A review by samdalefox
Losing Earth: The Decade We Could Have Stopped Climate Change by Nathaniel Rich

informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

I enjoyed it more the further I read. The writing is a nice mix between informal commentary (almost like a memoir) and more traditional reporting style. I was dismayed by the lack of references list and have docked it a star accordingly, however a note on the sources was provided at the end commenting that a good deal of the material was sourced from primary interviews with people mentioned by name in the book. I understand the reasoning for this, but still find it disappointing (and explained by point 3 below). The book covers the preamble and moment when almost all countries around the world (though through a USA-centric lens) came close to uniting on how to tackle climate change through a multilaterial binding legal agreement. By the end my resounding feelings are: 

1. Sadness and anger at the generations before me that had the power to make meaningful change to stop the climate crisis and didn't.
2. Despair at humanity's continuing inaction (the science has only expanded further to confirm what we already know in the 1970s and added observed further compounding disasters). 
3. Dull recognition at the incredible nepotism, privilege, and old boys' club networks the book describes in the political, NGO, scientific, and journalism professions. 
4. A tiny amount of happiness for aquiring greater knowledge on the history of the climate crisis. I learnt many new things in this book and will certainly keep it for reference. At the moment I am unsure how we can use this knowledge in current praxis, but my gut instinct is that this is useful information to know. I would recomment to climate activists and to climate deniers.