Good storytelling humanizes an often abstract subject.
New Yorker staff writer Kolbert (The Prophet of Love, 2004) reports from the frontlines of global warming.
Based on a three-part series that appeared in the magazine, this slim volume conveys through telling detail the changes already being wrought by human-induced global warming. For most Americans, this issue is not yet “close to home,” Kolbert writes; the early effects are found nearer the poles. In the Alaskan village of Shishmaref, early spring thaws and storm surges may force residents to relocate from their centuries-old home. The same fate threatens permafrost expert Vladimir Romanovsky; huge sinkholes are opening up practically on his doorstep. Kolbert’s excursion to Swiss Camp, a research station in Greenland, ends with her finding a large puddle in her tent. Later she bids a fond farewell to one of the rapidly shrinking glaciers in Iceland. The island nation has had glaciers for the past two million years; one day they may all be gone. When the ice melts and the oceans warm, sea levels go up. Determined to keep their homes, the Dutch are well underway with plans to accommodate the rising waters, including buying out low-lying farms to hold projected floodwater and building floating houses. Vignettes also describe instances of warming-induced migration (butterflies moving their ranges northward) and disappearance (the golden toad, which had nowhere to go from its mountaintop). Although lighter on science than most books covering climate change, Kolbert’s narrative does provide enough history to orient readers. A visit to David Rind at the GISS Climate Impacts Group reveals that, ironically, while flooding may occur on some parts of the planet, the continental U.S. may face severe drought. Obligatory chapters on politics and the Kyoto Protocol are followed by stories of grassroots efforts by local governments—but will they be enough?
Good storytelling humanizes an often abstract subject.Pub Date: March 14, 2006
ISBN: 1-59691-125-5
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Flying in the face of redundancy, aviation journalist and pilot Scott concisely chronicles the history of manned flight from its faltering first steps to its later deadly application above the WW I battlefield. Although readers will recognize such major names in early 20th century aviation as the Wright brothers and their main competitor, Glen Curtiss, as well as some famous predecessors—da Vinci, Montgolfier, even Icarus—Scott's often ironically laconic account includes some interesting arcana. The first flying machines were gliders, patterned after birds, bats, and, in one case, the manta ray; the first recorded casualty was an 11th-century monk who leaped from a tower on batlike wings and broke both his legs. Death came easily and often to these early aviators; not until Englishman George Cayley's 1804 flight was a controllable glider demonstrated. The quest for powered flight occupied the rest of the 19th century; readers may be surprised to learn that the first successful heavier-than-air machine (powered by steam) flew in 1848, the first controlled, gasoline-engine venture in 1895. The Wright brothers' landmark manned, powered flight in 1903 at Kitty Hawk, N.C., opened the portals of modern aviation—and, Scott notes, a succession of patent suits by which they effectively controlled US airplane manufacture. When America entered WW I, the armed forces possessed not even 400 aircraft. European aviation war technology by this time had led to deadly innovations, some of whose grisly results are depicted vividly here in the author's account of the exploits of war heroes Manfred von Richthofen and Eddie Rickenbacker. Scott's history ends in 1919 with the first transatlantic flight. This account of man's romance with flight doesn't break any new ground but offers a good grounding in the field as well as thoughts to ponder about the impact of aviation on modern life.
Pub Date: July 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-201-62722-1
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Addison-Wesley
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1995
This readable survey of cosmology (and the astronomical evidence on which it is founded) shows an unusual awareness of the larger philosophical context in which scientific ideas are worked out. Thuan (Astronomy/Univ. of Virginia) is well known in France (where this book first appeared) both for popular science books and for TV appearances. It is easy to see why, if the present volume is a fair sample. He begins with a vivid description of his work at a modern astronomical observatory, where he and his colleagues are more likely to settle down in front of a bank of instruments and computer keyboards than to step outside for a direct view of the sky. Still, the emotional impact of the night sky is at the root of the appeal of astronomy and forms the source of its speculations about the universe we inhabit. Thuan quickly surveys the many ways in which past civilizations have interpreted the findings of astronomy, from the mythological universe of the ancients to the deterministic model of the late 19th century. He outlines the structure of the cosmos as revealed by increasingly more sophisticated instruments and techniques, smoothly explaining such central concepts as the Hubble constant and black holes. Thuan shows a particular willingness to grapple with some of the larger philosophical and religious issues implicit in any discussion of how the universe began and how it may end; his argument for the anthropic principle (that the universe is designed to produce intelligent living creatures) is tantalizing, although the principle itself seems to depend on circular reasoning. Likewise, his willingness to speculate on the ultimate fate of life in the universe sets him apart from many astronomers, who shy away from such questions. Clear, comprehensive, well written (and well translated), this is a fine introduction to the key issues of modern cosmology. (photos, not seen)
Pub Date: July 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-19-507370-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
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