Climate Change (A Ladybird Expert Book)

It's a while since I bought a Ladybird book - but I still have a lot of the original series dotted around the house. This book, published today, is one of the 'Expert' series and the three authors can rightly be classed as such (but even if they weren't, this book has been peer-reviewed by an impressive panel of scientists). It is a clear, unstuffy treatment of a very important subject. We start with the facts about warming of the Earth and where the evidence comes from. What might be, and are already, the impacts on our lives now and on future generations? Wildlife gets appropriate mentions as an indicator of climate change and also a victim. The book then moves on to solutions - those we can each make individually and those we as communities, nations and as a species need to make together. This is a Ladybird book - it's not overloaded with words. If you have a long commute into work you could polish it off on one day with no problem at all. It's a slim volume, nicely illustrated and written with admirable clarity. The illustrations by Ruth Palmer deserve a special mention - they are attractive and very evocative of those of the original Ladybird books. Judging by its Amazon ranking, this book is flying off the shelves and that must be largely due to the Prince Charles/Ladybird Book combination as few climate change tomes become best sellers. Profits from sales go to the Prince of Wales's Charitable Foundation. I wonder, would Prince Charles be able to put his name to such a book at some future time when he might be our king? Or would the subject be regarded as too political? This was a very worthwhile project and the first author's celebrity status will get the messages to a wider audience than would otherwise be the case. Theresa May should give a signed copy of this book to President Trump tomorrow.

Very good. Clear, concise and comprehensive with pleasing illustrations and a handy set of graphs at the back of the book.

Know about climate change in brief

A great book for anyone who wants to learn about climate change, as well as a handy (and beautiful) reference for many years. Authored by experts, it covers a wide range of aspects of climate change, with each page focussing on one topic. Alongside each is a lovely illustration that really makes this a nice physical object to own. What I especially like is that each page can be read independently, so you can easily dip in and out or return to a particular subject in the future. Taken all together they create a compelling and complete picture of the current state of climate change knowledge; from the visible effects of climate change around us, to the science linking this to man's activities, to what the future holds and the opportunities we have to shape it. Anyone at all concerned about the future of our planet should have one - a great guide that contains the full spectrum of the problem (and possible solutions), clearly and concisely set out.

A few slightly jarring sentences, but altogether a very decent introduction to climate change. You can read the whole thing in about 20 minutes.