Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change

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Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change

3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 · rating details · 1,081 ratings · 177 reviews

Long known for her insightful and thought-provoking political journalism, author Elizabeth Kolbert now tackles the controversial and increasingly urgent subject of global warming. In what began as groundbreaking three-part series in the New Yorker, for which she won a National Magazine Award in 2006, Kolbert cuts through the competing rhetoric and political agendas to elu

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Paperback, 240 pages

Published December 26th 2006 by Bloomsbury USA (first published 2006)

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Sep 09, 2007 Alicia rated it 4 of 5 stars

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...more

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Feb 05, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine added it · review of another edition

The arguments, evidence, and conclusions should surprise few readers in Kolbert's Field Notes from a Catastrophe and Flannery's The Weather Makers. Given existing scientific knowledge, neither author (and no critic) doubts that global warming is real, with terrible consequences looming ahead.<P>The difference between the books largely comes down to tone and style. Kolbert, a reporter for the New Yorker, provides an excellent primer on climate change. Praised for her elegance and accessibil

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Apr 01, 2012 Myth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Field Notes from a Catastrophe was required reading in a class for me. And I enjoyed this book, though there were some issues with it.

Kolbert is a journalist and has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1999. She has written a great deal on climate change.

In class this book was regarded as generally accessible. The writing style is journalistic and Kolbert reports as a journalist, not an activist or a scientific, which seemed to make it all the more accessible. Given my background, I thou...more Field Notes from a Catastrophe was required reading in a class for me. And I enjoyed this book, though there were some issues with it.

Kolbert is a journalist and has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1999. She has written a great deal on climate change.

In class this book was regarded as generally accessible. The writing style is journalistic and Kolbert reports as a journalist, not an activist or a scientific, which seemed to make it all the more accessible. Given my background, I thought Kolbert's writing was ideal in comparison to more scientific writing or activist writing - that could be seen as bias.

I was impressed by how she composed the book, but it didn't warrant a five star, because, in the edited edition we had, the message of utter hopelessness was too much.

This book is effective for anyone who's openly interested in climate change, but the end of the book ruined it for a lot of people. What now? It seems we're just doomed? Who could this book help and influence with this kind of dismal ending?

There are a lot of not-so-great, down right disastrous things bound to happen based on climate change, our chemical past and our increasing global population. What we should hope to take from this book, and books on other happening catastrophes, is what can we do. If we can't slow it or stop it, aren't there at least ways we could prepare for what's to happen - even if that means simply preparing on an individual emotional basis.

Though Kolbert ends on a low note, I don't think that is a reason to throw out the rest of the book. She provides a lot of information about how things are changing and what will change in a way that's easy to understand and not too insistent (for most of the book.)

On the topic of an inevitable catastrophe: In the end, the question is would you rather know you're on a crash course and be able to make informed discussions based on that or would you rather just be and not have to know? That's a matter of personal choice, but I supposed I would like to know.(less)

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Jan 09, 2012 Jenn rated it 4 of 5 stars

The subject matter of this book was informative, fascinating from a scientific point of view and completely depressing on a personal level. However we can't take the position of hiding our heads in the sand and hope extreme climate change goes away. It's not going away anytime soon, especially at the rate we're moving to stop it. In fact it seems, that while many governments are willing to commit to something on paper, when it comes time to spend money or sacrifice anything they stop up short wi...more

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Dec 11, 2011 David Tranvik rated it 5 of 5 stars

“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...more
“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 conclusion that global climate change is happening. She gathered information through a number travels throughout the world, various research projects, and with the help many experts. The wide variety of sources used demonstrate the enormous amount of effort she made in order for this book to serve as scientific research that should not go unread.
Throughout the book, Kolbert goes in depth on variety of issues that factor into global climate change and separates them into two distinct sections. The first part of book addresses how nature is affected by global climate change. She effectively starts the book talking about how different cultures and regions have been affected by an increase in temperatures. She gives many examples of these changes ranging from the increase in melting sea ice to the warming of permafrost around the Arctic. She explains the consequences and possible outcomes of these changes by describing their effects on the world. Then she clarifies how global climate change is not just a recent fad but has been studied since the middle of the nineteenth century. This allows the reader to understand that scientists have been developing the case for global climate change for hundreds of years and its possible negative affects if not dealt with it. After explaining the history of climate change she moves into more contemporary issues she discovered in her travels and research. One place she traveled was to a Swiss research camp on the Greenland ice sheet. During her time at the camp she learns how the temperature has been increasing steadily for the past ten years consequently melting the glacier at alarming rates. The conclusions she makes through her studies show the reader how climate change affects nature and what will happen in the future if there are no reforms.
While the first part of the book stresses the impact of global climate change on nature, the second section of the book discusses how mankind has and continues to cause global climate change. First, Kolbert talks about how ancient civilizations have been driven to extinctions because of climate change. She shares this information almost in way to scare the reader that our society could be next. But Kolbert calms the nerves by emphasizing that our technology advancements will allow for us to adapt to these climate changes. Although technology advancements could potentially save us, she argues that as society and technology continues to progress the more damage we do to the environment. In support of her argument she stresses that emission levels need to be put into check by using new energy sources that are more environmental friendly. One way to combat emission is through the Kyoto Protocol but the United States rejected its proposal when President Bush said global warming needed more research and was not a “sound science." This angered Kolbert because she believed the facts were sufficient in stating that the United States produces nearly a quarter of the worlds total greenhouse gases. Through these examples it suggests that Kolbert wants the reader to understand that mankind is largely responsible for global climate change. It is through our ignorance and denial that is causing dramatic changes to our Earth.
In conclusion, Kolbert uses the Dutch chemist Paul Crutzen’s theory that humans are no longer live in the Holocene era but rather the Anthropocene era or the “age of man.” She rightly justifies this claim by the way humans have been transforming the earth to in order to fit our self-interests. She contends that if this philosophy is not reversed, the Earth will continue to spiral out of control. Overall, Kolbert intended Field Notes from a Catastrophe for the layperson in order to inform them about the realization of global climate change and she succeeded.
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Apr 15, 2011 Pedro Costa rated it 3 of 5 stars

A escolha deste livro prendesse sobretudo as modificações do estado do tempo dos inicios das eras mediavais até aos nossos dias.

Elizabeth Kolbert, é uma jornalista Norte Americana que se tem interessado ao longo dos tempos com as modificações climaticas ocorridas em todo o globo, desde a existencia de relactos que enquadram o aparecimento de vida na terra.

Neste livro, Kolbert divide a obra em 2 partes: Uma primeira parte mais voltada para as mudanças ocorridas na natureza e as consequencias que...more A escolha deste livro prendesse sobretudo as modificações do estado do tempo dos inicios das eras mediavais até aos nossos dias.

Elizabeth Kolbert, é uma jornalista Norte Americana que se tem interessado ao longo dos tempos com as modificações climaticas ocorridas em todo o globo, desde a existencia de relactos que enquadram o aparecimento de vida na terra.

Neste livro, Kolbert divide a obra em 2 partes: Uma primeira parte mais voltada para as mudanças ocorridas na natureza e as consequencias que estas mudanças têm "acarretado" para o mundo em geral e uma segunda parte que retrata a forte influencia do "homem" nas alterções climáticas.

Para tal a autora revela as modificações que ocorreram a vários niveis desde o processo de Degelo, ocorrido nos polos, as alterações de temperatura, mofificadas ao longo do tempo, quer na atmosfera quer no interior do globo, por fim, demonstra as consequencias que estas alterações tiveram nos seres vivos nao racionais (animais).

Numa vertante mais humanista, Elizabeth chama-nos a atençao para a influencia que o homem tem tido nesta questão das "alterações climáticas". A autora apresenta-nos um conjunto de factores humanos, que têm permitido e estimulado a ascenção desta catástofre mundial. Movida por esta causa, Klbert apresenta a indiferença que esta assunto tem nas grandes empresesas transnacionais, que apenas agem movidas pelo enriquecimento material e pelo crescimento economico, sem se preocuparem com o meio ambiente. Mas para alem deste factor, a autora da obra traça tambem outros problemas de indule humano: a fraca/inexistente acção que cada pessoa tem para melhorar esta questaão, e a indisponibelidade que cada pessoa mostra quando se tratam de ssuntos relacionados.

Com vista a melhorar esta situação, Elizabeth chama a atenção para o que cada um de nós pode fazer para contribuir com a não poluição do meio ambiente, assim como o que cada instituição governamental pode fazer.

Para nos mostrar o quanto este tema é evidente e percéptivel Kolbert enumera um conjunto de situações e acontecimentos que têm, por muitas vezes, posto em causa a vida de muitas pessoas, assim como a segurança de muitas outra.(less)

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Apr 05, 2011 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

by now a dated review of the science and politics and climate change, but it was interesting to read a few years later and realize how little the election of a Democratic president actually alters the basic difficulties of achieving drastic change. Lays out pretty clearly the evidence that, as the last sentence puts it, "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." Some...more

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Apr 08, 2009 Noah rated it 3 of 5 stars

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...more

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Dec 07, 2012 Hilary rated it 4 of 5 stars

It has taken me a while to write this review. I finished reading this book around noon today, and now, at quarter of six, I finally feel ready to write about it. Field Notes from a Catastrophe was a fantastic, compelling read about the environment. It was one of the nominations for Northeastern University's First Pages program for next year, which is why I read it. I think it is a book that I would recommend for the program, simply because it will get that many more students, that many more citi...more It has taken me a while to write this review. I finished reading this book around noon today, and now, at quarter of six, I finally feel ready to write about it. Field Notes from a Catastrophe was a fantastic, compelling read about the environment. It was one of the nominations for Northeastern University's First Pages program for next year, which is why I read it. I think it is a book that I would recommend for the program, simply because it will get that many more students, that many more citizens to read it. My strongest feeling about this book is that I want EVERYONE to read it. I want all the nay-sayers and non-believers in global warming to read it, along with everyone in a position of power. I want my family to read it, my friends to read it, everyone in America to read it. Our planet is in a crisis - which I knew before reading this book, although not quite to the extent that this book clarified - and no one seems to notice. Global temperatures are at their highest since the Cretaceous Era, right before the dinosaurs were wiped out and when crocodiles roamed the ice-less poles. The human race is becoming a destructive machine that is completely out of control. Even if the entire world was in peace right now, what is going on with the environment is potentially life-threatening enough that it will cause serious problems in a matter of decades. I know that I will begin to see the effects of extreme concentrations of CO2, and I know for certain that my children will, and we all need to take control of our carbon footprints NOW before they cannot be controlled any longer. Even if we completely stopped our carbon emissions right now, the world would still suffer the consequences for CENTURIES simply because of the rate of decomposition of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Field Notes from a Catastrophe is a book that would move people socially and politically if there were just enough people to read it. As it is, the effects of highly concentrated carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are not yet dire enough to move people to motion. But they will be. For our children, for our grandchildren, and for many many years in the future. Earth will become uninhabitable, and there are just so many people who can't accept that for what it is.
The only problem that I had with this book was small - just the mere fact that it was published in 2006. I know that this is not the author's fault, it's my fault for not reading it earlier. I really would recommend this for the reading program, but I think that there would need to be a supplemental reading or assignment to reinforce how rapidly the climate is changing and to exhibit how utterly out of control it is. Even if this book is not chosen for the First Pages program, I still implore everyone to read it. It is fascinating and mortifying and horribly terrifying, but it is also full of information that people really need to know.(less)

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Feb 06, 2012 Andy Gibb rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another book that reiterates The Long Emergency's telling of the abrupt Younger Dryas climate change. Elizabeth Kolbert writes that 12,800 years ago the warming from the last Ice Age suddenly chilled for another 1,200 years. Then in a decade the temperature rose by 10 degrees plus. When the system switches, it switches fast.

Just before all this sea levels had been rising by one foot per decade. Catastrophic it wasn't but it would be for our coastal communities if repeated now.

Here's an interesti...more

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Sep 07, 2009 Christopher Cotrell rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who aren't yet convinced we're fucked

A good overview of current climate science, its history, implications, and possible courses of action and the political states of them. It's all in a journalistic style, which manages to give the whole issue and its history a bit of life and personality, without the nonsense of portraying climate change deniers as anything but fools or tools of various industries.

Like any reasonable overview of climate change, it's sort of a doom, gloom, doom, doom, doom, we're fucked if we don't do anything, th...more

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Jan 08, 2011 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an excellent book for an overview of the already-observable effects of climate change, as well as of the political situation at a crucial time in the climate change debates. The stories of people and wildlife living with the incredible changes that have already occurred are brief, incisive, and well told. Kolbert touches on the science as well, illuminating key points without overwhelming the reader with details about methodology or statistics.

At this point the political information is...more

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Dec 24, 2012 Wanda Brenni rated it 3 of 5 stars

While perhaps not well written, this is a very important read--the information is there--the reality of our inaction obvious to all. The canary is already dead. For the first time in the history of the planet, we will be a species that is responsible for our own dimise as well as many of our fellow species. Perhaps in that the shift towards global warming started with the industrial revolution, and perhaps given our increasing numbers, this coming self made extention may have been somewhat out o...more

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May 13, 2009 Tim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"It's really a very interesting time."[return][return]So a geophysicist from the University of Alaska tells Elizabeth Kolbert as she visits his study of the permafrost in Alaska. That "interesting time" is the global warming taking place on the planet.[return][return]Kolbert expanded a three-part series she wrote for New Yorker magazine into Field Notes from a Catastrophe , a highly readable and informative account of the causes of global warming, its implications and the problems in dealing wit...more

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Nov 07, 2011 Ryan rated it 5 of 5 stars

"It may be 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." That is how Kolbert ended the book - BAM. This was written just as the climate science was gaining terrifying detail and US politicians were waging a vicious campaign of censorship and doubt around the emerging data. I found my self in awe of Kolbert's ability to weave together such a wide range of diverse and carefully resear...more

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Jan 11, 2012 Ted rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: global-warming, environment, natural-science

Elizabeth Kolbert was, still is I think, the main environmental writer for The New Yorker. 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 is 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 although I suppose the book is a bit out of date by now...more

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Mar 31, 2010 Melody rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: wow-bookgroup

I don't mean to imply that I don't think this is an important subject. And interesting - I do find it interesting. The topic, I mean. But the way Elizabeth presented it to me - no so much. Or maybe I wasn't in the mood for listening. I was flying to Santa Fe for god's sake. I was using more than my fair share of fossil fuels and merrily contributing to the melting of glaciers, the eliminating of the permafrost and the spewing of carbon dioxide willy nilly into the air. I did not want to have all...more

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Mar 02, 2009 Pete daPixie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: green

Kolbert's 'Field notes' is as up to date as you can get,(2007), on the hard data of climate change. She travels round the globe to collect findings from scientific projects, researchers and environmentalists to explain in simple terms the harsh realities of human impact on mother earth.
She visits both polar regions and many points between to present data on CO2 levels, ice-cap depletion, permafrost, rising sea levels, CFC emissions, third world growth, and inadequate international understanding...more

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Mar 18, 2011 Lianne Burwell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Being only 200 pages, this isn't exactly an in-depth examination of the problem, but it hits the high points, with some good stories about individuals in the field of climate change. I enjoyed it, and it made me think, but I really wish it had been about double the length.

And for those that enjoyed this, I would recommend The Long Summer, by Brian M Fagan, which goes into more depth on how climate changes have affected civilizations since the last ice age, which ties in nicely to this book and t...more

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May 23, 2013 Louisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: environment, non-fiction, science, politics

This is not a speculative gloom-and-doom story, but a great textbook on climate change research and the current state of affairs, with clear case studies of places around the world where climate change is already affecting the lives of people. The chapter on Dutch water management and the floating houses in Maasbommel is excellently done; the 'Ruimte voor de Rivier' (Room for the River) projects of which she speaks are now well underway and set to be completed in 2015. In the few years since Ms....more

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Jul 26, 2011 Tammie added it

This is a great read for anyone who is convinced that global warming isn't really happening. It is full of scientific studies research and results that prove global warming is a real problem that can't be ignored.
We can't all go on with ""business as usual"" and act like nothing is happening.
Even if by the end of the book you are still not convinced that global warming is a real event happening right now as we speak I think the book will convince you that we need to take action to clean up ours...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Ira Therebel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nature, non-fiction

An easy read on climate change. The first part of the book shows several effects on the climate chage, the second part talks about the influence of humans and what is being done in order to stop it. It is a pretty good overview for people who are interested in the issue. My only problem with the book was that it doesn't bring much convincing, scientific evidence on how humans influence the climate. But I guess it is just supposed to be an overview and for more scientific evidence on the issue on...more

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Oct 19, 2009 Aron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: climate-change

I just recently re-read this (10/18/09) for the sole reason of deciding whether or not to recommend it to a friend. Due to its brevity and digestibility, I'd say it's a good primer book for anybody interested in global warming. Compared to others, the inevitable Bush party-bashing is pretty mild. The book also isn't nearly as harrowing as some others on the topic, though it certainly contains cause for alarm.

The book is composed of two sections, the first of which primarily catalogues a random a...more

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Aug 06, 2008 Ryan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kolbert weaves together a compelling overview of the many ways -- social, economic, political -- in which climate change is altering the way that people around the world live. As an aside, she has an annoying tendency to use a cliché formula for the description of each person whom she interviews, beginning by outlining their physical attributes, but I admit that this feature of the book is merely a minor issue relative to the otherwise impressive strength of case that she makes regarding our nee...more

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Jul 27, 2008 sdw rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: environment

Seldom have I read a book with such an appropriate title. Each chapter provides a story of a place and a particular set of science and warnings about global climate change. This readable book explains how and why climate change occurs and documents its effects in Alaska and the Netherlands - where the government has begun airing ads featuring a celebrity weatherman under the slogan "The Netherlands Lives with the Water."

Not only does this book treat us to current science but it explains the his...more

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Apr 29, 2008 Daniel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2008

In decades to come, there's a good chance people will look back to "Field Notes from a Catastrophe" as a foreshadowing of everything that had gone wrong and how little was done to prevent it. That speaks well for Elizabeth Kolbert's achievement, and should scare the hell out of us.

As the title suggests, "Field Notes" is less of a cohesive narrative on global climate change and more of a collection of reporting from around the world on its impacts. This may sound like a criticism, but it's not. T...more

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Feb 20, 2008 Thomas rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Review from "Winds of Change," but it works here, too!

A competent but unadventuresome tour of the state of global warming science and media coverage thereof, circa 2006. Linden was a longtime environmental writer at Time, and one of the first "big" journalists to start covering global warming on a regular basis, and the several chapters that deal with the history of climate change in the media are excellent and fascinating. But this really-quite-decent book is most notable, unfortunately, for co...more

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Sep 16, 2010 Alex Telander rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2007

FIELD NOTES FROM A CATASTROPHE BY ELIZABETH KOLBERT: In Field Notes From a Catastrophe – dramatic title aside – Kolbert, a staff writer for the New Yorker magazine, offers readers not a telling off story about how the human race is steadily destroying the planet, but an up to date factual guide to the reality of the world. Kolbert simply offers the details and facts from first hand sources which can only be taken as truth and harsh reality.

Split into two parts, the first, “Nature,” offers four c...more FIELD NOTES FROM A CATASTROPHE BY ELIZABETH KOLBERT: In Field Notes From a Catastrophe – dramatic title aside – Kolbert, a staff writer for the New Yorker magazine, offers readers not a telling off story about how the human race is steadily destroying the planet, but an up to date factual guide to the reality of the world. Kolbert simply offers the details and facts from first hand sources which can only be taken as truth and harsh reality.

Split into two parts, the first, “Nature,” offers four case studies into different parts of the worlds on the state of global warming and how it is affecting that particular area. Starting in Alaska where a scientific group researching the effect of the melting ice in the Arctic are for the first time unable to find a large enough iceberg and able to travel further north than ever before; on to the real world rising temperatures and its effects on the planet; to the melting glaciers of Iceland where life is changing for both the people and the animal and plant life; to an apparent evolution of a species of butterfly and toad in the last fifty years. “Nature” serves as a solid foundation on the current state of the world, segueing to the second part, “Man,” where the realities of our role in the current state of the world is fully revealed. Again, with little opinion or evaluation on Kolbert’s part, just the statement of facts.

It is in these last six chapters of the book that the reader sees how the planet has been changed, what history tells us, how this is a unique period in the history of the planet, and how exactly we are to blame for it. Juxtaposed with this are the steps that are being taken around the world to try to change this, as Kolbert returns time and time again to the United States and the Bush Administration’s blind eye to global warming, the greenhouse effect, and rising global temperatures. And when the Under Secretary of State for Democratic and Global Affairs, Paula Dobriansky, is asked to respond to these presidential decisions that seem to be made against the advice of the scientists and the will of the people, the repeated response – much like that on domestic and foreign policy – is: “We have a common goal and objective . . . Where we differ is on what approach we believe is and can be the most effective.”

Elizabeth Kolbert makes the reality clear and unquestionable. The facts are there, the sources for the facts are also there to be checked and confirmed. All that’s left is to accept blame and do something about it. The question is: by the time the world gets around to reacting on a global scare, will it be too late? There seems to be a focus in today’s day and age on the now, the current generation. This idea is no more prevalent than in governments and administrations. There’s little forethought or prediction on the part of our children and grandchildren; on the future generations who will be born into a world worse than ours and will have to fight harder to get by. It makes me sad and long for 2009, when hopefully big changes will be made.

For more book reviews, and author interviews, go to BookBanter.(less)

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Jun 28, 2010 Sam rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: popular-science, earth-science

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...more

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Jan 11, 2008 Erin rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those who want a crash course in GW

Although I have just started this book, I already have problems with it. It has some good information, but the writing is somewhat pedantic and confusing. She has thrown in some personality, but I guess I am somewhat prejudiced about science-writing-lite, having just read Bill Bryson's WONDERFUL A Short History of Nearly Everything. The same topic would be much more human in his hands.

Only 13 pages in, Kolbert has already committed what, as far as I'm concerned, is the cardinal sin of science wr...more

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