Read my full thoughts on this book and hundreds more over at Read.Write.Repeat.

While the Prince of Wales does get a bit preachy, he also makes some incredibly wise and valuable points which could benefit us all. I enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would. I especially enjoyed that Prince Charles himself read the audiobook, making it that much more fun. It definitely gave me a better understanding of Charles the man and, perhaps, what Charles the king will be like. Behind the royal interest, though, I found myself happily engaged with the subject matter and appreciating it far more than I anticipated I would.

A worthwhile tho difficult read at times.

Philosophical environmentalism, this guy's a smarty pants.

As a culture, Western civilization has been pillaging Nature with increasing virulence for the last 400 years or so. Science and technology, while not bad in and of themselves, are increasingly seen as a means to an end. We clear and burn rainforests at an extraordinary rate, releasing tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere and reducing the planet's ability to restore the balance. Monoculture farming degrades the soil, leading to increased use of chemical fertilizers.

HRH the Prince of Wales has spent 40 years encouraging better practices amongst farmers, artisans, architects, builders, educators and others, in order that we might save our planet and restore the balance. This book is his attempt to reach a wider audience. Though not a scientist himself, Prince Charles has access to scientists and others, people who understand that Nature is more than a bunch of plants and animals but a whole, living creation, one which sustains us, nurtures us... and one which we are abusing most abominably.

Think what you will about Prince Charles. He is an intelligent and thoughtful man, a man concerned about the state of the planet we are leaving to our children and grandchildren. In this book, he discusses the wisdom of the ancients, the patterns that resonate through Nature and through ourselves, all leading to ways we can improve our world without it costing the earth.

Everyone, from labourers to heads of state, should read this book. Perhaps it will show us the way to save ourselves and future generations.

Although it is 10 years old, still very relevant to today’s world

This is a lofty book with lofty ideas. Are they all bad ideas? Definitely not. I think most of us can agree that on our current trajectory as earthlings with regard to how we treat the earth, we're going to be in trouble. We face a lot of issues: pollutions, limited resources, unplanned growth, etc. Prince Charles tries to tackle a lot of these issues in this book and while there are some very good sections (the architecture and urban design sections were particularly interesting to me), much of his argument seems to meander a bit too much to keep me hooked to this book.

There are some very interesting sections that are worth a read though. As I mentioned Prince Charles argues strongly for "smart growth," a subject that I care deeply about. "Smart growth" means planning growth in such a way that it is conducive for people to live in while ensuring that the growth makes sense environmentally. Prince Charles has worked a lot to create awareness for "smart growth" principles.

The other thing that I loved in this book are the photographs. They are absolutely gorgeous.

Bottom line: this book would have served well with a little more editing. There's some interesting information, you just have to be willing to look for it.