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Loading... Fifty Degrees Below (original 2005; edition 2006)by Kim Stanley Robinson
Work detailsFifty Degrees Below by Kim Stanley Robinson (2005)
None. The second of a trilogy about global climate change and public policy, this is again a great read--Kim Stanley Robinson does thorough research and creates very believable and engaging characters. I especially enjoyed the things that happen in Rock Creek Park in DC, from construction of the tree house to the cookouts with homeless people and the frisbee games. Read all three, but read them in order. (  ) nmele | Apr 6, 2013 |  2nd in a trilogy. ".... that must suffer a sea change". excellent, though like his father i kinda miss the not-yet-2 year old Joe of the first book, an amazingly sharp character. Frank comes to the fore here, a complex, flawed character in the throes of changing himself utterly, looking to the past for paradigms that might prepare him for living in the immediate future of a new Ice Age. meanwhile the almost-mythical Khembalis are suffering (and driving) extreme change as their environment changes around them. Washington D.C., in the middle of a spiritual/political Ice Age, must thaw itself out, as Charley sets Phil to running for President. meanwhile the City must learn to survive and protect its set of species, new leylines and contacts must be forged, staid and informal organizations altered, and scientists mobilized quickly to set into motion a whole new scientific revolution, driven by the urgency of the melting poles and the crippled Gulf Stream. there's a lot to think about, a lot to feel, and a lot to accomplish. lack of cooperation is maladaptive, but old patterns persist. it's a show, not a tell book, to its credit, full of very complicated ideas extremely well boiled down, full of compelling individuals engaged in the serious business of changing the culture, even if it requires changing themselves, shifting quickly on the ground to choose between existing models and find a path that works before the whole world they're standing on becomes unviable. an important book, in that it suggests a way forward, but also a well-written book with memorable characters with widely varying outlooks caught at an important moment, dealing indomitably with the causes and consequences of catastrophic change. (  ) macha | Dec 20, 2012 | Substance: Interesting account of how to be homeless in a megapolis, even in the winter. Nice interplay of the elite with the poor, and Americans with Tibetans. The characters are basically good people and good company, although the romantic ethics of one protagonist are slippery. Style: As one of my friends puts it, "it's a soap opera; read one episode a day and enjoy the story." NOTES: Arctic is not melting away: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/02/media_credibility_not_ice_caps_1.html In fact, the whole hysterical AGW hype is in process of being hoisted as a hoax. Or at least wishful thinking. (  ) librisissimo | Feb 2, 2012 | The book, and series, looks mainly at possible mitigation and adaptation efforts that could be undertaken to combat the dangers of climate change, focusing on an international effort to restart the stalled Gulf Stream. I don’t know if I would have read the second book in this global warming series if I hadn’t already received it for Christmas, and I liked it even less than the first one, actually. I know I will not finish the trilogy, never mind how much I have enjoyed other Kim novels or how passionately I feel about global warming. The sequel has even more interminable meetings and discussions and making to-do lists — reading it is like going to work. And the main character’s behavior — living in a treehouse in the woods despite an abnormally cold winter, dating a married CIA spook who tells him he is being bugged and tailed, playing ultimate frisbee with homeless hippies — snaps the elasticity of believability. This one was a chore to get through. Read as a series (2006). (  ) sturlington | Oct 27, 2011 | Second book of the trilogy, things really picked up in this one, but took me a while to read for some reason. ( ) Phyrexicaid | May 7, 2011 | no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0553585819, Mass Market Paperback)Bestselling, award-winning, author Kim Stanley Robinson continues his groundbreaking trilogy of eco-thrillers–and propels us deeper into the awesome whirlwind of climatic change. Set in our nation’s capital, here is a chillingly realistic tale of people caught in the collision of science, technology, and the consequences of global warming–which could trigger another phenomenon: abrupt climate change, resulting in temperatures...When the storm got bad, scientist Frank Vanderwal was at work, formalizing his return to the National Science Foundation for another year. He’d left the building just in time to help sandbag at Arlington Cemetery. Now that the torrent was over, large chunks of San Diego had eroded into the sea, and D.C. was underwater. Shallow lakes occupied the most famous parts of the city. Reagan Airport was awash and the Potomac had spilled beyond its banks. Rescue boats dotted the saturated cityscape. Everything Frank and his colleagues in the halls of science and politics feared had culminated in this massive disaster. And now the world looked to them to fix it. Whatever Frank can do, now that he is homeless, he’ll have to do from his car. He’s not averse to sleeping outdoors. Years of research have made him hyperaware of his status as just another primate. That plus his encounter with a Tibetan Buddhist has left him resolved to live a more authentic life. Hopefully, this will prepare him for whatever is to come.... For even as D.C. bails out from the flood, a more extreme climate change looms. With the melting of the polar ice caps shutting down the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, another Ice Age could be imminent. The last time it happened, eleven thousand years ago, it took just three years to start. Once again Kim Stanley Robinson uses his remarkable vision, trademark wry wit, and extraordinary insight into the complexity between man and nature to take us to the brink of disaster–and slightly beyond. From the Hardcover edition. (retrieved from Amazon Wed, 09 Jan 2013 06:54:36 -0500) After years of denial and non-action, a near-future Earth faces a crossroad when it is threatened with the dire implications of global warming, an environmental crisis that ironically could unleash a devastating Ice Age on the planet. (summary from another edition) |
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