The Secret Prophecy

by Herbie Brennan

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Faerie Wars Chronicles, Herbie Brennan, comes this heart-pounding middle-grade adventure—think The Da Vinci Code for tweens. Reminiscent of the Percy Jackson and Artemis Fowl series, this edge-of-your-seat thriller involves an ancient curse, a murder, and a conspiracy by a secret society. When Edward Michael “Em” Goverton uncovers the key to a five-hundred-year-old deadly prediction by the prophet Nostradamus, personal tragedy morphs into international crisis. Soon Em finds himself enmeshed in a sinister web of shocking events where nothing is quite as it seems. But the ominous forces behind the plot are not about to sit back and let their plans be ruined, and soon their net begins to close in on Em. It’s a race against the clock for Em and his friends to prevent a catastrophe that threatens the lives of an entire generation.

Genres: Adventure, Young Adult, Mystery, Fantasy, Fiction, Thriller, Middle Grade

368 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2012

About the author

What you should know

Name: Herbie Brennan

Occupation: Author

Favourite book: The Crimson Petal and the White, by Michel Faber.

Favourite subjects: Esoteric matters, psychical research, anomalies, Mac computers, other people and cats.

Favourite journals: Journal of the Society for Psychical Research.

Favourite holiday spot: Kenmare, County Kerry, Ireland.

Number of books published: 116.

Total copies sold worldwide: 10 million +.

Herbie Brennan recently (written 2019) celebrated publication of his 116th book, Nectanebo. Traveller From An Antique Land.

Reviews

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Boy Who Lost What Matters Most

Em was just like everybody else. He lived in England, had a father and a mother and was an only child. But one day his world gets thrown on a roller coaster, and he finds himself losing control. He desperately tries to stay on but there will be serious consequences if he can’t regain his balance.
One day, Em’s dad mysteriously dies from what appeared to be head cold. But when a strange man shows up at his funeral, Em can’t help it but suspect something deeper. And when the house gets broken into, twice, the situation gets worse. Soon after, his mom and uncle start acting strange and Em can’t find anyone to trust. He slowly gains the loyalty of his family friend Charlotte and a man named Victor. But even Victor seems to be two different people. Will he end up keeping his promises to Em, or was he lying all along?

As they battle the shady enemy together, can Em keep up his facade? What will happen if he relies too much on his feelings? Em is standing in the eye of the hurricane, trying to find himself as others whirl around him. As Em travels through the story he learns more and more about what other people want him to be and what he wants to be. Who should he trust? Who should he avoid? Sure he made some friends, but, “...There was only one person in the whole world who could have betrayed him”.(Brennan 284) And what ever happened to his dad?

As Herbie Brennan takes you on this fantastical ride, he shows you what it means to be trustworthy and loyal. But what will happen if your friends turn to foes? Only you can chose who to side with, but which is the right side? Life can be a wild ride, and this present day dystopia models that perfectly. In Herbie Brennan’s The Secret Prophecy, the limited omniscient narrator tells of a story where anything can happen, and anything will happen.

Brennan, Herbie. The Secret Prophecy. New York, NY: Balzer Bray, 2012. Print.

[Jo-Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found myself sucked right into this book from the very start. Em's delivering his father who's been ill his breakfast in bed, and what does he find? His father's body! He discovers his dad has died even though he had been getting stronger and better every day. He was even supposed to be able to go out walking for a short while that very evening. This is just the beginning. Em sees muscled men decked out in expensive suits that he's never seen before in his life at his father's funeral. Then, he just happens to notice that one of them is armed with a gun in a shoulder holster! Crazy right? Well, that's just the beginning. Em begins to realize he's being followed and the man following him just happens to be the same guy who had the gun at his dad's funeral. Things just get crazier from there. Em has fallen into a world of an elite organization who has the money and power to do just about anything. Their whole goal- a new world order where they themselves are in charge, and the rest of the people do their bidding. Em keeps falling deeper and deeper into this world that he never knew existed while trying to stay out of this organization's clutches. I really enjoyed this one a lot more than I had expected to.

[~Evy's OBSESSED~]

DNF 50%

Okay....okay....I'm sorry, but hear me out. I LOVED the British aspect to this book. LOVED IT! ADORED IT! Honestly it's prolly the only think that get me halfway, but it just felt....blah. I couldn't for the life of my get interested and everything felt oddly convenient and predictable.

Or maybe it's just bc I miss Newt and the Maze Runner *shrugs*😥😢 I might come back to it later but right now I need to read something else.

[Elle! · Rating 4 out of 5]

So don't judge a book by it's cover. I did exactly that. I originally grabbed this novel because the cover was so freaking ugly. Look at it. Just look, my retinas burned out just eyeing it. And boy was I surprised , I was tossed into a wonderful world - well more like 75% reality where a teenage boy named Em is torn, ripped and tossed out of his house when his father dies. This is NOT a dystopian, no! This is more like a thriller with realistic facts set in the NOW. What isn't cooler than The Divinci Code for teens but not as suck festy. So when Em (he's a guy)

All hell breaks loose. Like let open the flood gates of hell break loose.



Run Em!Run!. The Illuminati is after you!!!

Setting: Apartments, shelters and the streets of Europe. Britain and Paris. Don't be afraid, it's very friendly. It doesn't pretend you've heard of everything before. The scene is very real.

Summary:There is suspected to be a murder by the government. His father is a historian and found a propohecy that the government is slowly making come to life. Em's mother is taken to a "crazy house" after this novel In this novel, which is set in the now. You will find facts of all kinds contributing to this novel. Like the Patriot Act that hijacked all of Americas Bill of Rights (thanks OBAMA for signing the Bill Bush pushed forward! I appreciate that) and lots of facts about Britain. Em is now homeless. Some of this book is not fiction, some of these pieces are real facts, being tracked by phone signalss, etc.

Protagionist: His nickename is Em. Thi novel is done in third person, limited first person. He is a perfect real guy character. I give props to the author for making such a novel. He's perfectly flawed, and very driven. HE IS REAL.

Naration Easy to read, but not to easy fast pasr thriller kinf og way. A more complex James Patterson.

What I liked: The aspect of YA romance is very strong in recently published novels circa 2000. Particulary, thanks to Twilight and City of Bones. This is very subtle, he admires the girl but he's to preoccupied with trying not to be stuck in an orphanage or killed. I DON'T GET HOW ALL THESE YA PROTAGIONISTS CAN ENTERTAIN ROMANCE WHEN THEY ARE GOING TO BE KILLED. IT'S STUPID! AND UNREALISTIC..Would you find a way to kiss someone when you are being chased for your life? No!

Why not five stars?: Because I got a drop of wow factor and i am still reading toward the ending. This is my recollection so far.

Offically goes on my kickass genre shelf.

If you are wondering my kick ass shelf looks like this.



I CAN NOT BELIVIE PEOPLE HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK. TRY IT. IT'S A THRILLER WHERE THE KID IS ON THE RUN FROM A SECRET GOVERNMENT SOCIETY. YOU'LL LOVE IT!

[P.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a secret group planning to form a one world government to destroy democracy and save the world. They are manufacturing a vaccine supposedly to save youth from a pandemic they created. In reality, they are planning to kill millions of children to cut the world's population since the Earth can no longer support billions of people. This was seriously freaky since it dealt with all the issues we are facing today.

[Serena.. Sery-ously? · Rating 3 out of 5]

C'era una volta.. In una notte buia e tempestosa.. Traduttori italiani ANARCHICI che pensarono bene di stravolgere i titoli dei libri stranieri, riuscendo a renderli del tutto NON appetibili.

Erano tempi bui, Harry, molto bui. Voldemort cominciò a raccogliere seguaci, li condusse sulla via del male.

Quale persona sana di mente tradurrebbe "The secret prophecy" con "L'ultima profezia di Nostradamus"?? CHI?? Ma andiamo!! Chi è interessato a Nostradamus? XD
Eppure, a tutta evidenza, c'è chi l'ha fatto ;_;
In tutta sincerità, MAI avrei comprato questo libro (anche perché la trama che ne sono riusciti a cavare è veramente oscena, va a braccetto col titolo) se non si fosse trattato di un autore che conosco e che ho adorato in passato. Quindi cara Mondadori.. Epic fail!

Purtroppo siamo ben lontani dai tempi d'oro della saga "La guerra degli elfi", caro Brennan.. Il libro scorre e si legge velocemente grazie anche ai capitoli molto brevi ma.. Non ci siamo.
Innanzitutto, il primo grande problema è il protagonista, Em; non si capisce se sia un ragazzino di dieci anni o parecchio più grande perché lì dove è fastidioso e irritante come solo un bambinetto stupido può essere, altre volte partecipa a discorsi su politica/economia/vaccini e via discorrendo che non sembrano adatti ad un ragazzino.. Questo dicotomia del personaggio mi ha irritato e esasperato allo stesso tempo.. Poi lui è sciocco e pensa di essere speciale. No, guarda, veramente no. Sei solo molto egocentrico :D

Lo stile.. Lo stile è un grande "NO-NO": anche qui, non sono riuscita a capire se fosse rivolto ad un target di molto giovani (descrizioni elementari, spiegazioni di cui sinceramente non ne sentivo la necessità ecc) o alla mia età (con tutti i discorsi su politica, controllo del mondo, riferimenti a realtà sociali/politiche del mondo attuale che un bambino/adolescente certo non riesce a cogliere) e quindi ciò che ne esce fuori è un malriuscito tentativo di abbracciare tutti i target di lettori.
Tra l'altro, non so se ero io poco coinvolta, ma nonostante si parli di rapimenti, morti, cose "cattive".. Mi sembrava stessero parlando della tecnica suprema per cuocere la pasta senza scuocerla.. ZERO PATHOS PROPRIO!!

Il colpo di scena finale (anche uno e mezzo, dai!) c'è stato ma.. Tutto un po' inverosimile e frettoloso: di sicuro Brennan ha brillato molto di più con i suoi elfi e gli intrighi di Rodilegno (che nostalgia ;_;)!

[Luke Deutschmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read “The Secret Prophecy” by Herbie Brennan. It is about a boy named Em who’s father died while finding the secret prophecy. Em meets an old man named Victor who will help him through his adventure of finding out what the Nostradamus (secret prophecy) is hiding. Em, Victor, and Charlotte must find out the meaning in the Nostradamus before the Knights of Themis (who are the bad guys) find out. Em is living with Victor because his mom is in a mental hospital.
As Em progresses through the book he finds himself becoming closer and closer to the meaning of the prophecy. The author does an amazing job at drawing out the scenes using full detail so you can really picture everything in the story. One of my favorite scenes is when Em and Victor are meeting Charlotte to get Ems ipod. I like it because the author really painted the picture of where they were right in my head. One thing the author could have done better is made the story start off right as his mother was taken to the hospital. I think one of the big themes is you can do anything if you put your mind to it. I think this because at first Em thinks it will be very hard to find clues pointing to the Nostradamus, but as the story progress he finds more and more evidence.
I think this is by far one of the best books I have ever read, I think it appealed to me because i really love mystery books. I would give it a 5 out of 5 because i really got hooked into the book after the first 10 pages. I think this book would be great for someone who loves a good mystery.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is awful, it's absurdly predictable, the lead character is dense and has no common sense, the girl is annoying, and this entire book feels like it's reaching for BIG conspiracies and BIG plot lines but every bit falls flat. It very much feels like a book for children- I don't understand why it's categorized as a young adult novel.
I'm sure some will enjoy it and some will hate it, I just fell into the latter category.

[Nicole | msheldabook · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was SO hard to get into, to begin with, but add in all sorts of twists and turns and not knowing what was going on, and it was even worse. It was very hard to follow, and quite honestly, not all that interesting.

[Giuseppe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Una storia proprio stupida, piena di doppi, tripli e quadrupligiochi.
Piena zeppa di teorie complottistiche.
Eppure, leggendo la trama, sembrava essere un buon libro...

[Alex Heetderks]

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. The book was a very fast-paced book with lots of action. It had a huge sense of mystery. It also has a small sense of relatability. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers or mysteries.

Within the first 2 chapters, there is a mystery that starts to unfold. There is a death in the family and a man with a gun at the funeral. The man is recognized by the main character but is not known. Then later in the book, you find out that the person who died was actually murdered. There were a few strangers who visited the victim before they suddenly died. The huge question is who murdered them and why. The book goes through a huge mystery that uncovered a huge conspiracy that plans to kill most of the world.

The action in this book is nonstop. There are several cases of the mystery man with the gun. On a vacation, the main character is on a train and they spot the man sitting a short distance away. The train enters a tunnel and the lights go out for a few seconds. The man disappeared leaving the main character is a sort of disbelief that they had seen anything. But then they were followed by the man on the vacation. He followed them to a coffee shop and continued to watch them. There were also compromised safe houses resulting in a shoot-off.

The book is very relatable. For any normal person, they only know what’s happening with them and their current blissful ignorance. The main character is just a normal person who lives without any conspiracies or actin in their life. They are forced into a huge situation that could be deadly. This could happen to any mundane person. They know nothing but their normal life and are thrown into confusion. In my life, any huge change will throw me into confusion for a while until I get my bearings and understand what is actually happening. I can relate to the general confusion and emotional bombs that are dropped onto them. From cancer to new life I know a vast expanse of circumstances, the main character also goes through many exaggerated but relatable situations.

[Tayyaba A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Deadly Prophecy
As a High School student who never found pleasure in reading, but when I started reading The Secret Prophecy I was hooked to the book since the beginning, written by New York times bestseller author Herbie Brennan’s The Secret Prophecy successfully keeps the readers glued to the story and readers get more involved in this book by every passing chapter. Brennan’s book leaves the readers wondering about what is going to happen next. The book is of a suspense genre and is about our main character Edward Michael ‘Em’ Goverton who goes on a quest to uncover the centuries old prophecy made by a French prophet Nostradamus.
Set in Europe the book is about a centuries old deadly prophecy made by prophet Nostradamus who predicted about mysterious evil forces attempt to control the world. Hinted about this by his dying father, Em goes on a quest to find the credibility behind the prophecy and in turn finds himself to be a chased by those powerful mysterious evil forces. From there on Em and his friends have no other choice but to unravel the mystery or get tangled in the mystery.
Brennan's twisted thrilling tale keeps reader at the edge of their seats throughout and profoundly explains the details. While reading this book I felt that I was part of everything because it was so greatly written and kept me attached to the book. The author of the book successfully conveyed the theme of choices and consequences. The choices made by the characters led them to their chosen consequences. The book taught me to understand the situation and circumstances before taking a decision because it is not necessary that every decision that seems right has a favorable consequences for you. For all the people who enjoy reading thriller mysteries this tale could serve as a treat.

[Tinika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up The Secret Prophecy as I thought it might be a kid-friendly version of The Da Vinci Code. It was a wanna-be that never quite succeeds. Sure, there is a super-secret organization out for world domination and an equally super-secret organization out to stop them. Yes, the main characters must decipher a series of clues in order to figure out what is going on but there are also a lot of problems with plot development. (ie: Tom says he is going to get Charlotte vaccinated and Em should be as well. This big idea is never explored again; Em wonders to himself about things Victor had said but, because he never follows through, we get no answers.) Em is dix-huit years-old (eighteen for readers who don’t understand French) but comes across as a child half that age. He has no clue what is going on but agrees to go along with whatever is told him. Victor, the super-spy helping him, is not much better and how he has managed to maintain his cover is one of the book’s big mysteries. Luckily, there is Charlotte who has all the good ideas and better under-cover skills than the professional.

A new flu is threatening the world (this one is called The Nigerian Death Flu) and governments have raced against time to develop a vaccine. Mass vaccinations are due to start soon. The main character, Edward Michael Govington, Em for short, thinks it’s “a load of fuss about nothing.” Talk about cashing in on news from the headlines - but wait! This book was published in 2012. Maybe the prophecy is accurate after all. Pro-Brexit, anti-vax and peddling every conspiracy theory surrounding the pandemic that is still several years in the future, that is, indeed, prescient.

[Lucas Paisley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, the beginning starts off really well and leaves you wondering what's going to happen next. I really enjoyed the characters of Victor and Charlotte, while I didn't enjoy the main character, Em, as much because he gets overshadowed by the others, be it by him just not putting things together and needing others to explain things to him or him quickly changing his entire view on something. The pacing to me was alright, it seemed fast in some places or painfully slow in others, sometimes it felt like a single conversation lasted more than 10 pages. And finally, I really disliked the ending because it felt rushed and the Main Character's reaction just felt weird and unnatural

Overall the book ok

[Jonah Senft · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book because it had a lot of mystery and adventure.It all started with A boy named Em, at the beginning his father died, and now strange men start to follow him so he and his friend Charlotte have to figure out why. This book takes place in London 2013 there is a lot of unexplained stuff that happens in the book but at the end it all comes together in a very nice way.I liked how this book was mostly very serious but in some cases there were some jokes but most of the time the characters tried to stay on track and find out who the strange men were and why are they following Em.

[Gillie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought that this book had a good idea, and I thought that Charlotte was really funny, but I did have one problem with it. The story had too many plot twists! First Section 7 are the good guys, then the Knights of Themis are the good guys, then finally we find out for certain that Section 7 are the good guys. I think that the author struggled to pull it off, and that the writing was abrupt because all the plot twists were close together.

[P.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a secret group planning to form a one world government to destroy democracy and save the world. They are manufacturing a vaccine supposedly to save youth from a pandemic they created. In reality, they are planning to kill millions of children to cut the world's population since the Earth can no longer support billions of people. This was seriously freaky since it dealt with all the issues we are facing today.

[Wendie Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit preachy in terms of global warming and overpopulation. However, Brennan does a good job of hooking his readers with constant action. Most middle school boys would enjoy the read, and they probably wouldn't pick up on the preachiness.

[Lani Duke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. I couldn't put it down. No adult themes, either. What a relief! A very satisfactory read. The reader keeps being redirected: the facts are no longer the facts, as the plot develops. Great job!

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of fun action; a great Alex Rider read-alike. I would probably give it a 2.5 due to the large amount of luck and coincidences that occur.

[Kaleb Ahern · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a really good book with a lot of twists and turns I liked all off the mystery.

[Yonnie Garber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant from start to finish. A Da Vinci Code for kids!

[Ms. Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending was too rushed and left a ton of questions, but I did like the first 2/3 of the book.

[Amanda Brouws · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out with a great premise. But towards the middle it lost me. I had to drag my feet to finish it.

[Aurora Nardoni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dopo aver letto La Guerra degli Elfi e aver avuto da questa trilogia impressioni molto buone sullo scrittore leggere L’ultima profezia di Nostradamus mi ha lasciata un po’ perplessa.
Sulla scrittura non ho molto da dire, rispetto alla trilogia mi ha lasciata indifferente pur affermando che il suo stile mi piace, piuttosto direi che è la trama che mi ha lasciato un po’ di amaro in bocca.
Non posso paragonarla a schifezze come Dark Eden o la saga di Francesco Gungui, per carità, però purtroppo anche qui ho da ridire.
Secondo la mia personalissima opinione ritengo che Brennan qui abbia sviluppato una trama che poteva anche essere carina, però forse un po’ caricata con dei cliché usati a mo di colpi di scena, come la classica del personaggio morto ma che poi si scopre essere stata tutta una messa in scena e bla bla bla...insomma signor Brennan è uno scrittore pure bravo dai, poteva metterci un po’ più di impegno!
Ero indecisa se dargli tre stelle o due perché ricordo che all’epoca lo lessi in breve tempo e senza fatica, non mi dispiacque. Ma purtroppo devo imparare ad essere più oggettiva quando si tratta di libri, perciò devo declassarlo a due stelle.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out painfully slow, however, once I got through the first few chapters I couldn't put it down.

[Paula Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Secret Prophecy by Herbie Brennan is a delightfully crafted youth novel of mystery and intrigue. Edward Michael or Em as he is called thought he lived a perfectly normal life in England with his mother and father, a college professor until the time of his father's funeral. His dad died quite unexpectedly of a short illness. At the cemetery, Em noticed people there that he didn't know - one of which had a shoulder weapon. His mother arrange from Em to go to France for a short trip with a family friend, Tom Peterson and his daughter Charlotte. One of the things that Em was excited about was they were going to visit the home of Nostradamus. His interest in Nostradamus was only due to the fact that his father had been writing a book on a secret prophecy of Nostradamus.

Events get weird for Em very quickly. His father office was ramsacked, they were followed in France, he comes home to find out that his mother had been committed to a psch ward. Em goes on the run and is befriended by Victor who turns out to be with Section 7 a group even more secretive than M16. Section 7 is investigating a group called the Knights of Themis, a very dangerous group who plan to kill million of children and ultimately rule the world.

One thing that Em and Charlotte learn is that nothing and no one is as it appears. They aren't sure who to trust and who not to trust... and yet their lives depend on figuring it out.

Middle school students are going to immediately be pulled into The Secret Prophecy.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

International crisis? Mysterious strangers? Secret organizations? Count me in!
I was excited by this book, because the plot has real promise. Brennan put a lot of effort into making it realistic in terms of how much the kids are allowed to be involved. In some cases, he did a good job forcing them to be in the situation. In others, I felt like the only reason the kids were there was because they're stupid and disobedient. So, semi well-driven.
I found the plot a little hard to follow, though maybe it was because I took a two-or-so-week break in the middle.
The writing style is both interesting and flowy, as well as humorous. My main complaint is the characters, which are always very important to me. Victor, I felt, should be a bit more competent. After all, he's supposed to be good at this kind of stuff. Em isn't bad, but he didn't stand out either. The worst one is Charlotte. She's supposed to be confident and cool and competent, but she just comes across as arrogant, disrespectful, and pushy. It really bugged me that I was supposed to like her. However, Brennan actually did a pretty good job with the antagonist, though he doesn't spend much time elaborating on his character. I felt like he, of all the characters, was the most passionate and convinced.
Lots of fun twists, and, again, I liked the humor. It wasn't bad, but I think it definitely would have gone up at least one star if the characters had been better.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thrilling adventure mystery for middle grade or younger YA readers. With a male hero and lots of action, I can see this being a book that many young boys will enjoy. With a strong female sidekick and the hint of a sweet, age-appropriate crush, many young girls will enjoy it too.

There are many twists and turns to the story, and even as an adult reader, I wasn’t able to guess all of them. I did get a bit confused at one point about who was the good guy and who was the bad guy as there were many flips and reveals, but it all got squared away in the end.

One of the main attractions of this story is the ordinariness of the main character. Em is a sweet, normal guy who learns to roll with the punches and surprises, and spends most of the story trying to keep up with everything that is happening. He’s such a likable and relatable character, that it’s impossible not to root for him.

Overall, I was impressed at the depth of this story. It may be aimed at younger readers, but it’s still exciting and intriguing, regardless of your age. It’s a book that I fully intend to push on my young nephews as I think the excitement and adventure should be intriguing enough to hold anyone’s attention.

[Lisa Nocita · Rating 4 out of 5]

EM, Edward Michael Goverton, an English teen, is on the run after discovering that his father may have uncovered the key to a five-hundred-year secret prophecy made by Nostradamus. Someone killed his father. There had been strangers at the funeral, one in a car with diplomatic plates, one who carried a handgun. Someone had rifled his father's study. The man with the handgun had followed Em to France. While Em was away, someone had persuaded two doctors to commit his mother to a mental clinic, and someone had rifled their entire home. This was obviously tied up with the fact that he was being followed, but where was the pattern that made sense of it all? (p. 122)

Think The DaVinci Code for teens! Plenty of action and conspiracy with a few surprising twists that teen readers may not see coming but savvy readers will. Very enjoyable!

Funny quote -- "There are too many people on the planet--far too many. Em, you and I produce a liter of methane from our backsides every day. So, on average, does everyone on the planet. That's 6,866,000,000 people. Methane is a greenhouse gas. We're pumping nearly seven billion liters of it into the atmosphere every day just by digesting our food! Two trillion five hundred and fifty-five billion liters a year." (p. 354)