Michael E. Mann is Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State. He has received many honours and awards, including his selection by Scientific American as one of the fifty leading visionaries in science and technology in 2002. Additionally, he contributed, with other IPCC authors, to the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. In 2018 he received the Award for Public Engagement with Science from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Climate Communication Prize from the American Geophysical Union. In 2020 he was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences. He is the author of numerous books, including Dire Predictions: understanding climate change and The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: dispatches from the front lines. He lives in State College, Pennsylvania.

An Independent Climate Book of the Year 2023

In this sweeping work of science and history, the renowned climate scientist and author of The New Climate War shows us the conditions on Earth that allowed humans not only to exist but thrive, and how they are imperiled if we veer off course.

For the vast majority of its 4.54 billion years, Earth has proven it can manage just fine without human beings. Then came the first proto-humans, who emerged just a little more than 2 million years ago ¿ a fleeting moment in geological time. What is it that made this benevolent moment of ours possible? Ironically, it¿s the very same thing that now threatens us ¿ climate change.

Climate variability has at times created new niches that humans or their ancestors could potentially exploit, and challenges that at times have spurred innovation. But the conditions that allowed humans to live on this earth are fragile, incredibly so. There¿s a relatively narrow envelope of climate variability within which human civilisation remains viable. And our survival depends on conditions remaining within that range. 

In this book, renowned climate scientist Michael Mann arms readers with the knowledge necessary to appreciate the gravity of the unfolding climate crisis, while emboldening them ¿ and others ¿ to act before it truly does become too late.