Waking the Giant

How a Changing Climate Triggers Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Volcanoes

By: Bill McGuire

Narrated by: George Orlando

An astonishing transformation over the last 20,000 years has seen our planet changed from a frigid wasteland into the temperate world within which our civilization has grown and thrived. This dynamic episode in our planet's history, right at the close of the Ice Age, saw not only a huge temperature hike but also the Earth's crust bouncing and bending in response to the melting of the great ice sheets and the filling of the ocean basins - dramatic geophysical events that triggered earthquakes, spawned tsunamis, and provoked a series of eruptions from the world's volcanoes. In Waking the Giant, Bill McGuire argues that now that human activities are driving climate change as rapidly as anything seen in post-glacial times, the sleeping giant beneath our feet is stirring once again. When and if it finally wakes, we should all be afraid - very afraid. Could we be leaving our children not only a far hotter world, but a more geologically unstable one too?

©2012 Bill McGuire (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Truly scary.

After reading several climate books by major authors, I got the distinct impression that they were not telling all because of the fear of being labeled an alarmist. This book tells us of what has happened in the past and it is truly worrisome.

a cacophony of mispronunciations

This is an amazing collection of interesting scientific facts and opinions. But I have never heard a larger collection of mispronounced proper nouns in my life. At first I thought it was me, and maybe I've always missed out on the academic/intellectual pronunciation of certain words. But this reader absolutely slaughters the pronunciation of everything from epocs to the names of Hawaiian volcanoes. Most of the time the gross mispronunciations are just comical, but occasionally one must stop and rewind the book and listen again just to figure out what the heck the reader is talking about.

Waking Up

What made the experience of listening to Waking the Giant the most enjoyable?

The fundamental concept of ice melting leading to seismic activity is newish to me. I enjoyed the sober and restrained tone of Bill McGuire's discussion of this and other concepts. McGuire's illustration of concepts was just wonderful - mindblowing you could say to non-geologists.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Greenland. I'm concerned whether Greenland manages to lose weight.

What about George Orlando’s performance did you like?

Clarity. His voice has a pleasant warmth, and was able maintain an even tone throughout.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. However I have purchased the ebook to read it separately again.
I am frustrated a bit sometimes identifying exactly where I am in an ebook, and an audiobook, when I want to re-read a chapter (relevant in a science book).

Any additional comments?

The Guardian newspaper environmental writer Fred Pearce rates this book highly. That is a powerful endorsement.

Just couldn't listen anymore

This is an INCREDIBLE story, but the narrator really needed to have been mentored by someone more geologically savvy. The pronunciations and grammatical errors were a bit much. I ordered the actual book so I could finish it.