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, bestselling author David Lipsky tells the astonishing story of how we moved from one extreme (the correct one) to the other. 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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Reviews

"""Captivating and disturbing...The author paints a clear, damning portrait of leaders in the energy sector...[and] politicians on both sides of the aisle...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...Buoyed by thorough historical research, this is a first-rate entry in the field of climate denial studies."" -- ""Publishers Weekly (starred review)"" ""Lipsky's brilliant epic The Parrot and the Igloo...[is] 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."" -- ""Rich Cohen, author of Sweet and Low"" ""The best nonfiction book I've read in decades. And the best book of its kind I've ever read."" -- ""Darin Strauss, author of Half a Life"" ""With the amount of research that went into this book, this can be considered the historical record to date."" -- ""Booklist"""

Author Information

David Lipsky is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Absolutely American and Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself, which became the basis for the movie The End of the Tour. He has written for Rolling Stone, the New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, and New York, and he is a recipient of the National Magazine Award and the GLAAD Media Award. He teaches writing and literature at New York University and lives in New York. Mike Chamberlain is an actor and voice-over performer, as well as an AudioFile Earphones Award-winning audiobook narrator. Along with animation and video game characters, Mike performs narration and voices promos for television. He lives with his wife and daughter in Southern California.

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