In the first few pages, David Boyd introduces the amazing power of optimism. As an experienced environmental lawyer, Boyd was painfully familiar with the soul-crushing effect of pessimism, having fallen into deep depression when it seemed everywhere he looked, efforts to preserve the environment were shot down in flames. Over time, he began to realize it was positive energy that put people to action. The result of that revelation is The Optimistic Environmentalist, a stunning collection of success stories of people who know and have started to address the problems crippling our planet, from the endangerment of wild animals, air and water pollution, to the beginning of a global conversion to a circular economy.

Written in spare prose, Boyd fills the novel with marvelous insight, as well as his own humor and stories. For a work of nonfiction, the book feels light, agile, a study of miracles as much as it is lively, engaging brain food. It does what books do best: expanding the knowledge, compassion, and understanding of readers in one fell swoop.

His endless stories of success also seem to lead to the conclusion that Boyd must be right--the novel avidly prove its own point, that it is not a coincidence the success of others inspires others on to do the same. Within the pages of the slim novel, we see firsthand the significance of global awareness, and its power to change lives and change the future.

Boyd arranges no mere string of success stories, either. Journeying from the depths of the Canadian wilderness to the clean, inventive labs of the future, Boyd puts to the test age-old myths and understated truths, emphasizing too the power of the individual to change the world. And in doing so, his excitement for the future is contagious. His patchwork masterpiece is an uplifting, enlightening experience for everyone involved, challenging humanity’s power to do harm with its ability to do good.