The Uninhabitable Earth

A Story of the Future

By: David Wallace-Wells

Narrated by: David Wallace-Wells

Brought to you by Penguin.

It is worse, much worse, than you think.

The slowness of climate change is a fairy tale, perhaps as pernicious as the one that says it isn't happening at all, and if your anxiety about it is dominated by fears of sea-level rise, you are barely scratching the surface of what terrors are possible, even within the lifetime of a teenager today.

Over the past decades, the term 'Anthropocene' has climbed into the popular imagination - a name given to the geologic era we live in now, one defined by human intervention in the life of the planet. But however sanguine you might be about the proposition that we have ravaged the natural world, which we surely have, it is another thing entirely to consider the possibility that we have only provoked it, engineering first in ignorance and then in denial a climate system that will now go to war with us for many centuries, perhaps until it destroys us. In the meantime, it will remake us, transforming every aspect of the way we live - the planet no longer nurturing a dream of abundance but a living nightmare.

Written and read by David Wallace-Wells, The Uninhabitable Earth is a powerful examination of the world we find ourselves in.

© David Wallace-Wells 2019 (P) Penguin Audio 2019

Critic reviews

In crystalline prose, Wallace-Wells provides a devastating overview of where we are in terms of climate crisis and ecological destruction, and what the future will hold if we keep on going down the same path. Urgently readable, this is an epoch-defining book. (Matt Haig, 'The Book that Changed My Mind')

'Clear, engaging and often dazzling'

'A masterly analysis'

Relentless, angry journalism of the highest order. Read it and, for the lack of any more useful response, weep. . . .The article was a sensation and the book will be, too. (Bryan Appleyard)

The most terrifying book I have ever read . . . a meticulously documented, white-knuckled tour through the cascading catastrophes that will soon engulf our warming planet.

This is what I'm reading now: The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells. It focuses on the range of realistic possibilities with climate change. It does not sugarcoat, and can be quite scary -- that's without primarily focusing on the worstcase scenario. When people ask 'What can I do? - Read! What we need right now, in this country, is for all of us to be better, including ourselves.

A must-read. It's not only the grandkids and the kids: it's you. And it's not only those in other countries: it's you. (Margaret Atwood)

I've not stopped talking about The Uninhabitable Earth since I opened the first page. And I want every single person on this planet to read it.

Riveting . . . Some readers will find Mr Wallace-Wells's outline of possible futures alarmist. He is indeed alarmed. You should be, too.

Skipping the scientific jargon and relaying the facts in urgent and elegant prose, the magazine editor crafts a stirring wake-up call to recognize how global warming will permanently alter every aspect of human life. (Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 So Far)

Real life horror story

If 10% of this book is truth and that truth comes to pass then as a species we are in allot of trouble. There is so much press about climate and allot of talk about renewable energy and our ability to engineer our way out of the problem of global warming. David puts this talk to the test and in short it’s not good. Lots of facts and figures but most of it is referenced albeit vaguely. It’s high level but that’s the point.

Must read!

I wish everyone I know read this book because even my pro environmentalist friends don't understand the scope of danger we are facing. Although this kind of books have so many data that you need the skills to manage audio clips. I would rather buy the printed version to review it later.

Great book marred by poor delivery

A must read. Fascinating. Pity the delivery is so poor. The voice is unattractive and the reader (none other than the author himself) seems to be reading the text for the first time, with pauses in all the wrong places. Still, I recommend this urgent environmental wake-up call.

Everyone needs to read this ASAP

Everyone needs to read this ASAP, there is so little time and so much to do. THIS IS OUR WW3 senario and needs global attention. THIS IS OUR revolution.....

Life-changing

A fascinating look at things to come, unless we act.

With regards the performance/narration, I think that David Wallace-Wells did a great job. Having the narration delivered by the author adds value, in my opinion.