candority 's review for:

The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells

2.0

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This book has 5-star material, but a 1-star execution. As someone who is incredibly concerned about our planet and our future, I had such high hopes for this book, but I’ve been left frustrated and disappointed. I knew going into it that the topic wouldn’t make for an easy read, but the writing was so dry and repetitive that I had a hard time focusing. What could have been said in a couple sentences was instead stretched out into several pages – and then repeated using different words shortly after. I also knew that this would be a depressing read, but I found it excessively depressing because Wallace-Wells chose to present all the panic-inducing information without offering concrete solutions (he even goes so far as to say that personal changes are completely trivial, and while I agree that significant changes are needed in politics, I would argue that if enough individuals made the commitment to change their consumption patterns, the results would not be trivial at all). I also hated Wallace-Wells' tone, which often came across as condescending.

All of that said, there were pieces of information that I bookmarked/highlighted and found quite interesting, including information on weather changes, microplastics, the impact of climate change on mental health and suicide rates, and more. The information in this book is vitally important and necessary, and is scarier than any horror novel, but I wish it was presented differently. As it is, I (a self-proclaimed environmentalist) struggled to read it, and if that’s the case, I doubt it book would sway any climate change deniers. Admittedly, I haven’t read many books on climate change, having learned about it primarily through scholarly articles and online sources, but I’m sure that there are many other books about the topic that are well-articulated, thorough, and more worthy of your reading time.