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Published Sep 2019
288 pages
Genre: Science, Health and the Environment
Publication Information
Some people reject the fact, overwhelmingly supported by scientists, that our planet is warming because of human activity. But do those of us who accept the reality of human-caused climate change truly believe it?
If we did, surely we would be roused to act on what we know. Will future generations distinguish between those who didn't believe in the science of global warming and those who said they accepted the science but failed to change their lives in response?
In We Are the Weather, Jonathan Safran Foer explores the central global dilemma of our time in a surprising, deeply personal, and urgent new way. The task of saving the planet will involve a great reckoning with ourselves―with our all-too-human reluctance to sacrifice immediate comfort for the sake of the future. We have, he reveals, turned our planet into a farm for growing animal products, and the consequences are catastrophic. Only collective action will save our home and way of life. And it all starts with what we eat―and don't eat―for breakfast.
"Foer's message is both moving and painful, depressing and optimistic, and it will force readers to rethink their commitment to combating 'the greatest crisis humankind has ever faced.'" - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Foer is not likely to sway climate-change skeptics, but his lucid, patient, and refreshingly short treatise is as good a place to start as any." - Kirkus Reviews
"Deeply contemplative and artfully creative...In his desire to convince others to take action, Foer raises the philosophical bar, which is, perhaps, the most effective way of fomenting sincere and long-lasting commitment to this life-threatening crisis." - Carol Haggas, Booklist
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo Credit: Grant Delin.
Jonathan Safran Foer (born February 21, 1977) is an American novelist. He is best known for his novels Everything Is Illuminated (2002), Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2005), and for his non-fiction work Eating Animals (2009) and We Are the Weather (2019). His most recent novel, Here I Am, was published in 2016. He teaches creative writing at New York University.
Foer is he winner of numerous awards, including the Guardian First Book Prize, the National Jewish Book Award, and the New York Public Library Young Lions Prize. He was one of Rolling Stone's "People of the Year" and Esquire's "Best and Brightest."
Foer used to be married to author Nicole Krauss but they legally separated in 2014 in what is believed to be an amicable split. He lives in Brooklyn.
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