Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The first reviewer (one star) took a lot of time to discredit the accuracy of this book. I don't think "Ladyhawk" is really speaking to David Wallace-Wells's argument fairly. The future is, to say the least, uncertain, but can be understood to evolve within the bounds of wide extremes, each with a different probability. For instance, an as-yet-unknown technology might appear tomorrow that will solve or diminish the problem (a point the author makes repeatedly within the first chapter). Almost impossible, but possible. I think his point is , given the overwhelming consensus that human-caused carbon emissions (and other emissions that feedback loops will produce) is massively life-threatening to our children and grandchildren, we can't afford to wait for certainty. And so he's assembled facts from many credible sources to bolster his argument that we're in trouble. A couple of such facts that struck me were these: of the total quantity of intentional carbon burning that has occurred over the last 400 years, over half has happened since the premier of Seinfeld. 85% has occurred since the END of WWII. The compounding of global growth has resulted in enormous momentum for continued carbon burning. I don't understand why there is so much heat in the arguments of Ladyhawk and like-minded critics of those who raise this issue. I won't speculate on its sources. But I'd simply invite potential readers of this book to consider that when the greatest human-caused loss of life in human history -- World War II -- began, no one accurately predicted how it would go; how much the lives of people who lived within its theaters of operations would be changed (or abbreviated). That is one of the points that David Wallace-Wells invites readers to consider: that this WILL be worse than we think, because many are oblivious, or have a self-interest in the status quo, or maintain an optimism that will probably prove to be misplaced. Amazon lets you read the first few pages. Don't rely on my or any other reviews; go to the text and make up your own mind. Amazon lets you look.