Jensen here challenges the 'destructive nihilism' of writers like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris who believe that there is no reality outside what can be measured using the tools of science. Derrick Jensen introduces the mythologies of ancient cultures and modern indigenous peoples as evidence of alternative ways of understanding reality, informed by thinkers such as American Indian writer Jack Forbes, theologian and American Indian rights activist Vine Deloria, Shaman Martin Prechtel, Dakota activist and scholar Waziyatawin and Okanagan Indian writer Jeannette Armstrong.