Light reading counterbalances books on Earth’s burdens
How’s your summer reading going? My favorite trashy fare of the season so far is Lee Childs’ “Worth Dying For,” the 15th novel in his series featuring ex-MP Jack Reacher, a tough guy’s tough guy.
But Jack’s been softening some of late, and I waited for the paperback this time around, in case Childs was going to continue his wussification (if that’s a word).
I’m happy to say Jack’s back with a vengeance, and in honor of his return to form, I’m rereading all of the books.
And I recommend Justin Cronin’s “The Passage,” also out in paperback, a highly entertaining apocalyptic tale. Which seems appropriate, given the nature of my more serious reading of late, so let me get to a few capsule book reviews.
Stephen King’s best is rarely as scary as Susan Casey’s “The Wave,” as compelling a nonfiction tale as you’re likely to find.
It’s a fine mix of oceanographic science and the study of nonlinear complex systems – the kind that create 100-foot-plus “rogue” waves – along with the people who actually look for these monsters. You know, so they can, like, ride them.
Well, surf’s up, dudes! Global warming means more of them. Bigger, too.
Speaking of which, I just read Tim Flannery’s “The Weather Makers,” and since it’s 6 years old, the news is no doubt considerably worse already.
No matter what Governor “Goodhair” Perry and others of his ilk think – and it’s too bad Molly Ivins isn’t still here to write about him during his run for the White House – global warming is no longer hypothetical. The evidence is clear: it’s here.
If you’re only up for one volume on climate change, this is the one, written for nonexperts by a world-renowned scientist.
How about a more focused look on what too many people can do, not only to the planet, but just a few once-plentiful resources?
“Four Fish,” by Paul Greenberg, is a great and often humorous read, which helps the medicine go down.
He looks at the past, present, and potential future of, you guessed it, four fish: salmon, sea bass, cod and tuna. Hint: Go to your favorite sushi spot and have some bluefin. Now, never eat it again.
On a lighter note, Oliver Sacks’ “The Mind’s Eye” is a fascinating look at odd neurological conditions, such as the inability to recognize faces, and how folks often quite ingeniously compensate.
Mark Kurlansky, of “Cod” fame, takes another close look at a single topic in “Salt: A World History.” And if you imagine that’s a topic with no there there, think again. We practically built civilization on salt.
Then, back to the scary stuff, with a compilation by the Post Carbon Institute called (obviously) “The Post Carbon Reader.”
What does the title mean? It refers to both the carbon compounds released into the atmosphere upon fossil fuel’s combustion, as well as the post-fossil fuel age we’re now entering.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are already well past the 350 ppm (parts per million) that was a kind-of-sort-of figure bandied about as the lower threshold for irreversible climate change. We’ve shot past that like a greased pig on the shuttle Atlantis and, like both Atlantis and our space program, humanity might well be history.
As environmental writer and activist Bill McKibben put it, regarding current carbon dioxide levels, “We’re too high. Forget the grandkids; it turned out this was a problem for our parents.”
It’s almost – but not quite – enough to make me get religion. Hence the counterbalancing escapist novels, as reality is going to get really real, PDQ (pretty darn quick).