The simplicity of its first line says almost everything you need to know: "It is worse, much worse, than you think." Listening to The Uninhabitable Earth was a one of the definitive "there's no going back" moments of global warming contemplateion for me. I actually listened to it twice. It terrified and radicalized me. It felt like nothing short of our generation's Silent Spring. I stopped worrying about sounding like a kook and began sounding the alarm.

The year I hiked the PCT was anamolous for the few forest fires that impacted the thru-hiking season. We were all expecting to have our hikes interrupted by the world on fire as it burned closer to us. It probably won't happen again. Reading this on the trail felt like a memento mori. Every step felt like a gift, but also like a step towards eventual confrontation with this crisis.

I would recommend this book to people who somehow don't feel urgency about this crisis, or who somehow need validation that their fears are real.