the original edition of this book published in 1990
and pictured below has been updated in 2022.
It is now shipped with a 36 page Updates booklet,
containing updates to all 19 chapters, tucked inside.

Click here for information on how to order.  

Coming of Age in the Global Village
by Stephen P. Cook, with  Donella H. Meadows

publ.1990 by Parthenon Books, 400 pages, 47 figures

From the back cover of the book:

As the 21st century approaches, as the ongoing transformation of the world into a global society accelerates, as the ethical concerns raised by advances in science and technology multiply, as the integrity of the planet’s biosphere is steadily compromised by human activities, and as the gap between the world’s rich and poor grows, we--to some “the spoiled children of the western world”--ominously are blind to many of these changes.

Now there is a book that will help open our eyes. It enables our stepping back and taking a “big picture” look at ourselves, our society, our planetary home, where we have been and where we are going.  Guided by its 26 worldview themes and over 260 end of chapter “questions and projects,” we analyze and perhaps restructure our worldviews. We articulate our values, and wrestle with ethical dilemmas.

Providing an inspiring story of the author’s own search for truth and an ethical way of life, providing lessons in global citizenship, the book encourages our exercising “the freedom to choose responsibility.”  Comprehensive, stimulating, and providing even-handed treatment of controversial issues, this book can be our bible for

     Stephen P. Cook divides his time between teaching in the Physical Sciences Dept. at Arkansas Tech University, and writing, environmental activist, and observational astronomy pursuits from the Ozark mountain home his own labor built. He has authored a book on appropriate energy technology, solar energy computer software, and articles in such publications as In These Times, Alternative Sources of Energy, and The Solar Electric Home (Aatec Publs). Both his graduate (physics) and undergraduate (astronomy) degrees are from UCLA.         A member of the National Association for Science, Technology, and Society (NASTS), Stephen offers Coming of Age in the Global Village to the STS / global education community for use as a text and sourcebook.

     Donella H. Meadows is an adjunct professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College. She is an author of numerous books and articles including the widely read and debated The Limits to Growth, which she co-authored in 1972, and the forthcoming collection The Global Citizen (Island Press).  Her weekly column “The Global Citizen” appears in a growing cross-section of the nation’s newspapers.

"...Nearly every aware person would find something of interest here, and it is hard to imagine a person whose horizons would not be immensely broadened by the content...The scope is remarkable...Nearly all the important social issues of the last few decades are discussed with passion and insight. I was particularly interested in the first-hand experience with a serious and sensible attempt at self-sufficient living. Much of the book shows a deep and open-minded concern for spiritual matters..." 

Barrett Hazeltine, in Science, Technology & Society Nos. 97/98 (from Lehigh University)

"This is a ...tour de force touching many bases and opening up lots of areas for thought...Such speculations open one's mind to a variety of conceptual futures. The book debates the pros and cons of some but leaves the reader much latitude for her/his own speculations."

from TRANET, no. 73

"...Represents an examination of ethics as well as an analysis of world trends..."

from The Bookwatch, Vol.12, #2

"A highly personalized approach to educating 'tomorrow's global citizens', with the goal of contributing to 'leading happy, meaningful, ethical lives'..."

from STS Newsletter, Nos. 95/96

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