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The Water Will Come

Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World

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About this listen

 An eye-opening and essential tour of the vanishing world in the age of climate change and rising tides.

What if Atlantis wasn't a myth, but an early precursor to a new age of great flooding? Across the globe, scientists and civilians alike are noticing rapidly rising sea levels, and higher and higher tides pushing more water directly into the places we live, from our most vibrant, historic cities to our last remaining traditional coastal villages. With each crack in the great ice sheets of the Arctic and Antarctica, and each tick upwards of Earth's thermometer, we are moving closer to the brink of broad disaster.

By century's end, hundreds of millions of people will be retreating from the world's shores as our coasts become inundated and our landscapes transformed. From island nations to the world's major cities, coastal regions will disappear. Engineering projects to hold back the water are bold and may buy some time. Yet despite international efforts and tireless research, there is no permanent solution-no barriers to erect or walls to build-that will protect us in the end from the drowning of the world as we know it.

The Water Will Come is the definitive account of the coming water, why and how this will happen, and what it will all mean. As he travels across twelve countries and reports from the front lines, acclaimed journalist Jeff Goodell employs fact, science, and first-person, on-the-ground journalism to show vivid scenes from what already is becoming a water world.

“An immersive, mildly gonzo and depressingly well-timed book about the drenching effects of global warming, and a powerful reminder that we can bury our heads in the sand about climate change for only so long before the sand itself disappears.” —Jennifer Senior, New York Times Earth Sciences Ecosystems & Habitats Environment Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Science Polar Region

Critic reviews

Praise for The Water Will Come

"Jeff Goodell's latest contribution to the environmental cause paints an eye-opening portrait of humankind's dilemma as temperatures -- and sea levels -- continue to rise. The Water Will Come brings together compelling anecdotes from all over the globe and shocking expert assessments that should make the world's few remaining skeptics reconsider. Read this book for a reminder of the stakes -- right now, today -- and why we have to work harder, faster, to address the climate challenge."—John F. Kerry
"Jeff Goodell has taken on some of the most important issues of our time, from coal mining to geoengineering. In The Water Will Come, he explains the threat of sea level rise with characteristic rigor and intelligence. The result is at once deeply persuasive and deeply unsettling."—Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author of The Sixth Extinction
"Once you've read an excellent book about climate change, which Jeff Goodell's The Water Will Come most certainly is, you can never unremember the facts... Goodell has been writing about climate change for many years... he's the real deal, committed and making house calls."—Jennifer Senior, The New York Times
"This harrowing, compulsively readable, and carefully researched book lays out in clear-eyed detail what Earth's changing climate means for us today, and what it will mean for future generations... It's a thriller in which the hero in peril is us."—John Green
"Sea level rise is coming. We know this as clearly as we know thermometer measurements, the melting point of ice, and the law of thermal expansion. Jeff Goodell's book cuts through the fossil-fuel lies, and is a warning I hope we heed while there's still time."—Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
"A deeply reported and very well-written account of how rising sea levels are reshaping our world. Goodell has written a powerful call to arms that is never preachy but is a very timely reminder that we ignore how climate change is raising sea levels only at great risk to our way of life."—Peter Bergen, author of United States of Jihad and Manhunt
"Even if we could halt further growth in greenhouse gas emissions today, we would remain locked into several centuries of sea level rise ahead. Jeff Goodell's The Water Will Come shows us how this stark truth will unfold, right down to individual human experiences."—Laurence C. Smith, author of The World in 2050
"For people who want to learn more about climate change, rising sea levels and what it means for our future, read The Water Will Come."—Chris Hayes, MSNBC
All stars
Most relevant
Great eye opening look into what could happen and what has happened. Great Narrator l!

Eye opening

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Laden with anecdotes and insight from conversations with architects, property developers, local and national political leaders. Recommending this to all my Miami friends.

Thought-provoking science, but in a digestible way

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After all the good reviews of this book I was really looking forward to something thought provoking but it spends far far too much time just talking about things people are doing now. These changes will take generations to occur and even if we stop making the situation worse the waters will come. It would have been more interesting what needs to happen now and in 20 years then in 40...
Very disappointing and a missed opportunity

Disappointing and far too long

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