The Wizard and the Prophet
25 January 2018Imprint: Picador
Synopsis
In forty years, the population of the Earth will reach ten billion. Can our world support so many people? What kind of world will it be? In this unique, original and important book, Charles C. Mann illuminates the four great challenges we face – food, water, energy, climate change – through an exploration of the crucial work and wide-ranging influence...
Details
25 January 2018608 pages
9781509884179Imprint: Picador
Reviews
Mann’s storytelling skills are unmatched – the sprightly tempo with which this book unfolds, each question answered as it comes to mind, makes for pure pleasure reading . . . [Mann] provides detail enough, and simplicity enough, that anyone who is struggling with these puzzles will be enlightened and informed. And entertained, which, given the subject matter, is no small feat.New York Times
Beautifully written . . . fascinating . . . Mann shows us that the arguments about the environment that are raging today have a long and rich history.Literary Review
Does the earth’s finite carrying capacity mean economic growth has to stop? That momentous question is the subject of Charles Mann’s brilliant book The Wizard and the Prophet . . . A treasure house of knowledge . . . Indispensable.Wall Street Journal
‘[Mann’s] gift for explaining science shines on every page . . . A stimulating, thoughtful, balanced overview of matters vital to us all. As the world, besieged by ever-more titanic storms and wildfires, threatens to explode into a terrifying new normal, books like this . . . are more necessary than ever.Boston Globe
