Uninhabitable Earth (audiobook) by David Wallace-Wells - Review

Uninhabitable Earth (audiobook) by David Wallace-Wells

BLURB

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 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 geological 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 word, which we surely have, it is another thing entirely to consider that we have only provoked it, engineering first in ignorance and then in denial a climate system that will ow 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.

MY THOUGHTS

• Liked the fact it was read by the author
• Didn't just stay in America
• First part was great, but 2nd & 3rd hard to follow

I would've saved myself a lot of surprises if I'd actually read the whole blurb before launching into the book semi-blindly.

My first audiobook and non-fiction review. To be honest, I don't have a lot to compare the book to, so don't judge it too harshly.

I especially liked the fact that this audiobook was read by the author himself. It just gave an extra character to the book, as you could hear the passion behind his words.

I also liked the fact that he didn't try to portray himself as more moral or better than the next person. It made it easier to listen to the book, as I didn't feel like I was being scolded, I felt I was being treated as an equal.

His global awareness also surprised me. The few American people I had listened to before had focused almost entirely on the climate of the USA. Whereas David (he almost sounds like my friend, doesn't he?) focused on the whole world, even mentioning Dublin once or twice. I was impressed! 

The first part was spilt into 12 chapters talking about different aspects climate change would impact, including mental health, natural disaster and sea level rise.

My main critism of this book is that it got steadily more complicated and more difficult. Part 1 was great, I really liked it, but after that he started talking politics and the Anthropocene. And, honestly, I was lost.

I really had to force myself through the last 2 hours of the audiobook (part 2 & 3), but I felt like I kinda had to. It felt like a waste to listen to 6 hours and then just stop. (Yes, it was 8 hours long. I know!)

I also would've preferred it to have actionable solutions in it. I felt really motivated to help the cause, but the book gave me nowhere to direct my energy, which was a bit disappointing.

All in all, it was a very motivating and education listen (read?). I would definitely recommend listening to the first part if you are interested in climate change and you want to learn more about it. It is available for free on the Borrowbox app.

STATS

Score: 55/100

Genre: Non-fiction, climate change

Age: 13+