Reviews of books by Marq de Villiers
OUR WAY OUT: First Principles for a post-apocalyptic world
"A must-read road map"
" The best thing about Our Way Out is that Marq de Villiers seems to have
no vested interest in fixing the world other than his decent sense of humanity
and writing one heck of a book … De Villiers is simply looking out on the
world like a jigsaw puzzle that's all mixed up, the pieces mashed together
to fit. Our Way Out gives us the image on the box so we can take the pieces
apart and build them back together the way they're meant to go."
– Mike Landry, Saint John Telegraph Journal
"As a writer, de Villiers is as
deliberate as he is insightful. The ideas he includes cover the conceptual
waterfront. Think of a topic that is crucial to the well-being of our hurting
globe -- environment, investment bankers, international trade, class conflict
-- and issues, such as how does Canada justify forbidding asbestos at home
while exporting it to Third World countries. You can count on his having
observations and possible solutions." – Ron Kirbyson, Winnipeg Free Press
“One appreciates de Villiers’s let’s roll up our sleeves and just get at ’er attitude. Some of his progressive ideas have promise. He’s still challenging our deeply dysfunctional economy and political system, the product of a long historical evolution and billions of individual choices being made daily." – Alex Good, Toronto Star
WATER: The fate of our most precious resource
Rick Bass, author of Where the Sea Used to Be:
“This book is as compelling and lucid as it is powerful. I couldn’t put
it down. Water is a gift to the future.”
Sandra Postel, author of Last Oasis and Pillar of Sand:
“Marq de Villiers scans the world through a water lens – and writes with
eloquence, humor and a rare kind of passionate intelligence…”
Maurice Strong, former UN Undersecretary General and chairman of the Earth
Council:
“Water is emerging as one of the central issues of the new century. Marq
de Villiers presents in this book a compelling and engrossing account of
why this is so … Timely, authoritative, and eminently readable.”
WINDSWEPT: the story of wind and weather
Canadian Geographic:
“De Villiers knows not only his science but is a first rate story teller.”
William Grimes, in the New York Times:
“Wind is simple. It is nothing more than air moving between zones of high
pressure and low pressure, traveling in a straight line until deflected
by the rotation of the earth. Unfortunately things get very complicated
after that, as Marq de Villiers explains in “Windswept: The Story of
Wind and Weather,” his lively, engaging treatise on wind and the weather
it makes.”
CHOICE of the American Library Association:
“Windswept is informative nonfiction about wind and weather. One reason
for this book’s excellence is De Villiers’s careful attention to weather
happenings, reinforced by his penetrating insights into nature.”
DANGEROUS WORLD: Natural Disasters, Manmade Catastrophes and the Future of Human Survival (AKA THE END)
Chicago Sun Times:
“Marq De Villiers’ scary and exciting new book … is at its heart, a personal
quest to find the social capital and workable plans to signal a clear
way forward for us humans who are often blind to the fact that we are
living in a frightfully dangerous time.”
Kirkus Reviews:
“Humbling, invigorating analysis..”.
The Onion A.V :
“De Villiers finds a great deal to appreciate in the chaotic workings of
the planet and the cosmos. His even tone and humor make what could’ve
been the most depressing story ever told oddly inspiring, finding something
like hope in life’s struggles to continue in the face of the worst of
everything. It’d be a bit much to call the book inspirational, and De
Villiers doesn’t underplay the calamities that lurk around every statistically
improbable corner. Instead, The End is a satisfyingly clear-headed
assessment of the state of things that neither talks down to its readers,
nor wastes its time mongering fear.”
THE HEARTBREAK GRAPE: a journey in search of the perfect pinot noir
John Bear (author of Cafe Beaujolais) :
“I’ve lost my heart to a grape! Full bodies, robust, and a fine aftertaste.
The best book on wine I’ve read.”
Chuck Williams, founder of Williams Sonoma:
“A fascinating story, both informative and heart warming … Excellent is
the word!”
Anthony Dias Blue, author of American Wine:
“A fascinating look inside the wine industry as well as a revealing look
at the creative process. Well-written and fun to read.”
SAHARA: the life of the great desert
(written with Sheila Hirtle)
National Geographic Traveler:
“A cool book about one of the world’s hottest places.”
The Boston Herald:
“Surprises abound in this informative natural history on the world’s most
famous desert.”
New Scientist:
“A phenomenal story … with this broad perspective, the authors weave together
the ongoing life of the desert that is forever changing.”
Ireland on Sunday:
“Michael Palin may have sexed up the Sahara in the tie-in to his TV programme,
but this book is a more satisfying read…”
Glasgow Sunday Herald:
“Fascinating stuff …. This is a genuinely memorable book.,”
TIMBUKTU: The Sahara’s fabled city of gold
(written with Sheila Hirtle)
Stephen Clare in The Daily News:
“Timbuktu is a fascinating and intimate look at the African city’s spectacular
past and its daunting present.”
The Montreal Gazette:
“ … fascinating glimpses into one of the world’s most famed, yet least-known
cities.”
Roger Miller in the St. Louis Post Dispatch:
“...written in an appealing, casual style....In a time of supposed “monolithic
Islam,” Timbuktu still has a lesson to teach.”
A DUNE ADRIFT: The strange origins and curious history of
Sable Island
(written with Sheila Hirtle)
Kirkus Reviews:
“Another finely etched portrait of a strange, romantic place …”
Portland (Maine) Press Herald:
For me, reading “Sable Island” was like stepping into a big-screen IMax
3D theater where the special lens brings us to places where nature really
misbehaves. … A sense of wonder …. prevails from first page to last …
a great book.”
St Louis Post Dispatch:
“Marq de Villiers and Sheila Hirtle, who live in Nova Scotia and have written
several books on exploration and other topics, make Sable Island as delightful
to experience in words as it is difficult to experience in actuality.”
WITCH IN THE WIND: the true story of the legendary Bluenose
Canadian Geographic:
“Witch in the Wind boasts fishing scenes worthy of Melville.”
The Globe and Mail:
“Poignant and often profound, Witch in the Wind shows the tone
and texture of a seasoned journalist, peppered with distinct Maritime flavor
…”
Library News, Prince Rupert:
“Witch in the Wind is an evocative journey into the previously
untold backstory of the Bluenose, exploring the place that built her, the
men who sailed her and the industry that gave rise to her. De Villiers
is a master storyteller and he takes readers deep into the heart of Canadian
maritime history, giving new life to the longstanding legend of the magnificent
Bluenose.”
DOWN THE VOLGA IN A TIME OF TROUBLES: A journey through post-perestroika Russia
Globe and Mail :
“De Villiers has a fine sense of irony and an eye for the absurd,
talents that enable him to capture in words the essence of the Russian
soul.”
Publishers Weekly:
“… this is a serious-minded, probing, knowledgably report on heartland
Russia today …”
Kirkus Reviews:
“A rich and deeply sympathetic look into parts of Mother Russia rarely
visited by tourists.”
INTO AFRICA: A journey through the ancient empires
(written with Sheila Hirtle)
The Globe and Mail:
“A deft and fluid intermingling of travelogues with cultural and political
history. Rarely is so ambitious a book so resoundingly successful.”
Library Journal :
“This superb distillation of sociocultural and recent political events
proves to be both entertaining and informative … Highly recommended.”
J.D.F Jones, the Financial Times, London:
“The book is ambitious and successful and deserves to be read.”
WHITE TRIBE DREAMING: Apartheid’s bitter roots as witnessed by eight generations of an Afrikaner family
The Washington Post:
“This is an unexpected pleasure: a history of the Afrikaner people that
both enlightens and intrigues … splendidly written.”
Leonard Thompson, former Yale professor and author of the authoritative
history of South Africa:
“… an important perspective on a pressing issue of the day … [de Villiers]
writes splendidly, with the nice unbuttoned freedom that we academics lack…”
David Robbins, The Natal Witness, South Africa:
“”… a fascinating, revealing and often painful piece of work … combining
easy readability with immaculate research.”