Recommendations from our site
“It’s an ecological thriller. We open in India, with a ‘wet bulb’ moment, which is when humidity is very close to 100% and the temperature very close to a human homeostatic body temperature. If the external environment is that hot, and you can’t sweat, you’re going to cook—in the book, 20 million people die. Then, as a result, India says it is going to start seeding clouds of sulphur dioxide. Then there’s an eco-terrorist group which has realised that the way to get people to do something is to bomb the private jets of the super-rich. And gradually this body, the Ministry for the Future, starts to get a bit of power. Kim Stanley Robinson did a lot of research. I interviewed him for a podcast, and he spent many years talking to people to find a plausible scenario. You’re not reading this book for the quality of the language the way you are with the other books, you are reading it for the ideas.” Read more...
Manda Scott, Novelist
“What he finally paints as the outcome is interesting. It’s a really re-wilded world, with a much slower pace. People use much less energy. I have some questions about whether the planet will accept that, whether politics will allow that to happen, but I think it’s worth a read for anyone really.” Read more...
Azeem Azhar, Technologist
“Kim Stanley Robinson always writes with great insight about his subjects, and it is clear he does a mass of research…The Ministry for the Future starts with a truly shocking set piece about the horrors that may await us as global temperatures continue to creep up. The book then goes on to detail the work of the titular ministry in galvanising action on climate change. As with all his work, his future seems very possible—certainly it has many things to aim for.” Read more...
The best books on Global Challenges
Rowan Hooper, Journalist
