following the Quebec-Canada model. The book Ecotopia begins about 20 years after secession, when the new nation is securely established. Neither book describes events in between, such as the political difficulties of secession, the economic dislocations and outmigration from the region, and the Helicopter War with the U.S. (referred to in Ecotopia). Comparison of Ecotopia Emerging and Ecotopia As a prequel to Ecotopia, EE uses some of the same characters as Ecotopia, principally Vera Allwen and Marissa D’Amato (later the girlfriend of Ecotopia’s narrator). However, there are important differences between the books. The format is different. Ecotopia is the account of a trip to Ecotopia by a U.S. reporter, William Weston, and is told entirely from his point of view. EE alternates a straightforward narrative history of the United States and the Survivalist Party with novelistic snapshots of key events in the lives of some future Ecotopians. Ecotopia was written in the middle 1970s, when American writers were trying to imagine how to reconstruct society after the 1960s revolutions. It focuses on the achieved Ecotopian society, not on the problems of the (remaining) United States. EE was published in 1981 and has a darker tone. It focuses as much on the dysfunctional U.S. political and economic system as it does on the actions of the future Ecotopians. Most of its ‘predictions’ for the U.S. future have turned out to be prescient, such as “From the eighties onward the business mentality triumphed.” (p. 42) Ecotopia describes a steady-state society. Only the narrator changes as the book progresses. EE is a history; its characters, institutions and society change over time. Ecotopia has been criticized for only presenting life in Northern California. EE has a broader scope, and includes all three states. Critical reaction EE has received little critical attention. One critic points out that independence is achieved too easily. "In Ecotopia Emerging, the internal contradictions of existing North American capitalism do feature strongly in creating the impetus for change. However, little account is offered of how such dynamics would surely also ensure stubborn resistance to such change (nuclear blackmail notwithstanding) – in this emerging ecotopia, big business’s capitulation to idealists seems abject and fairly complete.” References Also Ecotopia Emerging. Library Journal, January 1, 1982, p. 107. Books by Ernest Callenbach Prequel novels Environmental fiction books Separatism in the United States 1981 American novels