Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Summary:
R. Buckminster Fuller is regarded as one of the most important figures of the 20th century, renowned for his achievements as an inventor, designer, architect, philosopher, mathematician, and dogged individualist. Perhaps best remembered for the Geodesic Dome and the term "Spaceship Earth," his work and his writings have had a profound impact on modern life and thought.
Critical Path is Fuller's master work--the summing up of a lifetime's thought and concern--as urgent and relevant as it was upon its first publication in 1981. Critical Path details how humanity found itself in its current situation—at the limits of the planet's natural resources and facing political, economic, environmental, and ethical crises.
The crowning achievement of an extraordinary career, Critical Path offers the reader the excitement of understanding the essential dilemmas of our time and how responsible citizens can rise to meet this ultimate challenge to our future.
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Fascinating ideas, tough reading
Customer Rating:
This book has some amazing concepts about scientifically designing sustainable structures to support humanity.
Be warned, the writing style is hard to read, with lots of hypenation and big words. However, the underlying concepts are extremely simple.
This book opened my eyes to the possibility that science can be applied to create high living standards for everyone.
Maverick
Customer Rating:
Written by an independent thinker that is still decades if not one century ahead. Breath of practical applications into politics, buildings, societies, reusable resources. Each field requires thinking to absorbe.
Over my head
Customer Rating:
I have to tackle this book in small chunks. I would agree with the review that said the book is not very well written, but the ideas contained are phenomenal. How can you judge something like this? material in the book is 5 stars the ease of reading is 3 stars. I am a forward thinker and a college grad and a fan of Bucky, but it really isn't anything you can just sit down and read. Lots of time for ponderance between reading chapters, to allow comprehension and digestion. This is a must buy for fans of Fuller.
Omni-important
Customer Rating:
This is a tremendous book. Frankly, I am only writing this review to criticize those who didn't like it. (didn't get it more likely) First, one must understand that Bucky was a very unique thinker. As far "slapping on" a word like "omni" in order to sound more intelligent... well that just shows how ignorant the reviewer is. First off, Bucky used his own vocabulary ( that is explained in the book). There was another person who did that once.... Oh yeah I remember SHAKESPEARE!! The word "lonely" didn't exist before Shakes. Pass over this book if you a mediocre person with low intellect.
Good thoughts, poorly written
Customer Rating:
This book was a struggle to read and enjoy. The author, though he has decent ideas (albeit very outdated), takes so many tangents, his point is never clearly made. It's like listening to Grandpa rant on about everything and nothing. I consider myself a very logical "scientifically minded" person. Much of Fuller's ideas of history of humanity are logically thought out based on his understanding and experience although it is not all necessarily based on sufficient scientific/ archeological evidence. So it's difficult to differentiate between which is credible mainstream theory and personal philosophical thoughts. I think the book has some wonderful ideas that apply especially to today's society. It's just a shame that the book was written so poorly and the train of thought was poorly organized. By the way, the Dymaxiom house is a horrible, unsustainable invention. That's why only a couple were built.
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