An Explorer's Notebook: Essays on Life, History and Climate

The Weather Makers catapulted Tim Flannery’s name into global consciousness; now he is known as one of the world’s foremost experts on climate change. But he didn’t just come into his knowledge and interest overnight. With its selection of exhilarating essays and articles written over the past 25 years, An Explorer’s Notebook charts the evolution of a young scientist doing fieldwork in remote locations to the major thinker who has changed the way we all view our actions in the face of global warming.��� Flannery writes about his journeys in the jungles of New Guinea and Irian Jaya, about the extraordinary people he met and the species he discovered. He writes about matters as wideranging as love, insects, population, water and the stresses we put on the environment. He explores how we can predict our own future by understanding the profound history of life on Earth. He also chronicles the recent seismic shift in the world’s attitude toward climate change, noting the deep impact felt by all of us. He writes on a wide variety of topics, from the huge increase in the number of accidental falls experienced by Winnipeg pedestrians each winter to the huge decrease in traditional circumcisions in the African Samburun tribe—a decrease that is devastating the tribe’s social order.��� For the millions who read The Weather Makers and for those interested in wildlife or the environment—and in wonderful storytelling— An Explorer’s Notebook is a must-read book.“Canadians are avid readers, and serious books can influence the course of their politics. Just prior to my arrival in early 2006, a new government had been elected. . . . At the time my tour started, Canada was chairing Kyoto’s Council of Parties for some crucial meetings, and the Harper government seemed hell-bent on destroying the entire process. Everywhere I spoke, the audiences were huge—typically around 1,000—and they showed deep embarrassment at Harper’s approach to Kyoto.”—From An Explorer’s Notebook