David Holmgren's "Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability"

Ok, so I just finished this book and it was a profound reading experience. Mollison's "Designer's Manual" was fantastic, it gets to the nitty gritty of designing living systems. Same thing with Jacke & Toensmeier's "Edible Forest Gardens"... these books are philosophical and conscious of the larger context, but they are mainly manuals for design. I found Holmgren's book to be more of a philosophical treatise on ethics, one that is simple and easy to understand, yet subtle and extremely conscious of all the relevant ideas floating in the noosphere, successfully integrating these disparate ideologies and worldviews into an exploration of where we are as humans and what we should do to make our lives better; individually and collectively. Has anybody else read this? What are your thoughts?

I haven't read it, but it's on my list.
I admit I'm a bit scared of it's brainy reputation. Did you find it easy enough to read, Isaac?

Yes, it was easy enough to read, though I have read a lot of philosophy books so I'm used to a more academic style. It's format is simply laid out, it just goes through the 12 permaculture principles step by step. That's one of the reasons I love it so much, it is simple, but he also dives into the implications and interconnections of each of the principles.

This book was one of the first books on permaculture I got, along with introduction to permaculture by Mollison. Together they clarified what permaculture was. Holmgrens book is more theory and conceptual than Mollisons. It does not go through nuts and bolts of setting up a site, but rather explains each principle in depth and gives a background to the reasoning and function behind the principle.

After reading the book I felt I could look out at my property and apply my own creativity to it. His descriptions of the food chain and resource chain gave me raw ideas about the flows of energy on my property and with my animals. Rather than jumping in and getting overwhelmed with where my hugel goes, what plant will be below my peach tree, best place for a swale etc. i looked at the property and saw how things were moving in and out of the system and how I could make the best use of my own energy to start capturing more and losing less.

I am amazed how small and simple solutions lead to rapid growth and change. I can move slow and be lazy(efficient) and because I made certain choices my trees grow fast and look healthy, my chickens breed on their own and create a yield, and I still have a ton of possibilities for improvement.

I think it's a good book.