Despite the long title, intensity of the writing style and density of the information, if you only read one science book this year, read THIS ONE. Brannen's writing is incandescent, entertaining, witty, informative and terrifying. There is a lot of information to absorb. But his research is incredibly thorough and his writing so fascinating the segues are a pleasure and not a distraction. What you will learn from this single volume could be compared to a reasonably stocked bookstore shelf about climate, geology, CO2, with a little paleontology and human behavior mixed in for good measure. Fascinating. Brilliantly executed. This book is a super-powered laser burning through the chaff of confusion and denial. If you like his previous book, The Ends of the World, then you will devour this one.

This book is an in depth discussion about CO2 and the role it plays in the creation, maintenance and the future destruction of our planet. This was a very dense novel with a lot of information to parse. It was quite interesting and I enjoyed reading the history of the molecule. I will say this book would benefit from some illustrations of what is being discussed. There are a few references to illustrations which I couldn't tell if there were supposed to be pictures that weren't compatible with digital reading. I think I would have had an easier time reading if I had a physical copy to flip through.

Overall a pretty informative, interesting book. 3/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.