Drinking Molotov Cocktails with Gandhi

Powerful, well written, and deeply thought provoking. A must read. Thanks for being an inspiration, Mark.

brilliant. An absolute must read for anyone tired of being a pacifist and wants real change.

Drinking molotov cocktails with Gandhi by Mark BoyleA review by Lorenzo costaI met Mark in London in September, we spoke a lot and had a great connection. He gave me his last book and I promised to review it. Time past, and I have just finished the book. It took me time to finish it and this is because this book is not an easy read. I started out swiftly and slowly started halting on some pages, first one, then two, three, I started turning the corners of the pages as reminders, and in the end they were nearly all turned. The concepts Mark shares are so dense they set you thinking and you can’t just dismiss the ideas and insights he shares with a light mind. Every chapter takes the reader in a journey to discover the mess our world is, made up of false views and explanations. He takes the reader down a path that leads to a very interesting ending/starting point. End of the path, start of reshaping of our minds and practices.Mark describes our world in a clear and raw way without a medium, but every time it is not only a deconstruction of our world, but a reconstruction. Mark builds our strength in interpreting the reality we live in, sharing paths of solution.The whole book tends to the concept of rewilding earth, and rewilding man. To explain this concept he uses the example of the introduction of the grey wolf in Yellowstone national park. When I heard this story recalled by Mark in London at a public speech, many I think didn’t understand what the strength of the idea was. Many associated the wolf with us and saw the predator instinct we supposedly share. I have come to a conclusion on this point. When Mark speaks of rewilding earth and us, he’s not speaking of feral instincts he’s speaking of feeling, connection, and balance.The introduction of the grey wolf in Yellowstone wasn’t useful for the fact they introduced a top predator, it was useful for the fact it took back balance to the system. Rewilding ourselves is not putting us in a top spot it’s introducing us back to where we belong: earth, the global ecosystem, nature. Rewilding is about building balance in ourselves and our lives. It is about connecting to our inner-self and outer-self. We have grown up to be imbalanced and are transferring that imbalance to the rest of the planet, from centuries in the so called first world. Only if we shift back to connecting and not simply using, will our presence here be of some use to the rest of nature.Mark Boyle’s book is a mind opener, a must for those that want to see there is still a great deal we can do, it’s not all lost, but we have to open our eyes now, and rewild!

Each of Mark Boyle’s books has inspired me to dive deeper into myself than ever before. With the knowledge he shares in his writing I have had no choice but to make great changes in my life to live out my beliefs. Drinking Molotov Cocktails with Gandhi was the toughest of his books to swallow, but the most necessary in realizing what must be done to live on a truly sustainable and just planet. There is no hiding from the truth after reading this book.

fascinating book, well written

ESSENTIAL READING FOR ANYONE WHO LOVES OUR PLANETBOYLE IS FIERCELY AND FEARLESSLY RADICAL. THIS BOOK IS A GAME-CHANGER .

Excellent book...well worth reading

He has many good points and perspectives. However, he is unfortunately also missing out on including obvious and fundamental perspectives.The book is single-mindedly pointing out "The Machine" to be the main bad guy to have created an environmental mess on our planet. The Machine is defined as mainly the Industry, but also the politicians and the authorities. This is a cognitive shortcut which does not hold water.The truth is that anyone, myself including, who comes from a First World Country (Denmark in my case), is or has been a nut or a bolt in The Machine of environmental destruction. At least 999 people out of 1000 have to admit this fact to themself. This is the first step to change.Mark Boyle's main focus is that more people should begin to sabotage and destroy The Machine. Good point! I definitely agree. No doubt about that. However, the only serious and effective way to destroy The Machine is peaceful and rather simple: Perma-culture, minimalism, eat less meat, consume less water, own a bicycle instead of a car, recycle, buy only what you need, sell all of your stuff which you are not using, work only 1-3 days a week, stop flying in airplanes, change to a job which is better for the environment, so on and so forth. There are many ways to weaken The Machine. Do this first, and then start encouraging people around you to do the same - becoming an eco-terrorist does not (in almost all cases) benefit the environment. Not cleaning up your own back yard before you start changing the world is hypocritical and not very constructive. He should have given much more focus to this obvious truth, and then subsequently trying to inspire, might even instruct, people to make fundamental changes in their own life.This book needs to have 50 - 75 pages cut out and replaced with fresh ideas. It is by far the most repetitive text I have ever read. On the good side; the book is a great tribute to the diversity of the English language - It is beautifully written.

Bought as a present, recipient very pleased