No Impact Man
The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet
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No Impact Man
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Narrated by:
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Colin Beavan
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By:
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Colin Beavan
About this listen
Bill McKibben meets Bill Bryson in this seriously engaging look at one armchair liberal's decision to put his money where his mouth is and go off the grid for one year - while still living in New York City - and see if it's possible to make no net impact on the environment. In other words, no trash, no toxins in the water, no elevators, no subway, no products in packaging, no air-conditioning, no television....
What would it be like to try to live a no-impact lifestyle? Is it possible? Could it catch on? Is living this way more fun or less fun? More satisfying or less satisfying? Harder or easier? Is it worthwhile or senseless? Are we all doomed or can our culture reduce the barriers to sustainable living so it becomes as easy as falling off a log?
These are the questions at the heart of this whole mad endeavor, via which Colin Beavan hopes to explain to the rest of us how we can realistically live a more "eco-effective" and by turns more content life in an age of inconvenient truths.
©2009 Colin Beavan (P)2009 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Editorial reviews
No Impact Man is the story of Colin Beavan's attempt to become as environmentally conscious as possible over the course of a year. Going beyond swapping plastic bags for cloth, he quickly realizes that saving the planet is not as simple as eschewing his toddler's disposable diapers.
Read by Beavan, this performance can, at times, be stilted, but it lends some great, unexpected credibility to the memoir. Hearing about a personal experience straight from the author makes it feel less like reading a book, and more like hearing an interesting story from a friend. In addition, emotions flow freely and honestly, coming directly from Beavan's experience, re-living the events for the listener. Bringing what can be a heavy, possibly heated topic down to a personal level, there's no lecturing about what one should or shouldn't do for the environment; this is simply one man's experience.
Over the course of the story, Beavan, dubbing himself "No Impact Man", examines his life and that of his wife and child, coming up with countless ways they can change their ways and become more socially conscious. Recognizing that it's easy to stand in judgment of those not making similar efforts, Beavan goes out of his way to be self-deprecating and fully aware that he's taking an extreme approach. As the project goes on and he makes more dramatic sacrifices (such as turning off the power to his apartment), his viewpoint evolves from mere curiosity to an almost frantic idea that no matter what he does, it will never be enough to change the fate of the world.
What starts out as an attempt to live a greener life evolves, leading Beavan to explore much larger issues in his life and how going down this path effects not just him, but those around him. As his project winds down, he finds himself at a crossroads, in conflict with himself, the environment, and where to go from here. After coming so far and doing so much, how does he continue to live his life as he had, knowing what he's capable of doing for the environment? Can he live with himself if he immediately returns to his old ways? Will making select concessions, like taking the elevator to the 25th floor instead of the stairs, make him a hypocrite, or worse, undo all the good intentions the year has given him? What kind of person is he now?
Although the book ends, Beavan's thought-provoking quest to better both himself and the planet continues, leaving listeners to ponder their own role in this world and what steps might be possible to take. Lesley Grossman
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-
Story4 out of 5 stars 322
Unfiltered. Unapologetic. Older, but not wiser, Lancaster goes back to basics in this hilarious essay collection about everything from taking community policing classes to accidentally getting high with her waiter after a fancy dinner. These are the tales she'd tell if she met you in a bar... if she weren't too lazy to put on pants and go to a bar. Offering advice ranging from how to remain happily married to a man who refuses to blow his damn nose already to not creating An Incident at the cheese counter during an attempt at Whole30, she's you, only louder.
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2 out of 5 stars
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self absorbed
- By D D H on 06-15-19
By: Jen Lancaster
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The Big Necessity
- The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters
- By: Rose George
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 53
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 53
We prefer not to talk about it, but we should. Disease spread by waste kills more people worldwide every year than any other single cause of death. Even in America, nearly two million people have no access to an indoor toilet. Yet the subject remains unmentionable. Moving from the underground sewers of Paris, London, and New York (an infrastructure disaster waiting to happen) to an Indian slum where ten toilets are shared by 60,000 people, The Big Necessity breaks the silence, revealing everything that matters about how people do - and don't - deal with their own waste.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Utterly fascinating
- By Clayton on 03-31-19
By: Rose George
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I Regret Nothing
- A Memoir
- By: Jen Lancaster
- Narrated by: Jen Lancaster
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 411
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 368
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 364
New York Times best-selling author Jen Lancaster has lived a life based on re-invention and self-improvement. From Bitter Is the New Black to The Tao of Martha, she’s managed to document her (and her generation’s) attempts to shape up, grow up, and have it all - sometimes with disastrous results...Mistakes are one thing; regrets are another. After a girls’ weekend in Savannah makes her realize that she is - yikes! - middle-aged (binge watching is so the new binge drinking), Jen decides to make a bucket list and seize the day.
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3 out of 5 stars
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The Smug Is Strong With This One
- By T. Filowitz on 05-24-15
By: Jen Lancaster
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Sheepish
- Two Women, Fifty Sheep, and Enough Wool to Save the Planet
- By: Catherine Friend
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 134
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 115
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 115
What do you do when you love your farm...but it doesn’t love you? After 15 years of farming, Catherine Friend is tired. After all, while shepherding is one of the oldest professions, it’s not getting any easier. The number of sheep in America has fallen by 90 percent in the last 90 years. But just as Catherine thinks it’s time to hang up her shepherd’s crook, she discovers that sheep might be too valuable to give up. What ensues is a funny, thoughtful romp through the history of our woolly friends, why small farms are important, and how each one of us - and the planet - would benefit from being very sheepish, indeed.
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3 out of 5 stars
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We're all a little sheepish
- By Pam on 12-23-14
By: Catherine Friend
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My Korean Deli
- Risking It All for a Convenience Store
- By: Ben Ryder Howe
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 339
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 263
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Story4 out of 5 stars 267
This sweet and funny tale of a preppy editor buying a Brooklyn deli with his Korean in-laws is about family, culture clash, and the quest for authentic experiences. It starts with a gift. When Ben Ryder Howe’s wife, the daughter of Korean immigrants, decides to repay her parents’ self-sacrifice by buying them a store, Howe, an editor at the rarefied Paris Review, agrees to go along.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Absolutely delightful!
- By Grace O'Malley on 03-19-11
By: Ben Ryder Howe
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Vodka is Vegan
- A Manifesto for Better Living and Not Being an A**hole
- By: Matt Letten, Phil Letten
- Narrated by: Phil Letten, Matt Letten
- Length: 4 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 114
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 104
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 104
Meet the bros who are making vegan sexy (and making eating animals weird). Think you could never go vegan? Think again. As this smart, funny and persuasive manifesto makes clear, you're already 90 percent vegan anyway. That's right - you already love animals and are slowly but surely eating less meat than you used to. With the insider tips and inspiring stories in this book, you'll be ready to go whole hog (see what we did there?) and eat vegan for good.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Honest review from a fellow vodka drinking vegan..
- By AmazonAddict on 06-28-18
By: Matt Letten, and others
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Stories I'd Tell in Bars
- By: Jen Lancaster
- Narrated by: Jen Lancaster, John Fletcher
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 365
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 325
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Story4 out of 5 stars 322
Unfiltered. Unapologetic. Older, but not wiser, Lancaster goes back to basics in this hilarious essay collection about everything from taking community policing classes to accidentally getting high with her waiter after a fancy dinner. These are the tales she'd tell if she met you in a bar... if she weren't too lazy to put on pants and go to a bar. Offering advice ranging from how to remain happily married to a man who refuses to blow his damn nose already to not creating An Incident at the cheese counter during an attempt at Whole30, she's you, only louder.
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2 out of 5 stars
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self absorbed
- By D D H on 06-15-19
By: Jen Lancaster
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The Last Picture Show
- Thalia Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Larry McMurtry
- Narrated by: John Randolph Jones
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 656
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 594
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 591
An almost-true story about a small town in Texas that ought to exist if it doesn’t, with characters like Sam the Lion, the delectable Jacy, and Ruth Popper, the coach’s wife. Set in a small, dusty, Texas town, The Last Picture Show introduced the characters of Jacy, Duane, and Sonny: teenagers stumbling toward adulthood, discovering the beguiling mysteries of sex and the even more baffling mysteries of love.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Not very good
- By Randall on 07-02-17
By: Larry McMurtry
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Andy Rooney
- 60 Years of Wisdom and Wit
- By: Andy Rooney
- Narrated by: J. Paul Guimont
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 27
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
Chairs. Neat people. Ugliness. War. Over six decades of intrepid reporting and elegant essays, Andy Rooney has proven a shrewd cultural analyst. Andy Rooney: 60 Years of Wisdom and Wit brings together the best of more than a half-century of work (including long-out-of-print pieces from his early years) in an unforgettable celebration of one of America’s funniest men. Like Mark Twain, Finley Peter Dunne (Mister Dooley) and Will Rogers, Andy Rooney is a classic chronicler of America, a writer for the ages.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A good style
- By Denise L. Holtz on 11-04-16
By: Andy Rooney
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The Year of Living Danishly
- Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,348
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,834
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,823
When she was suddenly given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, journalist and archetypal Londoner Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: the happiest place on earth isn't Disneyland but Denmark, a land often thought of by foreigners as consisting entirely of long, dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries. What is the secret to their success? Are happy Danes born or made?
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4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting content. Unfortunate delivery.
- By Jennifer Soudagar on 11-13-15
By: Helen Russell
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Nickel and Dimed
- On (Not) Getting By in America
- By: Barbara Ehrenreich
- Narrated by: Cristine McMurdo-Wallis
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,575
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,003
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,002
This engrossing piece of undercover reportage has been a fixture on the New York Times best seller list since its publication. With nearly a million copies in print, Nickel and Dimed is a modern classic that deftly portrays the plight of America's working-class poor.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Good concept, but poor execution.
- By Marco Forcone on 08-24-04
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My Foot Is Too Big for the Glass Slipper
- A Guide to the Less Than Perfect Life
- By: Gabrielle Reece, Karen Karbo
- Narrated by: Gabrielle Reece, Karen Karbo
- Length: 4 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 168
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 145
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 146
Much has happened to Gabrielle Reece since her 1997 best seller Big Girl in the Middle. She’s still gorgeous, still 6’3”, and a dominant force on and off the beach, but in the last 15 years, she’s settled down with world-class surfer Laird Hamilton and raised three stunning blonde girls. Her life might seem like a fairy tale from afar, but four years after her picture-perfect Hawaiian marriage to Laird, Gabrielle filed for divorce. In the end, the couple worked it out, but My Foot Is Too Big for the Glass Slipper tells the unvarnished and often hilarious tale of the turbulent ups and downs that beset every wife and mother - even the women like Gabrielle who seem to have it all.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Much more relevant than I imagined
- By Bookish420 on 04-24-13
By: Gabrielle Reece, and others
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My Planet
- Finding Humor in the Oddest Places
- By: Mary Roach
- Narrated by: Angela Dawe
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 579
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 531
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Story4 out of 5 stars 526
Follow New York Times best-selling author Mary Roach - but be careful not to trip - as she weaves through personal anecdotes and everyday musings riddled with her uncanny wit and amazingly analytical eye. These essays, which found a well-deserved home within the pages of Reader's Digest as the column "My Planet," detail the inner workings of hypochondriacs, hoarders, and compulsive cheapskates. (Did we mention neurotic interior designers and professional list makers?) For Roach, humor is hidden in the most unlikely places, which means that nothing is off limits.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Narrator drove me crazy
- By Ann on 04-23-14
By: Mary Roach
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Everything Is Awful
- And Other Observations
- By: Matt Bellassai
- Narrated by: Matt Bellassai
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,042
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 954
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Story4 out of 5 stars 950
From the break-out star of BuzzFeed and the People's Choice Award-winning comedian comes a collection of hilariously anguished essays chronicling awful moments from his life so far, the humiliations of being an adult, and other little indignities. Matt Bellassai has no idea what he's doing. Well, to be fair, he did become semi-Internet famous by getting drunk at work, making him a socially-acceptable - nay - professional alcoholic. He's got some things figured out. But the rest is all just a terrible, disgusting mess.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best Audio Book I’ve heard ever.
- By M on 11-23-17
By: Matt Bellassai
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The Moneyless Man
- A Year of Freeconomic Living
- By: Mark Boyle
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 99
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
Imagine a year without spending - or even touching - money. Former businessman Mark Boyle did just that and here is his extraordinary story. Going back to basics and following his own strict rules, Mark learned ingenious ways to eliminate his bills and discovered that good friends are all the riches you need.
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4 out of 5 stars
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In a word, preachy
- By Bob on 05-27-19
By: Mark Boyle
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The Bucolic Plague
- How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers: An Unconventional Memoir
- By: Josh Kilmer-Purcell
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 218
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 192
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 192
A happy series of accidents and a doughnut-laden escape upstate take Josh Kilmer-Purcell and his partner, Brent Ridge, to the doorstep of the magnificent (and fabulously for sale) Beekman Mansion. And so begins their transformation from uptight urbanites into the 200-year-old-mansion-owning Beekman Boys. Suddenly Josh---a full-time New Yorker with a successful advertising career---and Brent find themselves weekend farmers, surrounded by nature's bounty and an eclectic cast.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Selling your dream and name dropping
- By Mark on 09-13-12
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The Man Who Quit Money
- By: Mark Sundeen
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 113
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 101
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Story4 out of 5 stars 101
The Man Who Quit Money is an account of how one man learned to live, sanely and happily, without earning, receiving, or spending a single cent. Suelo doesn't pay taxes, or accept food stamps or welfare. He lives in caves in the Utah canyonlands, forages wild foods and gourmet discards. He no longer even carries an I.D. Yet he manages to amply fulfill not only the basic human needs - for shelter, food, and warmth - but, to an enviable degree, the universal desires for companionship, purpose, and spiritual engagement.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Roots are weak and faith was thin
- By MISSCHRISTY on 08-26-17
By: Mark Sundeen
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The Very Worst Missionary
- A Memoir or Whatever
- By: Jamie Wright
- Narrated by: Madeleine Lambert
- Length: 4 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 316
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 278
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 281
After finding Jesus at a suburban megachurch, young Jamie Wright trades in the easy life on the cul-de-sac for the green fields of Costa Rica. There, along with her husband, kids, and the family cat, she intends to serve God and make converts. But she soon loses faith and falls into a funk of cynicism and despair. Fortunately, Knives the cat is there, looking on with just enough disinterest to make her laugh...and dare her to try another way. That other way turns out to be telling the truth. She launches a renegade blog, Jamie the Very Worst Missionary, which wins a large following.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Didn’t like the book
- By Jonathan on 04-17-20
By: Jamie Wright
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There's Nothing in This Book That I Meant to Say
- By: Paula Poundstone
- Narrated by: Paula Poundstone
- Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 577
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 362
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Story4 out of 5 stars 357
What do the lives of Lincoln, Helen Keller, Joan of Arc, and other historical figures have in common with Paula Poundstone? In the hands of this wryly observant and self-deprecating comedian, the answer is outrageously funny and unexpectedly touching. Poundstone compares her crazy life to theirs, as she holds forth on her children, her career, and the time in her life when it appeared she would lose them both.
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5 out of 5 stars
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More!
- By Evelyn on 02-11-07
By: Paula Poundstone
What listeners say about No Impact Man
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- R. Castro
- 09-27-09
Super Inspiring
You ever wonder sometimes if your life is missing something. This man and his family have the answers to how to have a more loving and connective life through living with less impact on the world.
Everyone should read this and practice this way of life.
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1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 06-10-18
Wow good effort
This got me thinking and acting in my life to try cut out what I can to help the planet. It’s the simple things that matter most and together we can all make an impact.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- melinda
- 02-16-15
Loved it!
Absolutely loved this book! A different direction than I was expecting and yet perfectly inspiring when getting called a crazy hippie gets to be a downer.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mark T
- 09-25-12
Silly Title- Worthwhile Story
Would you listen to No Impact Man again? Why?
No. It's a message that's clearly worth hearing once, but there would be little additional value or excitement to a second time.
What other book might you compare No Impact Man to and why?
It's a genre of its own.
Which scene was your favorite?
The author ran an experiment which many of would conceptually like to pursue, but few of us ever would. Living the experiment vicariously delivers a lot of the learning, without the pain.
Any additional comments?
This is a 1.5 speed read. You don't need to listen at 1.0 speed to get the point, and I moved it to 1.5 speed about 1/3 of the way in.
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2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. Minimac
- 10-03-09
It may change your life
A very interesting tale that, while I can't guarantee that it will change your life, it will make you reconsider our current wasteful ways. The narration is amazingly good for an amateur. My only complaint is that it can be a little "preachy" at times and there's still that nagging question about toilet paper . . .
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1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Myrrh
- 09-14-09
Thank goodness :)
Lovely, engaging, humorous, informative and easy to relate book.
Highly recommended.
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1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Thomas
- 10-01-09
Great!
Really great book, it really changed my lifestyle/view in 8 hours time :-)
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1 person found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- farleyfive
- 02-09-21
boring to be honest
I couldn't get into the story telling. I so appreciate his message, which is how we try to live at home, but I couldn't get past chapter 4. sorry
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- shachar
- 03-09-16
A great book
thank you very much
it't inspiering me to change
the writer who also reads his the best
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- JLS
- 06-30-10
Thought provoking!
If you want a book that will make you think (and then rethink the things you were thinking...), this is a great choice. I loved how the focus was not only on environmental impact, but also about simplifying our lives and remembering what life is really all about (ie the people we love). The author's reading voice is a bit distracting (almost 'valley girlish'!) at times, but as someone else said, a pretty good reading for a first-timer.
Overall very funny, informative, and engaging!
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1 person found this helpful