A critique of the current state and future prospects of the American environmental movement. It presents the results of interviews with a wide range of individuals both within and outside the movement in order to elucidate the core issues and problems confronting today's environmentalists.

The author of this work draws on more than 30 years of journalistic and literary output (including reporting for the "New York Times") to offer a critique of the current state and future prospects of the American environmental movement. The book presents the results of interviews with a wide range of individuals both within and outside the movement with the mission of elucidating the core issues and problems confronting today's environmentalists, and analyzing the movement's strengths and weaknesses. Phillip Shabecoff's prescription is for a more powerful, diverse and sophisticated, visionary and flexible movement committed to reform of the education system, taming the global economy, working for political reform, directing the course of scientific enterprise and developing a new moral centre.