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I think it's interesting how certain books are marketed to Canadian and American readers differently.
Almost Green: How I Saved 1/6th of a Billionth of the Planet is the title of the book read in the States, and Almost Green: How I Built an Eco-shed, Ditched My SUV, Alienated the In-laws, and Changed My Life Forever is the Canadian edition that Charlene reviewed:
The title of this book is actually very descriptive. Glave describes exactly how he built an eco-shed, how he sold his SUV, and how he (somewhat, not really) alienated his in-laws. That he changed his life forever can be assumed.The cover of the book would lead one to expect a series of comically absurd situations that some quirky but loveable characters get into along the way to becoming more environmentally friendly. This is somewhat misleading it is, actually, just what it says. The story is a first-person tale of how James Glave built an eco-shed. While the back cover displays a quote from “Padre” (the author’s father-in-law) recommending against buying the book, the character Padre is not so over-emphasized as one would think. In fact, the in-laws are never really alienated in the book, Glave dismantles a car port, a gift from Padre, and worries that Padre will be upset, but he isn’t really.
The book contains a lot of discussion regarding building materials and their assembly, energy ratings and the companies that have them, and green building methods to reduce energy consumption. Glave is a journalist, and this book is a report but a somewhat funny report. The situations he gets himself into are realistic (I assume they are situations he actually found himself in while constructing an eco-shed); the humour is in how he describes them, often using plays on words and other such high-brow humour, other times pointing out little quirky tendencies of humanity in general (like how men working in construction eventually learn to speak solely in sexual innuendos).
I don’t know if I’m the intended reader of this book. Perhaps I will be in 20 years. At times, however, I couldn’t relate to Glave’s suburban problems. For instance, the book makes much of the idea of being green on a budget, but this budget is by no means as low as most families would have (Glave’s eco-shed budget was $75,000, which he extended by about $15,000 by the end, I believe). I did, however, enjoy playing voyeur to his adventures.
* 4 stars *
More information
- Author Site: Glave.com
- Douglas McIntyre | Chapters.ca | Amazon.com
- ISBN-10: 1602392862
- ISBN-13: 978-1602392861
A love letter to a land time forgot or a lush retreading of well worn ground?
The story “Flight of the Hummingbird” itself is very short, and the entire contents can be 
A Field Guide to Canada's Brandscape 
weight in the global marketplace.
Alan Middleton, recognized as one of Canada’s most authoritative marketing commentators, is executive director of the Schulich Executive Education Centre and assistant professor of marketing at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto. In 2005, he became the first inductee into the Canadian Marketing Hall of Legends in the Mentor category.
Delgado tells a good story around the facts when this book could have
easily been a dry academic text. Things are described in layman's
terms, making it easy for the average person to understand. As well,
the reader gets a good background on ships, sailing and trading in
Ancient China, showing how technologically advanced the Chinese were.
They invented the stern rudder whereas it was unknown in the
Mediterranean until the 13th century. Also, Chinese mariners used
watertight bulkheads, something the Titanic failed to faithfully reproduce. 
About the Author 
How Craig Dobbin Built the World's Largest Helicopter Company 
About the Author
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