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Environmentalism Book Club

"H is for Hope" by Elizabeth Kolbert

In 26 connected essays, Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter Elizabeth Kolbert takes us on an illustrated journey through the landscape of climate change and the stories we tell ourselves about the future.

Our August 2026 selection is H is for Hope by Elizabeth Kolbert.

FROM CATALOG

Climate change resists narrative--and yet some account of what's happening is needed. Millions of lives are at stake, and upward of a million species. And there are decisions to be made, even though it's unclear who, exactly, will make them.

In H Is for Hope, Elizabeth Kolbert investigates the landscape of climate change--from "A", for Svante Arrhenius, who created the world's first climate model in 1894, to "Z", for the Colorado River Basin, ground zero for climate change in the United States. Along the way she looks at Greta Thunburg's "blah blah blah" speech ("B"), learns to fly an all-electric plane ("E"), experiments with the effects of extreme temperatures on the human body ("T"), and struggles with the deep uncertainty of the future of climate change ("U").

Adapted from essays originally published in The New Yorker and beautifully illustrated by Wesley Allsbrook, H Is for Hope is simultaneously inspiring, alarming, and darkly humorous--a unique examination of our changing world.

Copies of this title will be available through WPPL, SearchOhio, or find a copy in the format of your choice in the digital library.

If you have any questions, please email: elyse.kaderli@westlakelibrary.org.

This book club meets the second Wednesday of each month. Registration is required. View and print the list of books and check out the Book Discussion page for more book clubs and resources!

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