The ongoing assault on climate science in the United States has never been more aggressive, more blatant, or more widely publicized than in the case of the Hockey Stick graph -- a clear and compelling visual presentation of scientific data, put together by MichaelE. Mann and his colleagues, demonstrating that global temperatures have risen in conjunction with the increase in industrialization and the use of fossil fuels. Here was an easy-to-understand graph that, in a glance, posed a threat to major corporate energy interests and those who do their political bidding. The stakes were simply too high to ignore the Hockey Stick -- and so began a relentless attack on a body of science and on the investigators whose work formed its scientific basis.

The Hockey Stick achieved prominence in a 2001 UN report on climate change and quickly became a central icon in the "climate wars." The real issue has never been the graph's data but rather its implied threat to those who oppose governmental regulation and other restraints to protect the environment and planet. Mann, lead author of the original paper in which the Hockey Stick first appeared, shares the story of the science and politics behind this controversy. He reveals key figures in the oil and energy industries and the media frontgroups who do their bidding in sometimes slick, sometimes bare-knuckled ways. Mann concludes with the real story of the 2009 "Climategate" scandal, in which climate scientists' emails were hacked. This is essential reading for all who care about our planet's health andour own well-being.

Review

Very few people have sounded more important alarms about our climate future, and very few people have paid a higher price for doing so. Michael Mann is a hero, and this book is a remarkable account of the science and politics of the defining issue of our time.

(Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet 1/20/2012)

The brilliant and courageous climatologist Michael Mann knows what it's like to be viciously attacked by the well-funded deniers of scientific evidence and how critical it is to respond. In this gripping, personal, front-lines account of climate politics, Mann tells the "hockey stick" story, exposing the forces behind the denialist rhetoric, refuting the charges of disinformation campaigns, and eloquently conveying the importance of both doing great science and communicating its societal implications to a wider public.

(Paul R. Ehrlich, co-author of * The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment and Humanity on a Tightrope* 2/19/2012)

Although not initially of his own choosing, Michael Mann has been the most important, resilient, and outspoken warrior in the climate battle--responding to threats and persecution with courage and resolve every step of the way. Anyone who cares about the climate issue must read his fascinating--and enraging--story.

(Chris Mooney, author of *Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future * 2/27/2012)

In The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars, Michael Mann presents his conviction that climate change is real and potentially deadly, and defends his now famous "Hockey Stick Graph." A truly readable book on a topic that will remain evergreen.

(James Lovelock, author of A New Look at Life on Earth and The Revenge of Gaia )

A must read to appreciate the endless disinformation campaign by climate change deniers at the highest levels of government and corporate America...and the chilling, but serious implications of the crusade to discredit distinguished scientists like Michael Mann.

(Sherwood Boehlert, Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives 1983-2007, former chairman of the House Science Committee )

As one of the nation's leading climate researchers, no one has felt the brunt of the attacks from politicians and the fossil fuel industry more than Michael Mann. This is his personal account from the center of the maelstrom, documenting the lies and distortions about his work and his heroic efforts to stand up for scientific truth.

(Henry Waxman, Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, former chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee )

If you don't believe our climate is changing, read this book. Dr. Mann will change your mind. For us, it's a war of words. Preserve the Earth, and pass the ammunition.

(Bill Nye the Science Guy )

In this meticulous and engaging brief on climate change research and the political backlash to legitimate scientific work, Penn State professor Mann narrates the fight against misinformation from the inside.Publishers Weekly

(Publishers Weekly )

An important and disturbing account of the fossil-fuel industry's well-funded public-relations campaign to sow doubt about the validity of the science of climate change...This blistering indictment of corporate-funded chicanery demands a wide audience.Kirkus Reviews (starred review)Kirkus Reviews (starred review)Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

(Kirkus Reviews (starred review) )

And if you read just one book on climate change, make it Michael E. Mann's riveting exposé of disinformation and denial....

(Irish Times )

...the best part, in my science-geeky opinion, is readers of this book will enjoy a dazzling, informative tour of the science underlying climatology and especially the analysis that went into the diagram that caused all the ruckus, first published in Nature by Mann, Bradley and Hughes in 1998: the Hockey Stick.

(DarkSyde Daily Kos )

A harrowing ride through the politics of truth and denial.Huffington Post

(Shawn Lawrence Otto Huffington Post )

From the Author

The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars' is a must-read for anybody who follows the politics of climate -- or who cares about the frightening future our failed political system is about to unleash.
(Los Angeles Times)

Michael E. Mann...gives readers an inside look at a string of skirmishes going back to 1999 in which he has played a central role.
(New York Times)

The strength of Mann's book lies in the light he sheds on how the scientific peer-review process works, along with his first-hand account of his role in the national political feud.
(Washington Post)

For an insider's perspective on the science and politics of climate change, try 'The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches From the Front Lines'
(Philadelphia Inquirer)

I challenge anyone with an open mind, left or right, business or academic, to not be deeply disturbed by the attacks on science and scientists for political ends that Mann dispassionately describes...[T]he story is clear and vitally important to all citizens of a warming planet Earth.
(Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

[F]rom a general defense of academic scientific research into recent climate change, 'The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars' is terrific, giving ample peer-review science references and making reasoned arguments.
(Washington Times)

Mann's book is a blow-by-blow account of a battle between politics and science. You should read it.
(Naples Daily News)

Mann deserves our respect and admiration for what he has been through and for his willingness to discuss it. The narrative is a deeply honest scientific coming-of-age story...
(Physics Today)

Mann's honest and thorough testimony on the attacks against climate science is a critical step toward resolving the climate change debate.
(Science)

Mann's account and nontechnical rebuttal of the attacks on climate science provide an excellent primer on contemporary climate science...Highly Recommended.
(Choice Reviews)

The Hockey Stick" is one of the most useful books yet in explaining climate science...It also offers one of the clearest and most damning examinations of the tactics used by climate-change deniers to distort the science of climate change and smear the reputations of climate scientists.
(Chemical & Engineering News)

[T]hose who read his book will come away from it with little doubt that global warming is real and that we are the cause.
(Daily Texan)

An extremely well documented and riveting account of the climate wars...
(Voices of Central PA)

Luckily, there is a lot that we can do to make sure that scientists like Dr. Mann are heard and that we do the best by our kids...we can arm ourselves with information, by reading books like this one, and then we can spread the word.
(Mothering Magazine)

Mann has taken ample advantage of his front-row seat in the climate wars to [provide] a disturbing glimpse into an important and sadly enduring aspect of our fraying political culture, namely the degradation of science by manufactured doubt.
(Environmental Headlines)

The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars' is a startling depiction of a scientist persecuted for trying to tell the truth.
(The Observer, UK)

In 'The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars', Mann sets out to tell his side of the story. Part autobiography, part furious exposé, this book is for anyone interested in the science - and filthy politics - of climate change.
(The New Scientist, UK)

Mann's shocking first-hand testimony of the repeated attempts to discredit him and his work gives his book power.
(Nature, UK)

Michael Mann's expose of how the greedy dig themselves shows nothing has changed since the First World War.
(The Week, UK)

The book's pay-off...lies in the overall impression [Mann] builds of the value of one researcher's determined defence of the science as it is - imperfect, beset by genuine disagreements over how best to extract signal from noise, but the best information we have.
(Times Higher Education, UK)

I heartily recommend this book for an unusually clear view of the action on the front line of climate science from one of its principle palaeoclimate protagonists.
(Geoscientist, UK)

A worthwhile [book]...Regardless of your take on...climate science, its worth having a look from Mann's perspective.
(The Australian, Australia)

This book is well written and tells a remarkable story that is likely to be of interest to a wide range of readers.
(Australian Book Review, Australia)