Kindle
$9.99
Available instantly
Audiobook
$0.00
for membership
Hardcover
$11.54
Paperback
$25.77
Buy used:
$11.54
Delivery Monday, September 2
Or fastest delivery Thursday, August 22. Order within 17 hrs 36 mins
Used: Good | Details
Sold by Jenson Books Inc
Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: This item shows wear including some highlighting or writing.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and Amazon Prime.

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you grow your business. Learn more about the program.

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Other sellers on Amazon
New & Used (26) from   $5.40
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Christopher Booker
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Real Global Warming Disaster: Is the Obsession with "Climate Change" Turning Out to Be the Most Costly Scientific Blunder in History? Hardcover – December 16, 2009

by Christopher Booker (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 189 ratings
See all formats and editions

This original book considers one of the most extraordinary scientific and political stories of our time: how in the 1980s a handful of scientists came to believe that mankind faced catastrophe from runaway global warming, and how today this has persuaded politicians to land us with what promises to be the biggest bill in history.

Christopher Booker interweaves the science of global warming with that of its growing political consequences, showing how just when the politicians are threatening to change our Western way of life beyond recognition, the scientific evidence behind the global warming theory is being challenged like never before.

The book exposes the myth that the global warming theory is supported by a 'consensus of the world's top climate scientists'. It shows how the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is run by a small group of 'global warming' zealots, who have repeatedly rigged evidence to support their theory. But the politicians, pushed by the media, have so fallen for its propaganda that, short of dramatic change, our Western world now faces an unprecedented disaster.

Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    368 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Continuum
  4. Publication date
    December 16, 2009
  5. Dimensions
    5.75 x 1.5 x 8.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1441110526
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1441110527
  8. See all details
Next slide of product details

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Booker, a weekly columnist for the Sunday Telegraph, expands on a global warming chapter from his previous book, Scared to Death, co-written with Richard North, to argue that the earth is not warming. According to him, efforts to mitigate what he claims to be an imaginary problem will devastate the global economy and shift the balance of power to favor Asia to the detriment of the European Union and the U.S. Much of the book will be familiar to readers of climate-change-hoax literature: climate change research relies on flawed computer models; the hockey stick graph of temperature rise, made famous by Al Gore, is based on inaccuracies; the costs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will be huge, the political difficulties of realizing them untenable, and the results inadequate. Booker's stated purpose is to put all the complex arguments on both sides of the debate into chronological context, but his treatment is anything but balanced, and his credibility may be undermined by previous controversial claims, such as that white asbestos is identical to talc and secondhand smoke does not cause cancer. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

As a noted commentator on the political, social and psychological history of our time, Christopher Booker has in recent years, through his weekly Sunday Telegraph column, become the most conspicuous 'global warming sceptic' in the British press. He has based his view on exhaustive research into the scientific evidence for and against the theory of 'man-made climate change'.

His professional interest in this issue grew out of research for his previous book Scared To Death, co-written with Dr Richard North, a study of the 'scare phenomenon' which has been such a prominent feature of Western life in recent decades. Booker's other recent books have included The Seven Basic Plots, a best-selling analysis of why we tell stories which has established itself as a standard text (also published by Continuum). He has been an author and journalist for nearly 50 years, and was the founding editor of the satirical magazine Private Eye.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Continuum; 0 edition (December 16, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1441110526
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1441110527
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.34 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 1.5 x 8.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 189 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Christopher Booker

Christopher Booker

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
189 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book's content informative and well-documented. They also say the writing style is dry but reads like a novel.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
ContentWriting style
8 customers mention "Content"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's content informative, well-documented, and factual. They also say it explains science clearly and honestly.

"...Third, its lessons are totally relevant to 2020 and government actions on climate change despite the fact that the book was published about 10..." Read more

"An interesting work exposing some of the propaganda we read about in the popular press" Read more

"...He presents the facts in great detail and leaves little doubt what is really going on with global warming...." Read more

"...about the global warming, from both camps, and found this one the most informative and well documented...." Read more

5 customers mention "Writing style"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing style of the book to be dry but it reads like a novel.

"First, this is a very readable book. It deals with a lot of science, but it explains it clearly and honestly...." Read more

"...interlaces the science with the politics, a method that makes for interesting reading, if not causing occasional flipping pages back and forth the..." Read more

"You'd think this would be a dry read, but it reads like a novel. I wish every world citizen could read this book...." Read more

"Booker writes extremely well and keeps the reader engaged and the story moving...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

RogerC
5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone with an open mind should read this book.
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2020
Verified Purchase
First, this is a very readable book. It deals with a lot of science, but it explains it clearly and honestly. Second, it is a great introduction to how propaganda can sway even intelligent people. Third, its lessons are totally relevant to 2020 and government actions on climate change despite the fact that the book was published about 10 years ago and the author is sadly deceased. Fourth, one doesn't have to agree with the author's conclusions, but everyone should read the factual basis of his arguments. Ignoring the lessons of this book will have a profound impact on the near future economy of the world and civilization itself.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
G. Stelzenmuller
5.0 out of 5 stars Well done for a science writer
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2010
Verified Purchase
This, as opposed to an actual scientist. Christopher Booker makes the argument (generally) that the earth is probably not warming so much from greenhouse gases, as from solar activity variations and ocean current changes. Further, current pushes to spend heavily on greenhouse gas cures for global warming will rather shift the balance of power and money away from the U.S. In fact, he argues that the whole process being forced by supporters of the IPCC will simply mail us the hugest bill for any project in history. His "conclusion" chapter lists the four reasons why global warming will likely end up the most expensive scare in history (p. 338). To his credit, the author details the myth that the global warming theory today is "settled science," and that "all scientists" support the IPCC findings, as claimed by Mr. Al Gore. The IPCC was shown to have been started and kept active by only a few famous scientists (and several non-scientists).

Importantly, Booker lists a dozen fields of science which will have to be heavily involved with analysis and remedy for global warming; simply listening to single-science advocates, especially from marginal science fields, will lead us to dangerously incomplete conclusions. He also spends considerable time demonstrating why the popular "hockey stick" graph turned out to be at best, just incorrect. At worst, and more appalling than the very bad statistical methodology used to create the conclusion, was the sloppy way the IPCC dealt with the whole affair, from acceptance to lack of critique (p.104)

Booker interlaces the science with the politics, a method that makes for interesting reading, if not causing occasional flipping pages back and forth the check former details and claims. The book's editor should take 10 lashes for not catching some publishing errors (10 were discovered by this reviewer!), but these are easily passed over, as they are mostly not substantial ones. The smart reader will catch the few more substantial ones. No science writer can be fully up-to-date with all sciences, and Booker may need to do more research on biofuels, as he discounts the energy value of this source because of crowding out food crops (p. 221). He makes no mention of using methanol, which would not have to use edible crops, and can exist in huge quantities on non-farm lands. Anyway, get this book to get one of the best, and most easily readable, critiques of global warming hyperbole.
12 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Clare Benson
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2015
Verified Purchase
An interesting work exposing some of the propaganda we read about in the popular press
Helpful
 Report
Eugene R. Walker
5.0 out of 5 stars Important Contribution Even If Full Truth Remains Unknown
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2010
Verified Purchase
I think this is a valuable book that should be widely read. I don't mean by this that the author's thesis will be proved true--maybe not--but nonetheless the chicanery of the IPCC and Al Gore need to be thoroughly examined, as this book does.

Those guys might turn out to be right, but only on blind luck, not the crappy propaganda they have been issuing, and certainly not on the sloppy scientific "reasoning" they employ. The recent emails fiasco, and an even more recent goof about the rate of glacier retreat, simply add to the Keystone Kops aspect.

That said, my understanding is that CO2 levels were about 280 ppm say 50 years ago, but about 330 ppm now. The earlier number has been questioned lately, but I don't yet know how meritoriously.

Sticking tentatively with the 280 to 330 growth, whether human-caused or otherwise, suggests that we should be looking for ways to reduce atmospheric CO2. Even if this ultimately proves unnecessary, we would gain the ability to control this variable. And even if we overreacted, it would be easy to reverse course and generate more "greenhouse gases." The main thing is, we should find methods to go BOTH ways.

In that regard, noncoercive measures are likely to be best. If it becomes better determined that atmospheric CO2 should be reduced, a proper cap-and-trade system would be a good tool. I don't want to start a long disquisition on Ronald Coase's theorem, except to say that it applies. The problem with cap-and-trade is that it is vulnerable to political-football games, unless it is set up carefully. What I hear so far is not careful, and would mostly reward fakers and speculators.

Christopher Booker's work may not prove to be the ultimate truth, but I think it is highly important at this stage of human knowledge, or lack thereof. And it is a good read.
14 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
kuhlone
5.0 out of 5 stars Truthseeker
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2010
Verified Purchase
You'd think this would be a dry read, but it reads like a novel. I wish every world citizen could read this book. The author documents his sources at the end of each chapter so you can verify what you are being told if you so desire. He presents the facts in great detail and leaves little doubt what is really going on with global warming. What has been going on in the scientific community is nothing short of unbelievable. It will change the way you evaluate things scientists say, particularly if the subject has political ties. I've recommended this book to many friends and relatives. You NEED to read this book! I couldn't put it down. Normally it takes me six months to read a book, but I read this one in a week. The time to read it is now, before the world wastes trillions of dollars on the wrong technologies.
9 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Should be compulsory reading in every school.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 22, 2024
Verified Purchase
This book gives a good background into how all this climate nonsense started. There are now several other books that detail how it has escalated and why.
One person found this helpful
 Report
boekenworm
5.0 out of 5 stars Meesterlijk in opbouw en details!
Reviewed in Germany on June 3, 2019
Verified Purchase
Uitstekend en opvallend overzicht van de ontstaansgeschiedenis van de dure, maar niet duurzame klimaatcultus!
Report
Hugo L.
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on April 18, 2015
Verified Purchase
Well documented. A must-read for anyone interested in the truth.
One person found this helpful
 Report
ひまじん
5.0 out of 5 stars 地球温暖化？？？・・・解毒剤です
Reviewed in Japan on March 29, 2010
Verified Purchase
まあ、何とも凄まじい。もともと「懐疑派」ではあったが、人間原因説（CO2原因説よりこのほうが適切）ここまでひどいとは、あきれかえってしまった。クライメートゲート事件発覚以前に描かれた本であるが、その一端は伺える。地球温暖化と人間原因説が、主流説になったいきさつ。IPCCは政治団体であること。うそ、捏造、ごまかしなどに満ちた歴史が描かれている。これはほとんど陰謀ではないか。そう考えざるを得ない。皮肉や辛辣なコメント、そうだったたのかという事実（例えば風力発電に関わる非効率性とエコフレンドリーの欺瞞）思わず笑ってしまうエピソード満載である。実際、IPCCの予測は外れている訳わけで、オーストラリア上院フィールディング議員の質問（本書293〜294）にまともに答えられる政府や学者はいるのだろうか。日本政府にも同じ質問をしてみたい。少なくとも予測はやり直しでしょう。「The Unstoppable Global Warming」は、主に科学的見地から人間原因説に批判を加えているが、本書は人間原因説の起源、政治、環境運動やメディアとの関係、歴史的背景などを描いている。当然のことながら、自然に科学的なごまかしなども描かれている。この本も早く翻訳してもらいたい。解毒剤として至急必要。特に政治家とメディアには必要。 必読です。
4 people found this helpful
 Report
Enthusiast
5.0 out of 5 stars Mr Booker changes his mind
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 6, 2018
Verified Purchase
I like to read both sides of any debate. We hear the official story about climate change every day, but the sceptical view is less well presented. Booker is a highly articulate writer and he marshals his arguments persuasively. He probably makes the best case against the climate change consensus that can be made.

But. But. Now here is the extraordinary thing. I wanted to check up on a claim Booker makes on p. 148 that the Thames Barrier is being used more often to keep river water in, than to keep rising sea levels out of London. This of course goes completely against the official story and if true, blows the whole conspiracy out of the water. Booker gives two references as evidence for his claim. On looking them both up, I found they did not appear to support his claim at all. So either he was wrong, and inexcusably careless, or sinister interests are at work altering the record.

I then emailed him to ask about this. Here is his reply:

"I am glad you are enjoying the book, however the evidence is overwhelming. The climate is changing in response to dramatic increase in global temperature, which is in large part the result of human activity. More importantly, it looks increasingly likely that governments will fail to respond accordingly. "

What a turn up for the book! The author is now it seems a fully fledged supporter of the official line on climate change. What has happened? Has he had a road to Damascus conversion? He certainly kept it quiet if he did. But anyhow, the book gets 5 stars meanwhile because (a) it puts the sceptical case very well, and even climate change believers should be aware of how their opponents are thinking, and (b) the author has (apparently) had the courage to change his mind when the weight of evidence persuaded him to. Booker is therefore a hero in my mind, but to go one better and achieve sainthood he should now stand up in public and admit he was wrong.
39 people found this helpful
 Report