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Field Notes From a Catastrophe

A guide to the 2019 Common Read book, "Field Notes from a Catastrophe" by Elizabeth Kolbert

How was this book selected?

Common Reading Selection Committee, 2018-19

Michele Van Hoeck, Co-Chair, Dean of Library

Aparna Sinha, Co-Chair, Culture & Communication

Matthew Fairbanks, Science & Math

Margot Hanson, Library

Mike Holden, Mechanical Engineering

Elaine Kociolek, Student Engagement & Academic Support

Valerie Holl McGowan, Marine Transportation

Ali Moradmand, Science & Math

Amy Parsons, Culture & Communication

Martin Shimada, student

Marissa Sutro, Marine Transportation

More about the Common Reading Program objectives, selection criteria, and finalists

Check out a copy from the Library!

From the publisher:

Elizabeth Kolbert's environmental classic Field Notes from a Catastrophe first developed out of a groundbreaking, National Magazine Award-winning three-part series in The New Yorker. She expanded it into a still-concise yet richly researched and damning book about climate change: a primer on the greatest challenge facing the world today. 

But in the years since, the story has continued to develop; the situation has become more dire, even as our understanding grows. Now, Kolbert returns to the defining book of her career. She has added a chapter bringing things up-to-date on the existing text, plus three new chapters--on ocean acidification, the tar sands, and a Danish town that's gone carbon neutral--making it, again, a must-read for our moment.

About the Book

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