In this “well-researched guide,” two of the world’s most respected scientists reveal the forces behind the dangerous anti-science movement—and offer “powerful ideas about how to fight back” (Bill McKibben, author of Here Comes the Sun)
“Science is indeed under siege, and that’s not good for any of us. Here, Peter Hotez and Michael Mann name names...It’s not too late to do something; it’s time to get things done. Read on” (Bill Nye, science educator)
From pandemics to the climate crisis, humanity faces tougher challenges than ever. Whether it’s the health of our people or the health of our planet, we know we are on an unsustainable path. But our efforts to effectively tackle these existential crises are now hampered by a common threat: politically and ideologically motivated opposition to science.
Michael E. Mann and Peter J. Hotez are two of the most respected and well-known scientists in the world and have spent the last twenty years on the front lines of the battle to convey accurate, reliable, and trustworthy information about science in the face of determined and nihilistic opposition.
In this powerful manifesto, they reveal the five main forces threatening science: plutocrats, pros, petrostates, phonies, and the press. It is a call to arms and a road map for dismantling the forces of anti-science. Armed with the information in this book, we can be empowered to promote scientific truths, shine light on channels of dark money, dismantle the corporations poisoning the planet, and ultimately avert disaster.
Irritatingly Repetitive
"Having seen the interview of the authors of this book on the PBS, given my own concerns over the incessant attacks on science, and on truth in general, over the past decade, I decided to purchase this book. Regrettably, despite their deeply personal experiences as victims of the Far Right’s anti-science campaign, I was rather disappointed by their presentation of the subject matter. First, whereas the authors are to be commended for their research of the groups and individuals who have been waging the current war on science, I found their book to be exceedingly repetitive; in my opinion, the entire book could easily be summarized into a ten-page magazine article. Their incessant hammering of the same points was a seriously irritating experience for me. Second, whereas I would have expected a “history” of the attacks on science since at least the period of Ancient Greece, other than a passing mention made of Galileo, the authors chose to focus solely on the most recent period. In my opinion, this was a missed opportunity. Third, and this is rather damning, whereas the authors abundantly exposed the Far Right’s attacks against science, they remained conspicuously silent on the attacks from the Left, particularly those from the Woke movement which denies the very existence of science, treating it as derived from a male-dominated, colonialist, white-nationalist, misogynist, homophobic, Islamophobic, Fascist culture and mind-set; not even a peep concerning the attacks from the Ultra Left! Fourth, while the following represents only a minor digression from the central theme of the book, I was rather irritated by the authors’ choice to suggest that Justin Trudeau’s political career was a victim of Vladimir Putin’s attacks on science : (1) I found this side discussion to be truly bizarre and not even remotely related to the central theme of the book, (2) as for many tyrants, Vladimir Putin is a pragmatist and, as his regime benefits from science, it is an unjust cheap-shot to characterize this otherwise despicable man as being anti-science, and finally, (3) it is a gross exaggeration to suggest that Vladmir Putin hastened Justin Trudeau’s political demise; nope, Wonder Boy did it to himself! The authors should stick to science and refrain from the temptations of political analysis. Fifth, as this book is purportedly a professionally-prepared treatise of a serious matter, I found the authors’ authors’ stylistic choice of referring to each others’ professional colleague by their chatty first names rather than by their academic titles to have a diminishing effect on the tone and seriousness of the subject matter. Style DOES matter!"
