Systems Thinking and Sustainable Development: 124 Books by Balaton Group Members
We’ve recently put together the Balaton Group Book List of 124 books by Balaton Group Members. If you are interested in systems thinking, systems dynamics, sustainable development and related issues, you might be curious to look at this collection, which includes a wide range of titles from academic books to games books.
There are books by the Balaton Group Founders, from the Limits to Growth series to Thinking in Systems and Groping in the Dark: The First Decade of Global Modeling, among others. These are followed by over 100 titles by other Members (single or collective authorship) such as: Image 2.0: Integrated Modeling of Global Climate Change; Tackling Complexity: A Systemic Approach for Decision Makers; The Local Politics of Global Sustainability; Affluenza: How Overconsumption is Killing Us; Creating Regenerative Cities; What if Money Grew On Trees? Asking the Big Questions about Economics; and many, many more…
Donella and Dennis Meadows – authors of The Limits to Growth – founded the Balaton Group in 1982. The Group has met annually for over three decades on the shores of Lake Balaton to advance the boundaries of research and strategy for sustainable development, using a systems perspective. Collaboration among members has resulted in book projects, over a hundred conferences, new learning centres and NGOs and uncounted computer models, training programmes, planning methods, journal articles, films, videos, policy initiatives, educational games, courses and research projects.
This Book List provides fascinating insight into the Balaton Group Members’ considerable work over the years in these issues. We hope this collection helps others interested in sustainability issues find a wide range of thoughtful work in our field. Feel free to share the Balaton Group Book List page!
Impressive list, thanks for sharing (very timely for my current explorations).
Are you able to name your top 5 from this list? 🙂
Looking forward to hearing your answer to this question!
Well, that is a hard one as they are so varied and useful depending on what aspect of SD and systems you are exploring. "Beyond the Limits" is a good one from the series, "Thinking in Systems" is a wonderful primer by Dana. Bert de Vries' "Sustainability Science" is a brand new and excellent overview of the field. Tim Jackson's "Prosperity Without Growth" got lots of buzz and appreciation. John Sterman's "Business Dynamics" is a classic in the systems field (but not for beginners). That's 5 to start with, but there are so many more!