The Ministry for the Future
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4.1 • 51 Ratings
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- £5.49
Publisher Description
ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVOURITE READS OF THE YEAR
'If I could get policymakers and citizens everywhere to read just one book this year, it would be Kim Stanley Robinson's The Ministry for the Future' Ezra Klein, Vox
'A great read' Bill Gates
The Ministry for the Future is a masterpiece of the imagination, using fictional eyewitness accounts to tell the story of how climate change will affect us all. Its setting is not a desolate, postapocalyptic world, but a future that is almost upon us. Chosen by Barack Obama as one of his favorite books of the year, this extraordinary novel from visionary writer Kim Stanley Robinson will change the way you think about the climate crisis.
'A novel that presents a rousing vision of how we might unite to overcome the greatest challenge of our time' TED.com
'A breathtaking look at the challenges that face our planet in all their sprawling magnitude and also in their intimate, individual moments of humanity' Booklist (starred review)
'Gutsy, humane . . . a must-read for anyone worried about the future of the planet' Publishers Weekly (starred review)
'A sweeping epic about climate change and humanity's efforts to try and turn the tide before it's too late' Polygon (Best of the Year)
'Steely, visionary optimism' Guardian
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Robinson (Forty Signs of Rain) again tackles climate change head-on in this gutsy, humane view of a near-future Earth careening toward collapse. Mary Murphy, head of the Ministry for the Future, a UN watchdog agency created as a result of the Paris Agreement, takes to heart the ministry's mission "to advocate for the world's future generations." Mary spends her days promoting relief for the afflicted and wrestling with the financial powers-that-be to change the carbon balance before it tips too far. She must also be on the watch for ecoterrorists, even as she plans to use their attacks in her pitch for a carbon sequestration cryptocurrency to a group of influential bankers. Then Molly is abducted by the traumatized survivor of a heat wave that killed 20 million in India, who furiously cuts through the political weeds to demand change ("You're killing the world and you want me to remember what words you used to cover your ass?"). Galvanized by his demands, Molly attempts to start a "black wing" working in secret within the Ministry for the Future to make larger changes than she can aboveboard only to discover that such a group already exists. Robinson masterfully integrates the practical details of environmental crises and geoengineering projects into a sweeping, optimistic portrait of humanity's ability to cooperate in the face of disaster. This heartfelt work of hard science-fiction is a must-read for anyone worried about the future of the planet.
