Climate Changed: A Personal Journey Through the Science TPPublisher: Abrams ComicArts
Release Date: April 8, 2014
Price: $24.95
Creator: Philippe Squarzoni
Format: 480 pgs., Black & White, 6 ½" x 9 ¼", Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1255-5
Age Range: N/A
ICv2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Squarzoni has done a remarkable job of explaining the various concepts of climate change and global warming, and combined the whole thing with discussions of the socio-political and economic obstacles to making changes. This, combined with the scientific and socio-economic discussions, makes for very dense reading. He breaks this up with visual digressions as well as dialogues with his wife, but much of the book is the graphic equivalent of talking heads on a documentary. Thus, it is a remarkable work, but some people may find it a bit difficult to read.
Still, the book is more approachable than most of the scientific tomes on the subject, and in some ways a lot scarier. The rate at which we are burning through resources and through the planet's ability to absorb our waste byproducts is not the "happy green planet" future that we often see portrayed.
Squarzoni's art is primarily realistic, with odd bits of surrealism injected to make various points. His style is clean and imaginative at the same time, such as the entire chapter on how to end a book or a film. While he doesn't come right out and say that, there is a hint that it's also about ending a planet. His take on the path the world is taking is not optimistic, and it would be nice if the cold numbers he conveys served as a wakeup call.
For adults and older teens, due to the scientific and economic discussions.
--Nick Smith: Library Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California
