Too Much Magic

Wishful Thinking, Technology, and the Fate of the Nation

By: James Howard Kunstler

Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin

Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

James Howard Kunstler's critically acclaimed and best-selling The Long Emergency, originally published in 2005, quickly became a grassroots hit, going into nine printings in hardcover. Kunstler's shocking vision of our post-oil future caught the attention of environmentalists and business leaders alike, and stimulated widespread discussion about our dependence on fossil fuels and our dysfunctional financial and government institutions. Kunstler has since been profiled in the New Yorker and invited to speak at TED. In Too Much Magic, Kunstler evaluates what has changed in the last seven years and shows us that, in a post-financial-crisis world, his ideas are more relevant than ever.

"Too Much Magic" is what Kunstler sees in the bright visions of a future world dreamed up by optimistic souls who believe technology will solve all our problems. Their visions remind him of the flying cars and robot maids that were the dominant images of the future in the 1950s. Kunstler's image of the future is much more sober.

With vision, clarity of thought, and a pragmatic worldview, Kunstler argues that the time for magical thinking and hoping for miracles is over, and the time to begin preparing for the long emergency has begun.

©2012 James Howard Kunstler. Parts of this book appeared in a different form in Orion Magazine, July 2011,and Salmagundi, a Quarterly of the Humanities and Social Sciences Nos. 168-9 Fall 2010–Winter 2011. Recorded by arrangement with Grove Atlantic, Inc. (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Old fashion journalism

I believe that what this book says is true, but how does the song go? "I'd love to change the world, but I don't know what to do... so I leave it up to you." He does not tell you what to do about it, not at all. He lays blame to all of the people and decisions he feels are responsible for this. Basically, our society is enjoying itself, with no thought for the future. As for myself, if I was going to heed what he says, I would plan on solar cells for my house, wood heat for the winter, steam engine technology for electricity run off of the wood heat. If you haven't already, I would start by getting out of the city, go to an agricultural town where food is plenty, and have a hand pump well available. You can hook a wind mill up to it later. In short, this is a prequel to any prepper book that you might read on the market. Actually, speaking of markets, you might think about shorting the markets that will fail when petroleum runs out. Invest in the ones that will make a big one the panic sets in. All in all, it is a thought-provoking book.

The End Is Coming, No Really, It Is

Being an environmental science school teacher and a hobby economist, I easily followed along. Mr. Kuntsler is logical, not fanatical. Some of his premises are arguable, but not insane. Even if I don't agree with everything he proposes, his most weighty point hangs on me: How is it that Americans are intoxicated with the elixir of technology? And why are dissonant voices ridiculed? For myself, I'd rather we all at least hedge against knowable, potentially disastrous outcomes. I'm not taking about an asteroid collision. But the more probables like climate alterations, populations crashing, and core resource shortages, especially for peoples living in megacities! Heck, I have a safety net for my family today, but what about my children tomorrow, or my grandchildren further out? Our government certainly isn't preparing for our childrens' future. So, who is? Or who will?

Should have been titled "Too Much Bullsh*t"

"Too Much Bullsh*t" has a double meaning. It reflects both the bullsh*t we as a culture buy into. But it also refers to the bullsh*t fantasies that James Howard Kunstler expounds. Jim’s willing to put himself out there, and sometimes too far out there for this reader. But as a fellow traveler, he’ll always have my ear, no matter how much I may disagree with his interpretation of those facts he conveniently disregards. It’s up to us, his readers, to do or own due-diligence.

Jim's hypocrisy is just as bad, if not worse as those of the institutions he so vehemently criticizes. His ideas are thought-provoking. But when you fact check, you discover that assertions are also biased, based on a carefully curated selection of facts. calls into question the credibility of the facts that inform his other opinions.
Chapter 14 reveals that sometimes Jim is neither fully aware of all the facts nor open to considering other interpretations of events. What’s troubling is that Jim disregards facts that don’t fit his narrative. That’s typical of both MSM and scholarly journals.

Jim’s willing to put himself out there, and sometimes too far out there for this reader. But as a fellow traveler, he’ll always have my ear, no matter how much I may disagree with his interpretation of those facts he conveniently disregards. It’s up to us, his readers, to do or own due-diligence. We'll I've read this book twice, along with his Long Emergency and follow up Living in the Long Emergency. He's a clever writer. I was far too gullible the first time though.

But I blame myself. And rightly so. I have been a fool for buying into Jim's predictions over the last 20 years, from Y2K, to peak oil, and the collapse of the financial system.

And like an end-time fundamentalist prognosticator, Jim simply excuses his misjudgments by now saying that he was right all along, but... he didn't count on this, or that he didn't expect that to occur. But one day he may be proven right. But we'll never know became it's likely that none of us will alive to learn whether or not his dystopian prediction comes true.

If you want to feed your cynicism and deep state paranoia, TMM may be a welcome addition to your dystopian fiction library. If you're looking for a factually based view of the civilization, there are many other books on audible which reference resources the examine facts.

I think we've all had enough "fake news". It's time for intellectual honesty. I hope we find a way there.

Read "Too Much Magic" as a work of fiction that lays the group work for his surprisingly entertaining World Made By Hand,
WMBH is an entertaining series of speculative fiction set in the near future after western civilization implodes. Which of course is due anytime now. Just you wait and see.

All of JHKs books are best read on a stormy night with wolves howling and a gale shaking your windows.