A few months ago, I was talking with a friend when he said, “I hope that global warming isn’t going to happen.”
I simply stared at him, unsure of the proper response — and so the conversation went on and I ended up saying nothing. After recounting the experience to my older sister, she promptly recommended I read Elizabeth Kolbert’s “Field Notes From a Catastrophe: Man, Nature and Climate Change.”
At first, I was wary of reading an entire book devoted to global warming. Not being a person who enjoys reading page after page of numbers and graphs, I expressed this concern to my sister.
She assured me that Kolbert writes for New Yorker, where she published a series of articles on global warming that formed the basis for this book.
Kolbert is not a scientist and doesn’t write like one.
“Field Notes” includes specific information from scientific studies and quotes from scientists who study global warming. There are numbers and graphs throughout, but they are few in number and simplified for the average reader.
Kolbert describes her trips around the globe, her conversations with native residents and scientists, and gives overviews of scientific studies.
The book includes a broad yet detailed overview of the history of the science of global warming, which appeals to those interested in both history and in science and gives this nonfiction book a more story-like feel.
Kolbert is able to connect every study, every interview, every graph and every number to the ordinary person’s life, making the book feel personally relevant, and therefore making it more interesting.
Although there is an abundance of scientific information in “Field Notes,” Kolbert breaks up the textbook-like sections with narrative, full of detail and character.
This book’s message is vitally important for people of all ages, but its challenging vocabulary might make it one to read near a dictionary for full comprehension. But the word choice does not detract from the message.
When I finished reading, I knew not only the proper responses to give my friend who didn’t want to believe global warming is happening, but I had evidence to share with him and an incredible book to recommend.
Leave a comment