The only thing more hope-killing than reading Elizabeth Kolbert on climate change see also The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History is reading one of her books several years after publication, knowing no progress has been made. What she writes is impossible to deny. This book was published before The Sixth Extinction, then re-issued in 2014 with a few updates that only confirm the bad tidings. Trying to sum up the book here I went back to what I said about Sixth Extinction. q.v. Though this bo...

As Kolbert states in her introduction, this booked is aimed more at the climate change sceptics than those already convinced but it is still a very good read. It is written in clear and concise terms while trying to be as objective and as calm as possible about the evidence there is for anthropogenic climate change, despite the obvious (and understandable) temption to dive into the implications of what we as a species are doing. Kolbert has managed to avoid the usual trap of preaching to the rea...

“It may seem impossible to imagine that a technologically advanced society could choose, in essence, to destroy itself, but that is what we are now in the process of doing.” This quote demonstrates the overwhelming message that Kolbert is trying to convey in writing this book. She urges people to recognize the growing changes that are occurring on our planet and the need to address issue before for it is to late. Kolbert’s book provides unique facts and observation that allow her to come to the

Elizabeth Kolbert was, still is I think, the main environmental writer for The New Yorker, though she writes of other things too, nowadays. This book was one of the first books I read on climate change, and is particularly convincing as it is based on actually observing what was going on in the Arctic, not on climate models, theoretical projections, or any such things as these (though I imagine that some of this stuff is mentioned in the book, I don't recall).Kolbert is a fine writer, and althou...

Field Notes From A Catastrophe is an interesting book that calmly lays out the evidence to support the fact that the earth is now the warmest it has been in the past 420,000 years. She then goes on to talk about differing scientists viewpoints of what this might mean. At the core, all of the important scientists in the field agree that the warming means that the planet is on the edge of a major climate change. The main point of contention seems to be the time frame in which that will happen and

I'm reading through Lithub's 365 Books to Start Your Climate Change Library, a reading list in four sections (Classics, Science, Fiction & Poetry, and Ideas). This book is #2 of Part 4: The Ideas and #3 overall.Really good intro to some of the key scientific ideas in climate change - thawing permafrost, changing migratory patterns, rising sea levels, melting ice shelves - as well as some of the cultural/political aspects that have made up its history - inaction due to "not enough evidence", cart...

This book seems poorly-proportioned. It spends too many pages shoring up the existence of anthropogenic climate change and not enough time talking about the implications. Anyone open to the scientific premise isn't going to need 100 pages of proof before getting into the interesting part. Between assessments of the present and forecasts for the future, Kolbert also never pauses to explain exactly why this is a problem. I'm not a climate change skeptic by any means, but my biggest frustration is

In Field Notes from a Catastrophe, Kolbert goes to distant places and interviews scientists about what they’re doing. She covers many areas of research, including the melting permafrost, the melting glaciers, Hansen’s climate modelling, the northerly spread of insects, and more. In each case, she effectively summarizes how scientists gather data, how they interpret it, and she explains the implications of this research clearly. Better still, Field Notes is not only informative but is also very r...

This was more hard science than rhetoric which was welcome. Kolbert lays out the argument convincingly and compellingly. Because she is not daunted by the science, the argument comes across measured and deliberate - maybe even a bit understated at times - making it all the more effective. For anyone still harboring doubts about global warming, I'd like to think this book may well challenge their current thought processes.Kolbert takes us on a voyage across Iceland and Greenland, glaciers in Alas...

Field Notes from a Catastrophe was first published 2006 so it's 16 years old by now, and it does show. A lot of things have happened, and not so much has happened. It was an interesting read as one could expect from a book by Elizabeth Kolbert. She is a good writer. There is no doubt about that in my mind. She is a journalist first, book writer second, and this book is very much a journalist book. Set up in a similar way as most journalist books are set up. We get to follow her as she goes aroun...

The content is not uplifting, but this message needs to be heard.

I read The Sixth Extinction a few months ago, so it was only right that I read Kolbert's summary of global warming and the American political system. Surprise surprise, the Bush Administration had no inclination to acknowledge global warming or the future of this planet. America isn't the only one, but it is (was) the leader that other nations looked to for guidance. I'm not at all surprised they bungled the snatch. I wish people would take this seriously. I very thought provoking read if you wa...

To cite a well worn phrase, this is a must read to gain an insight and understanding of climate change.....(The updated and revised edition...)

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” ― Upton Sinclair, I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got LickedThat famous quote from Upton Sinclair seems highly appropriate to any discussion of climate change in this country. Entrenched, very powerful economic interests control our political system and, to a great extent, our media, and those interests are determined that business as usual shall prevail in the production and distrib...

“As the effects of global warming become more and more difficult to ignore, will we react by finally fashioning a global response? Or will we retreat into ever narrower and more destructive forms of self-interest? It may seem impossible to imagine that a technologically advanced society could choose, in essence, to destroy itself, but that is what we are now in the process of doing"--Elizabeth Kohlbert, the concluding paragraph of this book, published in 2006.This book, Field Notes from a Catast...

It’s impressive how well Kolbert avoids doom and gloom. Neither does she understate the issue. She navigates the polemic (that’s been made false polemic), debunks the myths, observes from ground zero, outlines plans of action. It’s an excellent primer, well-researched and grounded. But ultimately, yeah: this was written ten years ago and we’re still not paying attention. Soon what happens next won’t be up to us.

Elizabeth Kolbert’s "Field Notes From a Catastrophe" is more than ten years old (I read the 2006 edition) but don’t let that dissuade you from reading this brisk, concise overview of climate change and all the reasons we should be worried. Very worried. Kolbert zooms in and zooms out, from details to big-picture analysis. She visits the Alaskan village of Shismaref five miles off the coast of the Seward Peninsula. She heads to Swiss Camp, a research station on a platform drilled into the Greenla...

This is a really good primer on climate change, the perfect gift for your conservative uncle who thinks climate change is a liberal conspiracy. Although he wouldn’t read it, which is why so many people still ignore this crucial issue: they don’t care about science and reality. Published in 2006, I was struck over and over again by how little we have done to address climate change since this book came out. It’s depressing is that some things are still the same. James Inhoffe, for example, is feat...

This book, 'Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature and Climate Change' by Elizabeth Kolbert grew out of a three-part series she wrote for the 'New Yorker'. In this slim volume, Elizabeth Kolbert methodically explains the science of climate change and the warming temperatures of the earth. I think one of the most startling aspects of this book, for me, was learning that the study of climate change as it relates to the burning of fossil fuels actually dates back to the 19th century. This isn'...

Just for reference, I read this book after having read The Sixth Extinction first. This only happened because The Sixth Extinction was the Chicago Public Library's book club selection. I am glad I was able to read both books. Both are very insightful into climate change but, in retrospect, I feel it would make better sense to read this book before The Sixth Extinction. This book is entirely about climate change. The science and jargon is not entirely difficult to follow along. It should be noted...