Skip to main content

The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells: A review

For someone who normally does not read a lot of nonfiction, it seems like I've already more than met my quota for 2019. And yet here I am with another one.

 This one has gotten quite a lot of notice and it is still in the top ten of best sellers in the country. But what a depressing read! It is certainly not what one would want to be reading when one isn't feeling on top of the world, but I had already started it at the time I became ill recently and I persevered and finally completed it on the day I was released from the hospital. Two reasons to rejoice.

 I don't mean to imply that it is a bad book; quite the contrary. It is very well written and obviously well researched. I was surprised in reading the book on my Kindle to find that I completed the main narrative at 60% of the book; the other 40% was made up of notes which served as the author's bibliography. All the references were well-documented.

 The narrative brings together the latest information and research regarding climate change, its effects on our planet, and likely outcomes if we continue on our current path or if we actually acknowledge the problem and make an effort to counteract it. It was information that I was familiar with from doing my weekly review of environmental news for my blog, but it was more than a little daunting to see it all collected and connected in one tome.

 David Wallace-Wells has done a large service to the cause of educating the public - at least those who read books - by collating this information and presenting it in a readable, understandable form. The popularity of the book is well-deserved and I hope it continues to receive the attention of a wide audience. Unfortunately, I fear many of the people who need to receive its message will never bother. They appear to disdain the whole idea of books.

 My rating: 4 of 5 stars 
Labels:

Comments

  1. CarmenApril 9, 2019 at 4:01 PM

    It's good to have you back, Dorothy! I was not aware of this tome. It's timely and right up your alley because of the topic. I suppose I would like it as well, but despite having quite a library in electronic format in nonfiction titles, I don't gravitate towards that genre often because I tend to read, re-read, and then re-read again (for review purposes) the same book before I'm done with it. Not very effective as you can imagine. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersApril 9, 2019 at 4:50 PM

      The book is available in paper form for folks who prefer it.

      Delete
  2. Judy KruegerApril 11, 2019 at 11:31 AM

    Putting this one on the list! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...
19 comments
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters!  Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...
6 comments
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...
24 comments
Read more