A fine history of the battle against climate change that does not strain to predict victory.
Less a polemic than a history of carbon emissions emphasizing the major discussions and missed opportunities since climate change became a mainstream issue.
Linden, author of The Winds of Change: Climate, Weather, and the Destruction of Civilizations and other books, proceeds chronologically. He reports that while the 1980s saw tremendous progress in scientific understanding, there was still little public interest in climate change. Dedicated environmentalists focused on smog, poisoned rivers, whaling, and endangered species, largely neglecting the more pressing problem of global warming, and the ignorance continued into the 1990s. “The Kyoto Protocol, a limp attempt to reduce fossil fuel emissions, was enacted in 1997 but did not enter into force until 2005,” writes the author. “Despite the promises following 1988, nothing happened in the 1990s to reduce dependency on fossil fuels.” The first decade of the millennium was the warmest yet recorded, but the public ignored numerous warnings, and the business community continued its successful campaign to downplay the gravity of the situation, with climate change denial flourishing. Few elected officials make climate change an issue because it doesn’t help their election chances, and collective action is severely lacking. The issue has become especially partisan in the U.S., with Republicans solidly in the denial column and Democrats among the believers—at least rhetorically. By 2010, writes Linden, “the message from nature was loud and clear: climate change was already here and promised to get more dangerous and expensive.” Leaders vowed to lower carbon emissions, but they continue to rise. As in many similar books, Linden attempts to end on a positive note; his concluding chapter, “A Narrow Path to a Livable Future,” is modestly successful. Experts predict trillions of dollars in investments in renewables and a host of new jobs over the next 30 years. Restoring wetlands, reducing farm emissions, and halting deforestation will make a difference. Linden reports many commercial efforts to suck carbon from the air, but none have proven effective.
A fine history of the battle against climate change that does not strain to predict victory.Pub Date: April 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-984882-24-0
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Penguin Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.
Words that made a nation.
Isaacson is known for expansive biographies of great thinkers (and Elon Musk), but here he pens a succinct, stimulating commentary on the Founding Fathers’ ode to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” His close reading of the Declaration of Independence’s second sentence, published to mark the 250th anniversary of the document’s adoption, doesn’t downplay its “moral contradiction.” Thomas Jefferson enslaved hundreds of people yet called slavery “a cruel war against human nature” in his first draft of the Declaration. All but 15 of the document’s 56 signers owned enslaved people. While the sentence in question asserted “all men are created equal” and possess “unalienable rights,” the Founders “consciously and intentionally” excluded women, Native Americans, and enslaved people. And yet the sentence is powerful, Isaacson writes, because it names a young nation’s “aspirations.” He mounts a solid defense of what ought to be shared goals, among them economic fairness, “moral compassion,” and a willingness to compromise. “Democracy depends on this,” he writes. Isaacson is excellent when explaining how Enlightenment intellectuals abroad influenced the founders. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Declaration’s “five-person drafting committee,” stayed in David Hume’s home for a month in the early 1770s, “discussing ideas of natural rights” with the Scottish philosopher. Also strong is Isaacson’s discussion of the “edits and tweaks” made to Jefferson’s draft. As recommended by Franklin and others, the changes were substantial, leaving Jefferson “distraught.” Franklin, who emerges as the book’s hero, helped establish municipal services, founded a library, and encouraged religious diversity—the kind of civic-mindedness that we could use more of today, Isaacson reminds us.
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781982181314
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A familiar format, but a timely reminder that cities are made up of individuals, each with their own stories.
Portraits in a post-pandemic world.
After the Covid-19 lockdowns left New York City’s streets empty, many claimed that the city was “gone forever.” It was those words that inspired Stanton, whose previous collections include Humans of New York (2013), Humans of New York: Stories (2015), and Humans (2020), to return to the well once more for a new love letter to the city’s humanity and diversity. Beautifully laid out in hardcover with crisp, bright images, each portrait of a New Yorker is accompanied by sparse but potent quotes from Stanton’s interviews with his subjects. Early in the book, the author sequences three portraits—a couple laughing, then looking serious, then the woman with tears in her eyes—as they recount the arc of their relationship, transforming each emotional beat of their story into an affecting visual narrative. In another, an unhoused man sits on the street, his husky eating out of his hand. The caption: “I’m a late bloomer.” Though the pandemic isn’t mentioned often, Stanton focuses much of the book on optimistic stories of the post-pandemic era. Among the most notable profiles is Myles Smutney, founder of the Free Store Project, whose story of reclaiming boarded‑up buildings during the lockdowns speaks to the city’s resilience. In reusing the same formula from his previous books, the author confirms his thesis: New York isn’t going anywhere. As he writes in his lyrical prologue, “Just as one might dive among coral reefs to marvel at nature, one can come to New York City to marvel at humanity.” The book’s optimism paints New York as a city where diverse lives converge in moments of beauty, joy, and collective hope.
A familiar format, but a timely reminder that cities are made up of individuals, each with their own stories.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781250277589
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
