Perspective

The Ecology of Commerce Revised Edition: A Declaration of Sustainability by Paul Hawken is written by a man who has made a career of challenging basic business assumptions. He is an active part of the business world, but he also sees how things can be better.

In the preface, he speaks in first person, addressing why he wants to write this book and what he hopes the reader will gain from it. He points out a clear structure for the book. Although much of the material in the book is subjective, the author provides studies and examples to show more than personal opinion.

He takes complex issues and breaks them down into an interesting, readable format. As a result, the reader gets the feeling that they are part of the team trying to create solutions for a problem. The author is not condescending toward the reader, and he...