strength to hoist it to viewing level. And the book can be "upcycled", made into a high quality polymer, at least theoretically. Until such time, place this book on the shelf above your hot tub next to Aqua Erotica, a collection of stories dealing with water and sex, another book of "Durabook" construction.

Undoubtedly, an electronic edition of the book would be most eco-effective. Also, a digital version would be searchable and might compensate for lack of an index. Despite its flaws as a model, it offers a vision of the future in which people and their stuff can co-exist.


Excellent Ideas Book   October 22, 2002
 22 out of 28 found this review helpful

Let's be clear: this book is about ideas.

It's not a "how to" manual. It's not a recipe book. It's about promoting the idea of designing things that "work" over their entire life cycle. Which includes the time they spend, for example, in landfill leaching toxins into the earth.

It's about how many commonly used household products carry all sorts of chemical legacies of their "short cut" design processes. When spending more time in the design process could result in big savings at the factory, at the furniture superstore, and in the amount of toxins off-gassed into your home or into the environment.

And it's about redesigning industrial processes inside large and small organisations to both save a LOT of money, and achieve the goal of "whole life cycle" safety and excellence.

And so, in explaining these concepts, there is little space for pages and pages of graphs and chemical formulas. It's a concept book - not an industrial chemistry manual.

It seems like there are three kinds of people who will read this book:
1) People who know nothing about the topic. Folk like this will be blown away by the possibility this book represents and will ask "WHY!?" the kinds of things outlined in the book aren't done as routine.
2) Industrial Chemists/Scientists. Folk like this will probably say "Yes! At last this stuff is getting publicised!" These people won't need the pages of formulas other reviewers have criticised the book for not having, they will know that stuff already.
3) Pseudo-Intellectuals. These people will likely criticise the book for not having the formulas and graphs they couldn't understand if it did.

If you want ideas, buy this book. If you want a chemistry textbook, buy one.


Don't judge a book by its cover   February 17, 2004
 19 out of 26 found this review helpful

The most compelling aspect of this book is the fact that it is a Durabook, printed on recyclable plastic "paper" that saves trees and results in waterproof pages so that you can quite literally take this book anywhere you go. It is too bad McDonough and Braungart didn't give as much attention to their narrative, which reads as a blatant piece of self-promotion.

The authors have established a good reputation for themselves in recent years, successfully promoting their green ideas on Ford Motor Company, Nike and other high profile companies. But, this book woefully comes up short in terms of ideas, as it reads like a screed on green consciousness, rather than a helpful guide to gaining greater eco-awareness, especially in terms of the built environment. I was looking for at least one demonstration of their ideas in terms of resource material, but there is none. We are simply led to believe that McDonough and Braungart have carried out successful projects with green consciousness in mind.

Contrast this with books like Ecological Design by Sim Van Der Ryn and The Green Skyscraper by Ken Yeang, and you will see what I mean. Van Der Ryn and Yeang provide vital information in terms of how they have successfully built sustainable buildings. Yeang maybe a little too heavily as he offers much in terms of raw data on his innovative high-rise buildings that readers might find tedious. But, if you are like me, these are the books you are looking for. Cradle to Cradle is little more than a clever advertisement for McDonough and Braungart.