bostieslovebooks 's review for:

Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel about Our Changing Planet by Kate Marvel

4.0

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Thanks Ecco for the gifted ARC book. 

You’ve got to be feeling something(s) about climate change. (Hopefully not apathy!) 

In Human Nature, Marvel uses emotions to discuss the history and science of climate change including where the planet is headed. Part pop science, part memoir, her writing offers a sort of blueprint for processing how we feel about the dire state of our world and its future changes, taking the reader through nine different emotions. I enjoyed this format. 

Marvel is a climate scientist and it’s clear that she’s extremely knowledgeable about her field of study, though there’s no need for a deep scientific background in order to read this book. Things are explained in an accessible manner. 

It’s not all doom and gloom. Marvel provides hope without being saccharine. Lots of topics are used to further the climate discussion such as sequoia groves, Roman emperors, mythology, and volcanoes. 

There’s an importance to connecting human emotion with climate crisis. We can have all the scientific data in the world at our disposal, yet without strong human feelings to prompt action, nothing will become of it. 

This is a book for readers with a vested interest in our evolving planet (really, I hope everyone cares!). Definitely a thought-provoking read.