Description
This original book considers one of the most extraordinary scientific and political stories of our time: how in the 1980s a handful of scientists came to believe that mankind faced catastrophe from runaway global warming, and how today this has persuaded politicians to land us with what promises to be the biggest bill in history.
Christopher Booker interweaves the science of global warming with that of its growing political consequences, showing how just when the politicians are threatening to change our Western way of life beyond recognition, the scientific evidence behind the global warming theory is being challenged like never before.
The book exposes the myth that the global warming theory is supported by a 'consensus of the world's top climate scientists'. It shows how the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is run by a small group of 'global warming' zealots, who have repeatedly rigged evidence to support their theory. But the politicians, pushed by the media, have so fallen for its propaganda that, short of dramatic change, our Western world now faces an unprecedented disaster.
Table of Contents
1. The New Secular Religion \ 2. Cooling and Warming \ 3. The Greenhouse Effect \ 4. The Forging of a Consensus \ 5. The Fingerprinting Fraud and Kyoto \ 6. The Great Hockey Stick Fiasco \ 7. The Great Wind Power Fantasy \ 8. Planet Savers versus Holocaust Deniers \ 9. Inconvenient Truths \ 10. Paying the Price
Author(s)
Christopher Booker,
As a noted commentator on the political, social and psychological history of our time, Christopher Booker has in recent years, through his weekly Sunday Telegraph column, become the most conspicuous 'global warming sceptic' in the British press. He has based his view on exhaustive research into the scientific evidence for and against the theory of 'man-made climate change'.
His professional interest in this issue grew out of research for his previous book Scared To Death, co-written with Dr Richard North, a study of the 'scare phenomenon' which has been such a prominent feature of Western life in recent decades. Booker's other recent books have included The Seven Basic Plots, a best-selling analysis of why we tell stories which has established itself as a standard text (also published by Continuum). He has been an author and journalist for nearly 50 years, and was the founding editor of the satirical magazine Private Eye.
Reviews
Christopher Booker narrates this story with the journalist’s pace and eye for telling detail and the historian’s forensic thoroughness which have made him a formidable opponent of humbug…the shelf of sceptical books keeps filling and Booker’s belongs there with the best.
The Spectator,
Meticulously researched, provocative and challenging… Buy this book and read it carefully. It needs your attention. Read it, because it will make you stop and think and wonder and question where our politicians are leading us.
Irish Times,
[Booker] digs, he makes the calls, he reads the small print, he takes up the cause of the little man and campaigns, he speaks truth to power without fear or favour ... I'd rate [Booker] among the greatest [journalists] of the age ... [The Real Global Warming Disaster]is another of those classics which any vaguely intelligent person who wants to know what's really going on needs to read.
James Delingpole, The Spectator,
I, and anyone seriously interested in this subject, owes a great debt to Christopher Booker, who has set down all the arguments for doubt in a single, concise book ... I think anyone remotely concerned about this huge controversy should read this courageous piece of work.
Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday,
The pace and intrigue of an espionage thriller
Daily Express,
Whether you agree with Booker or not, this is an important, brave book making and explaining many valid points.
The Scotsman,
Sir Tim Rice's 'Book of the Year' 2009.
The Lady,
If you are uncertain what to believe in this matter, or if you are inclined to believe that truth and virtue are all on the side of the AGW people, you should read Booker and take his various punches, sometimes quite telling in points of detail, on the chin. Think, don’t dismiss, is the rule here.
The Australian,
This is a well researched book containing a lot of food for thought ... [it] will allow readers to form a rational view.
Chemistry World,
The most important book I've ever read
Fires & Fireplaces,
A thought-provoking book ... If you have an open mind, read and enjoy Booker's polemic.
Tribune,