Far from a doom and gloom autopsy of the contemporary environmental crisis, ‘Awakening’ indulges in fun. From the craziness of shipping bottled water 6,000 miles, to how bacteria evolves for a counterattack, this collection laughs at humanity’s war on nature. After reading Love’s poetry, you will never look at nature in the same way.
 
"Sam's musings on planetary survival emerged out of his pioneering work in the civil rights and environmental movements a half century ago, but have not stopped deepening. May the awakenings which have come to this big-hearted poet ripple out to transform our entire society, for Sam Love has become our modern-day Walt Whitman, a beam of light in this moment of darkness."

- Dr. Gary Paul Nabhan, Author and Research Scientist on Southwestern Borderlands Food and Water Security at the University of Arizona.
 
“I generally find contemporary poetry overly pretentious, and intentionally opaque, but Sam’s poetry is lucid and provocative. Fifty years ago, as one of the first Earth Day regional organizers, Sam played a key role in Earth Day’s mobilizing millions of people. Now Sam writes beautifully of environmental shame and hope.” 
 
- Denis Hayes, President of the Bullitt Foundation and National Coordinator of the first Earth Day in 1970.