A book review by COSC Member JoAn van Balen
The Prince Charles of Wales, with Tony Juniper and Ian Skelly, has written Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World. It is a timely read. In November 2010, NBC aired the book’s accompanying documentary by the same title. The program was a huge surprise to me – who knew that Prince Charles loved the land? I certainly didn’t. His love of polo had made the news, but his thirty-year study of Nature hadn’t crossed my radar.
The program pulled me in because here is a person who believes like I do. His story immediately inspired me to go buy the book to give to my grandson for his twenty-third birthday. Because it is an expensive book, I borrowed a copy from the West Des Moines Public Library and began to read.
It’s a big book, covering the long history humans have had with Nature. He leaves no stone unturned as he leads us on the journey of how early civilizations live harmoniously with Nature, honoring her as their touchstone when making decisions about architecture, farming, measuring time, village planning and their many other creative endeavors. It’s impressive Prince Charles has used his talents, resources and privilege, to bring us the message he considers of ultimate importance.
