Fire and Flood

Praise

Winner of the Council of the American Meteorological Society’s Louis J. Battan Author’s Award

“In fascinating detail, Linden’s Fire and Flood tours the American scientific and political landscape that first grasped the fact of climate change and then forgot about it.” —Washington Post

“A detailed account of climate science and policy. . . . Linden is a clear, concise writer. He knows his climate science, and Fire and Flood makes points that stay with you.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Veteran environmental journalist Eugene Linden cuts through the thickets of information to deftly guide the reader towards knowledge that is urgently required in this troubling age.” —BBC History Magazine

“Award-winning journalist and author Eugene Linden submitted the manuscript for Fire and Flood: A People’s History of Climate Change from 1979 to the Present months before Vladimir Putin made his move on Ukraine, but his account of the past 50 years of climate politics will help readers make sense of these fossil-fueled responses to the war. . . . always engaging . . . Linden’s new book does, in the end, justify an odd sort of optimism.” —Yale Climate Connections

“Bracing, illuminating. . . . Linden lucidly guides readers decade by decade, facing a set of themes: the reality of climate change, lagging public opinion and political will and business and financial interests.” —National Book Review

“This sobering and accessible history deftly outlines government failures, missed opportunities and the steps we can take to turn the tide.” —BookPage (starred review)

“An essential retelling of how greed, apathy, and sabotage got us to this terrible place.” —Dan Vergano, BuzzFeed science reporter

“Linden is both an investigative reporter on [climate change] and a former investment strategist, and as such, his approach is an across-the-aisle tour de force that pulls no punches and does not offer absolution. . . . [T]his in-depth, expertly researched, but eminently readable title should be on every person’s bookshelf. Linden combines his analysis with solutions as to where humanity should and may go, and those solutions should surprise, enrage, and enlighten readers. Of the many books written on climate change and how humanity has gotten to where it is and where it needs to go, this is one of the most essential.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“Nuanced . . . a sound climate change policy overview.” —Booklist

“Linden pulls no punches in this urgent look at the causes and progression of climate change, the science that proved its existence, and what could have been done to mitigate it. . . . The result is a damning account of the climate crisis.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A fascinating slice of climate history, notable especially for its focus on the insurance industry—which understood early on that we faced a crisis, but couldn’t bring itself to break with the business consensus and make the kind of changes that would have resonated. This will be a telling story for a long time to come (assuming we’re around to hear it).” —Bill McKibben, author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?