Fire and Flood: The True History of Our Epic Failure to Confront the Climate Crisis—and Our Narrow Path from Here

Journalist Linden (The Winds of Change) pulls no punches in this urgent look at the causes and progression of climate change, the science that proved its existence, and what could have been done to mitigate it. He begins in the 1980s, when “the rise in global temperatures first began to separate itself from the noise of annual variations,” and continues up through the 2010s, which saw the first “widespread public alarm” over climate change, showing in meticulous detail how today’s climate reckoning stems from government failures in the United States and elsewhere, missed opportunities (notably the decisions by China and India to fuel their economic growth with coal rather than renewable energy), and from outright misinformation. Despite promising growth trends for green energy sources, Linden is pessimistic that the U.S., with its priorities on profit, can facilitate the collective action necessary to avoid disaster. The outlook here is bleak and sobering: “Through our ingenuity, adaptability, and greed,” he writes, “we have created a trap for ourselves.” The result is a damning account of the climate crisis. Agent: Esther Newberg, Curtis Brown. (Apr.)