The Tarball Chronicles: A Journey Beyond the Oiled Pelican and Into the Heart of the Gulf Oil Spill

Though the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico turned America's eyes towards the potential environmental consequences of our insatiable appetite for oil, people quickly looked away when pictures no longer depicted black beaches and oil-slicked pelicans. However, the oil lingered, made invisible by dispersants, and it continues to destroy Louisiana estuaries. Award-winning environmental writer Gessner (My Green Manifesto) decided to go down to the Gulf, meet the people, see the animals and the waters for himself, and ask difficult questions. How much of the natural world are we willing to sacrifice to maintain our over-consuming lifestyles? What are the invisible environmental impacts of the spill? How could America trust the people who made the mistake to clean it up? Though he doesn't come away with easy answers, Gessner educates readers and offers compelling images and vivid descriptions of the Gulf. Readers may feel helpless and angered by the destruction taking place there, as well as overwhelmed by the fatalistic views of climate scientists and environmental experts. Anyone who wanted a first-hand look at the Gulf after the news cycle ended will find it here, but this brilliant, thoughtful book will leave them disquieted. (Sept.)