Saturday, May 26, 2007

Cape Wind Book Termed 'Piling On'

Cape Wind, the new book by science writer Wendy Williams and Providence Journal editorial page editor Robert Whitcomb, is unfortunately the subject of a rather negative New York Times book review by William Grimes. Williams and Whitcomb, writes Grimes, "pile on" in their attacks on the Cape Wind project's wealthy opponents and "make no pretense of laying out the facts evenhandedly." If that is true (I admit to not having read the book yet myself), it's a shame. As Grimes also notes, "The facts are damning enough. The wind farm, consisting of 130 propellered turbines installed over an area of about 26 square miles, would generate up to 500 megawatts of clean energy. It would also reduce Cape Cod’s dependence on two fossil-fuel plants that help make its air among the most polluted in New England," and "Opposition boiled down to four words: not in my backyard."

Regards,
Tom
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1 comment:

Unknown said...

Here are some other of the most recent comments on the book:

“How rare for Sun Myung Moon's scribblers, to say nothing of Rupert Murdoch's salarymen at Fox News, to find themselves allied with the merry pranksters from Greenpeace, who have injected some badly needed humor into the Cape Wind imbroglio….Cape Wind is breezy and informative fun.”
-- The Weekly Standard

“…colorful storytelling about the tribulations of siting a renewable energy project off of Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and the Cape, a ‘devil’s triangle of entrenched, often inherited, wealth”…”
-- Alex Beam, The Boston Globe

"...fascinating..."
--Faith Middleton, Connecticut NPR

"And so what we have in "Cape Wind" is a lively, engrossing history of a current hot topic, presented with all the gusto of a Red Sox-Yankees debate in a sports bar."
-- New Bedford Standard-Times


“Cape Wind is a fun read, and a fun way to learn about renewable energy. If all the stories on this usually dry topic featured tales of meat hook accidents and characters with comic names, more Americans might pay attention. Cape Wind’s opening scene, of author David McCullough screaming at a Martha’s Vineyard town meeting that Nantucket Sound is hallowed ground, is worth the price of admission.”
-- Laura Vanderkam, The American

"...a page-turner..."
-- Boston Magazine

“An epic battle that pits privilege against the common good in a stunning exposure of NIMBY (not in my backyard) hypocrisy…This true-life tale of a blinding love of place, outrageously irresponsible propaganda, shameful congressional maneuvering, and egregious social injustice is half farce, half political thriller, and altogether compelling.”
-- Booklist (starred review)

“With solid research, years of reporting and a number of colorful anecdotes, the authors present a convincing argument that wealthy property owners, politicians and some members of the local press have done a disservice to their country…entertaining and reads at times like a novel, with suspense built in between the chapters.”
-- Martha’s Vineyard Gazette

“,,,a book that will give some indigestion and others lipsmacking delight…”
-- Barnstable Patriot

",,,a riveting and important book..."
-- Border's, Century City, California


"For citizens wondering what has become of America's once-upon-a-time democratic republic, I know of no better place to begin the search than with a close reading of Cape Wind by Wendy Williams and Robert Whitcomb. The book joins first-rate investigative reporting with trenchant social commentary; the result is as entertaining as it is instructive. Voters intending to take part in next year's election shouldn't leave home without it."
--Lewis Lapham

"...a great new book..."
-- Sean Hannity

“[A] well-reported assessment of democracy manipulated by powerful federal, state and local insiders, and other not-in-my-backyard shenanigans surrounding plans for a wind farm five miles off Cape Cod... [A] rambunctious, unsparing dissection of ruling-class abuse."
-- Publisher’s Weekly

“ "Cape Wind,' a five-and-a-half-year tale of power and money run amok amid a cast of characters worthy of a soap opera, is a page-turner...."
-- Cape Cod Chronicle

7:35 AM

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