Life on a Little-Known Planet
Dispatches from a Changing World
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Publishing:6th Nov '25
£25.00
This title is due to be published on 6th November, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
‘To be a well-informed citizen of Planet Earth, you need to read Elizabeth Kolbert’ ROLLING STONE
‘An essential voice’ HELEN MACDONALD
Urgent and inspiring lessons from the frontlines of the climate catastrophe – by one of our most important and influential environmental writers.
From Greenland’s melting ice sheets to New Zealand’s protected mountaintops, we join Kolbert on the road as she travels to the places most dramatically affected by climate change – revealing a world which is both dangerously fragile and remarkably resilient.
We encounter newly discovered species and meet the last surviving members of others, witness the power of rewilding up close and are reminded of the abounding wonders of our natural world. Along the way we also meet countless brilliant individuals who are steering us towards a better future: scientists harnessing AI to commune with whales; activists successfully lobbying for the rights of nature; and ordinary people making extraordinary moves, such as the Samsø islanders leading completely carbon-neutral lives.
The natural world is changing profoundly, and the threats to our planet are only growing more serious. Now is the time to deepen our understanding of this incredible world we are in danger of losing – and to act, while we still can.
'No one rivals Kolbert's ability to write deeply, empathetically and engagingly about mankind's relationship with the physical world' CHRIS GOODALL
'Illuminates the world's complexities in vivid colour: no one contextualises the natural world better than Kolbert does' HARRIET RIX
'There is no better way to understand our changing world than through Elizabeth Kolbert' CHRIS FITCH
No one rivals Kolbert’s ability to write deeply, empathetically and engagingly about mankind’s relationship with the physical world ... She brings curiosity and persistence to the most important issues facing humankind -- Chris Goodall, author of What We Need to Do Now
Elizabeth Kolbert's writing illuminates the world's complexities in vivid colour. No one contextualises the natural world better than she does, and no one is able to describe its many facets better than her -- Harriet Rix, author of The Genius of Trees
There is surely no better way to understand our changing world than through the uniquely engaging perspectives provided by Elizabeth Kolbert. Joining her on this round-the-world voyage to some of the most incredible places on Earth is a treat ... Immensely sobering yet also inspiring -- Chris Fitch, author of Wild Cities
PRAISE FOR ELIZABETH KOLBERT'S PREVIOUS BOOKS
One of the great science journalists, Kolbert has for many years been an essential voice, a reporter from the front lines of the environmental crisis ... Important, necessary, urgent and phenomenally interesting
A meticulously researched and deftly crafted work of journalism that explores some of the biggest challenges of our age * Guardian *
A wonderful book -- Barack Obama
A terrific look at humanity's impact on the Earth -- Bill Gates
[Kolbert is] the premier chronicler of humanity's thoughtless destruction of our habitat * Washington Post *
To be a well-informed citizen of Planet Earth, you need to read Elizabeth Kolbert … It’s a tribute to Kolbert’s skills as a storyteller that she transforms the quest to deal with the climate crisis into a darkly comic take of human hubris and imagination that could either end in flames or in a new vision of paradise * Rolling Stone *
Our finest journalist on climate change * Chicago Tribune *
Kolbert's reporting is, as always, skilful and subtle * Guardian *
Kolbert’s beat is examining the impact of humans on the environment, and she does it better than basically everyone * Lit Hub *
What’s exceptional about Kolbert’s writing is the combination of scientific rigour and wry humour that keeps you turning the pages * National Geographic *
Kolbert [has a] sculptor-like skill for making climate change feel tangible, happening before our eyes and beneath our fingers * Wired *
Kolbert is a masterful, thought-provoking reporter * Boston Globe *
ISBN: 9781847929051
Dimensions: 242mm x 161mm x 29mm
Weight: 525g
320 pages