New York TimesâBestselling Author:âShould be ready by anyone who owns a microwave, or an iPod, or a table lamp, which is to say everyone.â âElizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prizeâwinning author of The Sixth Extinction
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
Coal is still a significant source of power in the United Statesâand coal mining is still a deadly and environmentally destructive industry. Much of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere each year comes from coal-fired power plants, and in recent decades air pollution from coal plants has killed more than half a million Americans. In this eye-opening call to action, Jeff Goodell explains the costs and consequences of Americaâs addiction to coal and discusses how we can kick the habit.
â[A] compelling indictment . . . powerful.â âThe New York Times Book Review
âGoodellâs description of the mining-related deaths, the widespread health consequences of burning coal and the impact on our planetâs increasingly fragile ecosystem make for compelling reading, but . . . are not what lift this book out of the ordinary. That distinction belongs to Goodellâs fieldwork, which takes him to Atlanta, West Virginia, Wyoming, China and beyond.â âPublishers Weekly (starred review)
âGoodell does a first-rate job of balancing environmental concerns with interviews from the human faces associated with âBig Coalâ.â âLibrary Journal