Overview

In 1956, the New York Times prophesied that once global warming really kicked in, we could see parrots in the Antarctic. In 2010, when science deniers had control of the climate story, Senator James Inhofe and his family built an igloo on the Washington Mall and plunked a sign on top: AL GORE'S NEW HOME: HONK IF YOU LOVE CLIMATE CHANGE. In The Parrot and the Igloo, best-selling author David Lipsky tells the astonishing story of how we moved from one extreme (the correct one) to the other. With narrative sweep and a superb eye for character, Lipsky unfolds the dramatic narrative of the long, strange march of climate science. The story begins with a tale of three inventors—Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla—who made our technological world, not knowing what they had set into motion. Then there are the scientists who sounded the alarm once they identified carbon dioxide as the culprit of our warming planet. And we meet the hucksters, zealots, and crackpots who lied about that science and misled the public in ever more outrageous ways. Lipsky masterfully traces the evolution of climate denial, exposing how it grew out of early efforts to build a network of untruth about products like aspirin and cigarettes. Featuring an indelible cast of heroes and villains, mavericks and swindlers, The Parrot and the Igloo delivers a real-life tragicomedy—one that captures the extraordinary dance of science, money, and the American character.

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9780393866704

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Reviews

Where can a person living on a melting planet turn, at least before the spaceship fleet is ready, for enlightenment? I'd start, and finish, with David Lipsky's brilliant epic The Parrot and the Igloo, which I devoured in a single, feverish, page-turning sitting, a perspective-altering dream, a story told in language as sharp and clear as the spring air we knew before all the carbon was released.... You will stare out the same windows when you've finished, but nothing will look the same. -- Rich Cohen, New York Times best-selling author of Sweet and Low and Monsters Captivating and disturbing.... An important book that will leave your head shaking. -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Humor accompanies horrific truths in this vital look at the rise of climate change denial. With dry wit and novelistic flair, National Magazine Award winner Lipsky chronicles how harnessing electricity changed the world....[R]evelatory...sobering and incisive. Buoyed by thorough historical research, this is a first-rate entry. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) Award-winning author Lipsky takes the reader on a journey through the evolution of climate change denial...With the amount of research that went into this book, this can be considered the historical record to date. -- Booklist The best nonfiction book I've read in decades. And the best book of its kind I've ever read. -- Darin Strauss, National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of Half a Life

The best nonfiction book I've read in decades. And the best book of its kind I've ever read. -- Darin Strauss, National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of Half a Life Where can a person living on a melting planet turn, at least before the spaceship fleet is ready, for enlightenment? I'd start, and finish, with David Lipsky's brilliant epic The Parrot and the Igloo, which I devoured in a single, feverish, page-turning sitting, a perspective-altering dream, a story told in language as sharp and clear as the spring air we knew before all the carbon was released. This book, which starts with the pioneers of the industrial age and the first warnings from the first clear-eyed visionaries, ends the day after tomorrow, with the ice caps dissolving into the sea. It's nothing less than the story of our age retold via the fate of the climate. There are charlatans in it, ad men, liars, heroes, presentiments of the apocalypse, and flashes of hope. You will stare out the same windows when you've finished, but nothing will look the same. -- Rich Cohen, New York Times best-selling author of Sweet and Low and Monsters

Humor accompanies horrific truths in this vital look at the rise of climate change denial. With dry wit and novelistic flair, National Magazine Award winner Lipsky chronicles how harnessing electricity changed the world...[H]is perspective on how diverse cultural and political forces have contributed to inaction on climate change is sobering and incisive. Buoyed by thorough historical research, this is a first-rate entry in the field of climate denial studies. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) Captivating and disturbing...An important book that will leave your head shaking. -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) The best nonfiction book I've read in decades. And the best book of its kind I've ever read. -- Darin Strauss, National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of Half a Life Where can a person living on a melting planet turn, at least before the spaceship fleet is ready, for enlightenment? I'd start, and finish, with David Lipsky's brilliant epic, The Parrot and the Igloo, which I devoured in a single, feverish, page-turning sitting, a perspective-altering dream, a story told in language as sharp and clear as the spring air we knew before all the carbon was released. This book, which starts with the pioneers of the industrial age and the first warnings from the first clear-eyed visionaries, ends the day after tomorrow, with the ice caps dissolving into the sea. It's nothing less than the story of our age retold via the fate of the climate. There are charlatans in it, ad men, liars, heroes, presentiments of the apocalypse, and flashes of hope. You will stare out the same windows when you've finished, but nothing will look the same. -- Rich Cohen, New York Times best-selling author of Sweet and Low and Monsters

Author Information

David Lipsky is a recipient of the National Magazine Award and the GLAAD Media Award. His books Absolutely American and Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself were New York Times bestsellers. He teaches at New York University and lives in New York City.

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