The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View from the Future
A much-needed antidote to the "AGENDA 21" nonsense promulgated by Glenn Beck and the far right, Oreskes and Conway provide us with a glimpse of the dystopian future we may ACTUALLY face should we fail to heed the warning of the world's scientists regarding the looming climate change crisis.(Michael E. Mann, director, Penn State Earth System Science Center, and author ofThe Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines)Oreskes and Conway's startling and all-too-plausible history of the century to come is in the spirit of George Orwell and Aldous Huxley and all the writers who have turned to prophecy in the attempt to ward off an oncoming disaster. Witty in its details and disturbing in its plausibility, this is an account of the Long Emergency we're entering that you will not soon forget.(Kim Stanley Robinson, author ofShaman, 2312, Science In the Capital,and theMarstrilogy)A chilling view of what our history could be. Ignore it and it becomes more likely. Read this book, heed its warning, and perhaps we can avoid its dire predictions.(Timothy Wirth, vice chairman, United Nations Foundation, and former U.S. Senator and Member, U.S. House of Representatives)Regret, Oreskes and Conway argue, is an equal-opportunity employer. Yes, climate change will be a nightmare for environmentalists. But global warming also threatens free marketeers, because unabated, it guarantees big government intervention. And that's the great service of this short but brilliant parable: it creates bipartisan empathy for our future selves. From that gift, perhaps we can summon the will to act today.(Auden Schendler, Vice President, Sustainability, Aspen Skiing Company)Provocative and grimly fascinating,The Collapse of Western Civilizationoffers a glimpse into a future that, with farsighted leadership, still might be avoided. It should be required reading for anyone who works -- or hopes to -- in Washington.(Elizabeth Kolbert, author ofThe Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History)The scenario portrayed in this valuable little book is scarily possible. It would be apt if readers took action to keep it from, you know,happening.(Bill McKibben, founder 350.org)Packed with salient science, smart speculation and flashes of mordant humour.(Nature)This science-historical fantasy is thought-provoking, but is it prescient?(Scientific American)[A] must-read... What is science fiction today will someday be the history of real, live people -- billions of them. Kudos to Oreskes and Conway for finding a creative way to talk about the immoral choice we are making today and how those billions of people will suffer for it.(Climate Progress Blog)