The Story of Stuff

By: Annie Leonard

Narrated by: Annie Leonard

How Our Obsession with Stuff is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health - and a Vision for Change

We have a problem with Stuff. With just 5 percent of the world's population, were consuming 30 percent of the world's resources and creating 30 percent of the worlds waste. If everyone consumed at U.S. rates, we would need three to five planets!

This alarming fact drove Annie Leonard to create the Internet film sensation The Story of Stuff, which has been viewed over 10 million times by people around the world. In her sweeping, groundbreaking book of the same name, Leonard tracks the life of the Stuff we use every day where our cotton T-shirts, laptop computers, and aluminum cans come from, how they are produced, distributed, and consumed, and where they go when we throw them out. Like Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, The Story of Stuffis a landmark book that will change the way people think and the way they live.

Leonard's message is startlingly clear: we have too much Stuff, and too much of it is toxic. Outlining the five stages of our consumption-driven economy from extraction through production, distribution, consumption, and disposal, she vividly illuminates its frightening repercussions. Visiting garbage dumps and factories around the world, Leonard reveals the true story behind our possessions why it's cheaper to replace a broken TV than to fix it; how the promotion of "perceived obsolescence" encourages us to toss out everything from shoes to cell phones while they're still in perfect shape; and how factory workers in Haiti, mine workers in Congo, and everyone who lives and works within this system pay for our cheap goods with their health, safety, and quality of life. Meanwhile we, as consumers, are compromising our health and well-being, whether it's through neurotoxins in our pillows or lead leaching into our kids food from their lunch boxes and all this Stuff isn't even making us happier!

©2010 Annie Leonard (P)2010 Simon & Schuster

A Must Read Book

What made the experience of listening to The Story of Stuff the most enjoyable?

Reading The Story of Stuff made me feel like I was living in another world. I do not educate myself to the harmful tradgic events surround me. I carelessly live my life unaware of the damage I could be causing my mind or body. Change is difficult but I am seriously working on some issues.

What did you like best about this story?

The whole book was an adventure in awareness, growth and society.

Which character – as performed by Annie Leonard – was your favorite?

No one character comes to mind. All references were worthwhile.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes! I may not have wanted to listen to this book but it was one that I needed to listen too.

Any additional comments?

How do we educate other about the abuses going on in our society and in third world countries.

Important book

Annie Leonard has done extensive research on the impact of our consumerist lifestyles in North America in particular. At the same time she has made a sincere attempt to make the content accessible to all, on a topic that should be of concern to everyone on the planet, but in particular those of us who by our everyday choices can reduce our disproportionate impact on the planet for current and future generations. I will buy this book for any of my friends or family who would be willing to listen to it or read it. I wish it were required reading in schools.

Life changing.

This is a must read. Sobering and inspiring. Can we make this a required read in schools??

an excellent entry point

Annie does an excellent job at breaking down these very complicated sustainability issues into clear, concise language. that quality makes this book a wonderful starting point for those who have growing concerns about climate change and our environment.

It’s the 2020’s now and still terribly true

I’ve always loved this book and the messages behind it!! Terrible the US has only dug deeper into the landfill that will be it’s grave.

Really enjoyed it!

Annie Leonard's book is extremely interesting. Listening to this made me more aware of the damage caused by irresponsible industries who seem to care very little about environmental impact and even workers rights. I've been motivated to behave more responsibly with my consumption habits as a result of hearing this. My only complaint is that she blames capitalism for everything and suggests that a global socialist/communist system would prevent injustice both environmentally and against laborers. The evidence of history clearly shows otherwise. All in all it was very good and will make you want to be a more responsible human . I recommend it!

A wonderful eye opening book everyone should read!

Annie Leonard does a wonderful job of laying out the truth of many environmental and social issues and how they are all tied together. She does a wonderful job of laying out facts without loading them down with technical jargon and without a the major guilt trip. It has motivated me to make significant changes in my lifestyle and to encourage friends and family to do the same, for themselves and the planet!

Excellent

Excellent book to begin to understand the impact of overconsumption on the environment. Leonard charts a path forward for how we can begin to course-correct. A must-read for any burgeoning environmentalist.

Everyone Should Read This!

This book is very well researched and contains a lot of very important information. Please read this and recommend it to everyone you know. (Keep in mind the book is from 2008 so these are 2008 statistics) The FDA is a joke :)

An Absolute Must Read

Almost 11 years after this book was written, it still carries an especially poignant message. It opened my eyes to a bigger better world of sustainability and activism. Annie’s performance of her own book is full of spunk. She keeps you captivated throughout the whole story.