Losing Earth
2019 climate change book by Nathaniel Rich
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Losing Earth: A Recent History (published as Losing Earth: The Decade We Could Have Stopped Climate Change in the UK and Commonwealth markets) is a 2019 book written by Nathaniel Rich.[1] The book is about the existence of scientific evidence for climate change for decades while it was politically denied, and the eventual damage that will occur as a result.[2][3][4] It focuses on the years 1979 to 1989 and US-based scientists, activists, and policymakers including James Hansen, Rafe Pomerance, and Jule Gregory Charney.[5][6]
First edition | |
| Author | Nathaniel Rich |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | MCD/Farrar |
Publication date | April 9, 2019 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | 978-0-374-19133-7 |
The story was first published as the August 5, 2018, issue of The New York Times Magazine and later expanded.[7][5] After the article was published, it was announced that the story was in development to be converted into a docuseries that will be distributed on Apple TV+.[8] In January 2026, a feature film based on the book was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics with Tom McCarthy to direct. Production is set to begin in February 2026.[9]
Responses
Initial version of text
Environmentalists including May Boeve criticized the narrative for promoting climate doom and focusing on a small group that they argue is not representative of the broader climate movement.[10] Leah Stokes and others have questioned Rich's framing of who is to blame for the climate crisis; Rich did not emphasize the culpability of the fossil fuel industry or of politicians.[5][10][11]
Expanded version of text
In Bookforum, Roy Scranton wrote that "the book is substantially the same as the article" and pointed out its lack of citations.[12] The book received a starred review in Booklist, where it was called "a must-read handbook for everyone concerned about our planet’s future."[13] A review in NPR likened it to "a Greek tragedy."[14] In Nature, Barbara Kiser called it "An eloquent science history, and an urgent eleventh-hour call to save what can be saved."[15]
Losing Earth was published in more than a dozen languages and was named a finalist for the 2020 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award.[16]
