Voluntary Simplicity

Title: Voluntary Simplicity

Author: Duane Elgin

Pages: 240

Genre: Non-Fiction

Grade: C

Synopsis: Originally published in 1981 and updated in the 1990's, this book is considered by many to be the simple/sustainable living bible.  The book covers the tenets of Voluntary Simplicity, which include frugal consumption, ecological awareness and personal growth.  The book concludes with a vision of the global issues that will arise if more people do not choose a path of voluntary simplicity.

My Review: This book wasn't really what I had expected.  The first third of the book is just rehashing results from a magazine survey about people who have chosen to live a life of voluntary simplicity.  The second third of the book was the part that I found most interesting.  This part gave a little bit of an idea into what living with voluntary simplicity is all about.  The last third of the book was an expose about how the whole world needs to embrace voluntary simplicity and how the unfair it is that the rich nations have more than the poor nations.  The author advocates for the United Nations to have power to enforce all of the rules and regulations needed for the world to enjoy voluntary simplicity.  I was hoping for more ideas about living simply, but there were too many political undertones in the discussion.