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The Moneyless Man: A Year Of Freeconomic Living (2000)

by Mark Boyle(Favorite Author)

3.71 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1851687548 (ISBN13: 9781851687541)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

review 1: With our current economy a mess, the growing realization that we as a society buy and waste a ton of stuff and the desire for a simpler lifestyle, Boyle's book and site have garnered immense amounts of attention. By slowly paring down his life, Boyle becomes focused on what is necessary for survival and how money affects every aspect of our lives. Young, healthy and adventurous, Boyle announces he will live without buying a thing for the next year. His chronicles, while mostly upbeat, tell of an exhausting life. Barter and trade, often of work, gets some of his necessities. Other things, like much of his food, must be grown, cooked and processed by hand. Winter is particularly nasty. I had expected Boyle to tell of a monastic, hermit-like existence. But a few of t... morehe objects he deemed necessary to the success of his experiment included a laptop (run off solar) and a cell phone for receiving calls. He also used his bike to travel regularly to meet with friends. Boyle talks of the immense fascination people had with his experiment. A good story by a clearly clever and good-natured man, plus lots wonderful information on making do with little or nothing.
review 2: A well-written and insightful story of a man standing up for his beliefs as an environmentalist. The book details how Mark Boyle lived without a penny for an entire year, living through Freeconomics and other goods- and skill-sharing communities, foraging and growing food, and collecting the edible food grocery stores are forced to throw away. At the start of his journey, Mark (and of course many same-minded people in the community) manages to arrange a feast for 150 people—completely free. At the close of his moneyless year, the feast was a festival for 4,500 people—again arranged without spending a penny. Although, I don't agree with Mark's ideals on all the points, reading through his experience deeply affected me. The book makes you realize that we're all part of the planet. When we hate the traffic—we are part of the problem. When we breathe polluted air—we contributed to that problem. It's time to rethink of how our over-consumption is affecting our wellbeing. A definite must-read. less

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