Guest Essays

Buried in the pages of Underminers are the words of many others, all of whom I respect and consider to be Underminers in their own special way.

From the very beginning, the book was meant to be a collaborative effort – something that somehow got lost when it went to print and which I have been remiss in not highlighting on the pages of this website. Now it changes; these wonderful people gave permission for their words to be re-printed and edited, and some even wrote especially for the book.

Below are more details of these essays, as well as direct links to them. Thank you to everyone involved…

Collapse and Connection by Carolyn Baker (Chapter 1)

Carolyn has taught me more about mindfulness and coping with loss than any other person I know. Some of this text is derived from “Sacred Demise: Walking the Spiritual Path of Industrial Civilization’s Collapse” and “Navigating the Coming Chaos: A Handbook for Inner Transition”, with a few personal touches by Carolyn herself.

The Road to Hell, and How We Got There by Dave Pollard (Chapter 2)

Dave Pollard has been a wonderful ally in my search for meaning in a maze of complex ideas. This original piece of work was republished on his website “How To Save The World”, and the graphic was really his work, though I have since made one or two minor changes.

Survival and Undermining by CrimethInc (Chapter 4)

CrimethInc is a collective of radical and anarchist writers that produces some of the most original material anywhere on the internet. This is an edit of two essays by the Ex-Workers’ Collective: “There is a Difference Between Life and Survival” and “Indulge…& Undermine”, which “B” said I could use.

Why Anonymous Works – An essay by The Hivemind (Chapter 5)

Now, this took a bit of doing. The essay was constructed from a range of contributions by people who support and consider themselves to be part of Anonymous. Views were provided on request, except for one piece that was referred to by a contributor, written by them at an earlier date. They were kind enough to accept me as part of the hivemind, something I may still be ;)

Investigating and Exposing by Nicky Hager (Chapter 6)

Nicky Hager is an investigative journalist from Aotearoa (New Zealand). This is an edited extract from a chapter written by Nicky in the book “Battling Big Business” by Eveline Lubbers. While granting the republishing of the text, Nicky Hager has asked for it to be stated that he does not necessarily condone any other activities described in Underminers – that applies to all the contributors, by the way.

Fashion is Scary Medicine by Ana Salote (Chapter 7)

Another original piece of work, this time by children’s author, Ana Salote, who also featured in Time’s Up! and was kind enough to read an extract at the launch party for that book in deepest Essex. Ana is the author of one of my favourite children’s books, “Tree Talk”, a wonderful tale of disconnection and reconnection that left me in tears.

The Corporate Media – Undermining The Silence by David Edwards (Chapter 7)

David Edwards’ essay “Breaking the Chains of Illusion” was one of my first experiences of radical, brain-twisting writing. I was delighted he took the effort to write this heavily referenced piece just for Underminers, especially as the British media was being ripped to shreds at the time for hacking into cell phones to propagandise still further.

Guerrilla Gardening by Richard Reynolds (Chapter 7)

In a section about breaking down the horror of city life there had to be something from the father of Guerrilla Gardening, Richard Reynolds. He was kind enough not only to write a short piece, but also harden its impact on request after realising he was, after all, an Underminer.

A Life Out of Empire by Guy McPherson (Chapter 10)

This is a specially edited extract from Guy’s book “Walking Away from Empire: A Personal Journey”. I highly recommend Guy’s technical writing as an antidote to those who pretend we can buy our way out of the global crisis and that collapse is just scaremongering.

(Note: The presence of an author’s words in this book is not a reflection of their personal activities, some of which this author may not condone).

As well as the guest essays, there are many sizeable chunks from books and websites scattered through the text; for this I give thanks to everyone who has, albeit not necessarily knowingly, provided the words this book could never have been written properly without.