An inconvenient truth: the planetary emergency of global warming and what we can do about it

Before the Academy Award-winning movie, The Inconvenient Truth was a book notable for its dynamic design, arresting content, and serious intent. Gore pursued his interest in science, technology, and the impact of industrialization and the digital revolution on the living earth while serving as a congressman, senator, and vice president of the U.S. His Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit (1992) helped jump-start the 1990s environmental movement, and after the Supreme Court decided the outcome of the 2000 election and denied Gore the presidency, he devoted himself to the study of global warming, keeping pace with the increasing number of scientific investigations and a growing sense of urgency. In a compelling collage of text and images including family snapshots, charts, maps, and jarring before-and-after photographs of radically altered landscapes Gore explains how humankind is altering the earth's atmosphere and climate and what the consequences are likely to be. With humor and understanding of our reluctance to both accept the facts and to change our way of life, Gore proceeds to break down our resistance and inspire conviction without despair. Now that Gore and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, the book (including a youth-oriented edition) that most effectively informed the world about climate change will be in even greater demand.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2007 Booklist

The much-discussed and highly regarded 2006 book and film by Gore arrives on audio two years later. While the material and central focus on global warming is clearly the most important aspect of the book, Beau Bridges is the only truly captivating reader here. Cynthia Nixon and Blair Underwood tend to drone on in monotone voices that take some of the impact out of Gore's findings. Bridges, however, reads with a stern and commanding tone that grips readers from the very start, never failing to relate the information with sheer honesty and true grit. As a whole, the audio is still as important and poignant as the original, and though certain aspects have been left out, the listener is still met with the same urgency to act. A Rodale paperback. (May) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

Before the Academy Award–winning movie, The Inconvenient Truth was a book notable for its dynamic design, arresting content, and serious intent. Gore pursued his interest in science, technology, and the impact of industrialization and the digital revolution on the living earth while serving as a congressman, senator, and vice president of the U.S. His Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit (1992) helped jump-start the 1990s environmental movement, and after the Supreme Court decided the outcome of the 2000 election and denied Gore the presidency, he devoted himself to the study of global warming, keeping pace with the increasing number of scientific investigations and a growing sense of urgency. In a compelling collage of text and images—including family snapshots, charts, maps, and jarring before-and-after photographs of radically altered landscapes—Gore explains how humankind is altering the earth's atmosphere and climate and what the consequences are likely to be. With humor and understanding of our reluctance to both accept the facts and to change our way of life, Gore proceeds to break down our resistance and inspire conviction without despair. Now that Gore and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, the book (including a youth-oriented edition) that most effectively informed the world about climate change will be in even greater demand. Copyright 2007 Booklist Reviews.