Structure

The book is divided into eight chapters. Chapters 1 and 8 essentially function as a prologue and epilogue respectively, while the middle six chapters allow O’Connell to articulate his experiences and views related to ecology and sociopolitics. In Chapter 1, O’Connell articulates his specific motivations for writing and researching the book, which are rooted both to personal and global dynamics. Specifically, O’Connell bears many anxieties about possible world-ending events, and so he wanted to gain deeper insights into global realities and human psychology regarding such scenarios. As a result, most or all of the chapters can be viewed both in terms of individual perspectives and a global perspective, as O’Connell seeks to explore how each category can affect the other.

In each of the middle six chapters, O’Connell focuses on specific subjects, which have broader applications to his overall exploration. For example, in Chapter 2, he...