In "The Universe Story," Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry lay down a foundation for telling the complete history of our universe. While some scientists are working to unravel the mysteries of the beginning of time, other scholars work on deciphering the history of humanity. In recent time, physics and history have been viewed as separate endeavors. However, the authors
envision uniting these disciplines and all the others by revealing that there can be no separation between humanity and the creative universe that brought us into being. When scientists, philosophers and, ultimately, all of humanity can come together and tell the story of the universe, we will be entering an Ecozoic era of communion with our Earth. With poetic insightfulness, Swimme and Berry challenge readers not to read the book, but "to read the story taking place all around us."
After introducing the task at hand, Swimme and Berry begin with a prologue that briefly chronicles the evolution of our universe from the beginning to the present. It is told as an old sage would tell the story sitting around a campfire. The vivid descriptions are captivating and leave readers ready to devour the remaining pages of the book. Unfortunately, the entire book is not filled with as much intense imagery. The prologue alone, however, may be stirring enough to inspire others to contribute to the story and bring life to the remaining pages. Certainly the prologue could be used in the classroom to inspire the students and teachers of any discipline.
The body of the book begins the story again with the inception of the universe, which the authors refer to as the "Primordial Flaring Forth," and continues on with more detail and discussion. The authors carry over the elegant language of the prologue into the chronicles of galaxy formation, stars, and supernovas. It brings life to every aspect of the tumultuous and nascent processes. The characters such as Hydrogen, which would usually be portrayed as inert or lifeless, are not personified, but nonetheless have an animated identity. The breathtaking tour shows the universe solidifying its modes of interaction, which scientists now describe with physics, and then begins to zoom in on galaxy clusters, the Milky Way and our solar system. After the story focuses in on the Earth, the writing begins to lose its initial flare.
A vast portion of the story from the formation of life on Earth to the Neolithic period lacks the poetic quality that is present in the earliest and most recent descriptions of the universe. At this point, "The Universe Story" becomes less of a story and more of a textbook. While the earlier chapters are reminiscent of a physics textbook, they are still allegorical and bring perspective on the human dimension of the universe. However, the description of life evolving on Earth begins to sound strictly like a biology textbook with classical Greek names given to the different types of living cells that appear. Once the story reaches human evolution, it becomes a world history textbook. This is not to say that the events themselves are not wondrous, but there is no discussion that allows the reader to further revel in wonder. The facts are stated and the story continues down a list.
While it is nice to have one book that includes the physics, biology and history of the universe, the story switches from one mode to another in series and does not bring them into one single analysis of the universe. Of course, the authors clearly state in the introduction that their intent is merely to set up a framework in hopes that other readers can fill in the details and make
connections.
The story regains its initial flare when the authors arrive at the rise of nations. Swimme and Berry begin to integrate some of the facts laid out earlier in the narrative. As the world population explodes and people organize into nations, myth falls behind technology in the human mind. The authors illustrate how human psychology, which evolves within the nations, begins to disconnect the mind from the earthly surroundings that created it. Nature becomes objectified so that its unpredictability is met with fear rather than wonder. This fear makes room in the human mind for subjugation of the Earth with no remorse. In the process of our Earth conquest, humans have developed an "addiction to commercial-industrial progress." As with any addiction, denial has set in and our society refuses to accept responsibility for such widespread devastation of the planet.
Swimme and Berry assert that our industrial culture has brought an end to the Cenozoic era, and we are embarking on a new era. While the corporate establishment hopes to lure the Earth into a Technozoic era of continued consumerism and assault on natural resources, the authors hope to usher us into an Ecozoic era of communion and reciprocity between Earth and humanity.
The goal of the Ecozoic era is not simply to stop the destruction of our environment, but to alter the mentality that is allowing society to ravish a true marvel of our universe. It is a critical realization that the Earth and its people are inseparable like an organism and its organs. Humans cannot remain healthy on a planet made ill by industrial plunder. Telling The Universe Story
brings mythology back to its place in the human mind where it can affect the attitude necessary to bring in the Ecozoic era.
In "The Universe Story," Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry have created a piece that could inspire educators to come together and work on an interdisciplinary story of the universe to lead us to the Ecozoic era. The authors have taken a first step toward the achievement of their vision by writing such an inspirational story, but the story is incomplete and requires as many contributions as possible. Teachers can make a significant contribution to the authors’ vision by using "The Universe Story" to set courses into a proper context that relates to every aspect of human existence, thus discouraging students to compartmentalize their knowledge as the separation of learning into subjects, courses, years and semesters naturally leads them to do.

review ©2002 by Bailey Edwards and RSiSS
Palmer Trinity School
Miami, Florida