Review: This year seems to be shaping up for a good collection of climate change books. Each one will have to compete in a crowded market and so needs to stand out - at the level of general education and the public interest there's a glut of material. Here, the approach is to go beyond the basic science to look at a range of other features such as mitigation and politics.

We start with a look at what might be happening and why. There is the chance to see some of the more basic data and an overview of why it all matters. As such it sets the scene for the rest of the text: we get some notion of the importance of the topic. Chapter two places global warming in a wider historical context. Periods of warmth and cold have been seen throughout geological history and here we see some of the key ones and the data used to analyse them. As such it's a review of past changes with the idea of linking what we have now to what has gone before. Chapter three moves us right into the future. There's a brief overview of the notoriously difficult world of climate models - not so much to explain how they work but to show the kinds of questions they aim to answer and how good they might be at it. This is followed by a study of the risks we face if we do/don't act. Thus the predictions constructed in chapter three become the models against which we base our action in chapter four. It's clear that there are risks but we need to know the magnitude and likelihood. Chapter five returns to the near present to examine the most likely changes in climate. Up to this point the emphasis has been on demonstrating the validity of the concept of global warming. Chapter six starts the next stage of the book which concentrates on human responses. In this chapter the focus is on the need to worry: which changes are most likely and what are the impacts and associated risks? Chapter seven considers the value of trying to live with global warming - the cost of moving around the problem as against the cost of tackling it head on. To this is linked chapter 8 which argues for mitigation at least to some extent to control the problem. Next, it's important that global warming does not take over the entire debate. Chapter 9 looks at other issues that need to be addressed (although many of these are at least exacerbated by global warming!) Chapters 10 and 11 form a pair describing, respectively, the politics of the situation and the international work. The former sets the science amongst the competing interests of the political arena and outlines the problems the topic needs to be overcome to get a fair hearing. One of the problems with this issue is that it has so many strands that it's difficult for conventional politics to react in any meaningful way. The latter describes Kyoto, its strengths and weaknesses. The final two chapters provide an overview and a source of further information.

The value of this text lies in the comprehensive way the topic is dealt with and the place given to the uncertainties in the subject. This is important because as much as it might be useful, the topic does not fit neatly into any given category. The science is complex and the results are uncertain (that's why they're called forecasts) and this very issue makes it difficult to be accepted. The author has laid out the case, warts and all, to allow the reader to make up their mind. Clearly there's a viewpoint on the case but this doesn't make the book a polemic. As such, the quality of the case put forward and the style of writing make it a very valuable text to show students both the dimensions of the issue and the way it can be presented. Overall, it makes a very valuable addition to the library shelves.