Reviews

"At last, here is a clear and readable account of one of the most important but controversial issues facing everyone in the world today. If you are not already addicted to Tim Flannery's writing, discover him now: The Weather Makers is his best book yet." --Jared Diamond, author of Collapse and Guns, Germs & Steel

"He makes sure that you will never again look at an electric-light switch in quite the same way. . . . Gives his material . . . [an] impassioned, fiery tone . . . He builds a galvanizing, intentionally polarizing case for the urgency of altering our patterns of energy use. . . . Detail-packed to the point of terrible fascination." --Janet Maslin, New York Times

Most scientists (if not most politicians) now believe that man's consumption of fossil -fuels and planetary deforestation activities are causing carbon buildup in the atmosphere and triggering global warming. The questions are how long, how fast, and how much damage is being done. Flannery believes that we are rapidly approaching the point where irreversible temperature changes will melt the ice caps, cause mass extinctions, and destroy coastal cities. Weather Makers is his call to action. First, he describes the scientific evidence of increasing atmospheric carbon levels and average temperature shifts; next, he presents example after example of specific species severely damaged by relatively small temperature changes in their habitats; finally, he discusses alternate energy sources, conservation techniques, and the regulatory policies necessary to implement them. This is a compelling work, dynamic and engaging. In addition, Drew de Carvalho is an excellent reader, bravely facing up to non-English citations and terminology. Unfortunately, this book is also full of sweeping generalities, extremist statements, and internally contradictory statistics. As it presents a somewhat radical view on a topic of much current interest, it should only be purchased by those institutions planning to acquire several books on the subject. Recommended for large public and university libraries.-I. Pour-El, Des Moines Area Community Coll., Boone, IA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

"At last, here is a clear and readable account of one of the most important but controversial issues facing everyone in the world today. If you are not already addicted to Tim Flannery's writing, discover him now: The Weather Makers is his best book yet." --Jared Diamond, author of Collapse and Guns, Germs & Steel
"He makes sure that you will never again look at an electric-light switch in quite the same way. . . . Gives his material . . . [an] impassioned, fiery tone . . . He builds a galvanizing, intentionally polarizing case for the urgency of altering our patterns of energy use. . . . Detail-packed to the point of terrible fascination." --Janet Maslin, New York Times