As a successful businessman with a spiritual connection with nature, Yvon Chouinard seems somewhat conflicted; he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. As an enthusiastic rock climber, he once drove metal spikes, known as ‘pitons’, into cracks, and damaged the natural environment. With the emerging 1960s world view of environmental protection, he decided to make his own gear and develop reuseable ‘chocks’, a fancy ice axe and Patagonia brand outdoor clothing – all wildly popular with the climbing community. Chouinard became a savvy businessman and capitalist but would strive to be a responsible citizen of planet Earth.

This recurring tension between environmental protection and business success is a central theme of Dirtbag Billionaire. In the polyester 1970s, he was confronted by the fact that his well-liked outdoor clothing was mostly made of synthetic fabric, and not environmentally friendly. (An approach later addressed, to an extent, with the use of organic cotton.)

This is a well-written and engaging book by David Gelles, who spoke with Patagonia staff and Chouinard’s family. The book works well as a biography, but its real appeal is likely to be with entrepreneurial or business-minded readers with a social conscience.

In Gelles’ conclusion in Dirtbag Billionaire, he encourages readers to ‘please put this book down and go outside’.

Book review by Mark Parry

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David is an award winning reporter for the New York Times. He currently writes for the Climate desk, and previously wrote for the Business section and was the Corner Office columnist. Read his recent stories here.

His reporting has won EMMY, Gerald Loeb and SABEW awards.

Before joining the Times in 2013, he spent five years with the Financial Times. At the FT, he covered tech, media and M&A in San Francisco and New York. In 2011 he conducted an exclusive jailhouse interview with Bernie Madoff, shedding new light on the $65 billion ponzi scheme.

Visit David Gelles website