Product Description

Global warming and the resulting climate change is one of the most serious environmental problems facing the world community. Global Warming: The Complete Briefing is the most comprehensive guide available to the subject. A world-renowned expert, Sir John Houghton explores the scientific basis of global warming and the likely impacts of climate change on human society, before addressing the action that could be taken by governments, by industry and by individuals to mitigate the effects. The first two editions received excellent reviews, and this completely updated new edition will prove to be the best briefing the student or interested general reader could wish for.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #320459 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 382 pages

Review
‘… a widely praised book on global warming and its consequences.’ The Economist ‘Sir John Houghton is one of the few people who can legitimately use the phrase ‘the complete briefing’ as a subtitle for a book on global warming … Sir John has done us all a great favour in presenting such a wealth of material so clearly and accessibly and in drawing attention to the ethical underpinnings of our interpretation of this area of environmental science.’ Progress in Physical Geography ‘… it provides one of the most readable and authoritative statements of the basic science and its implications.‘ Biologist

‘… the best single-volume guide to the science of climate change.’ Times Literary Supplement ‘This book is one of the best I have encountered, that deal with climate change and some of its anthropogenic causes. Well written, well organised, richly illustrated and referenced, it should be required reading for anybody concerned with the fate of our planet.’ Elmar R. Reiter, Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics

‘… without doubt the best briefing the concerned citizen could hope to find.' Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society ‘In summary I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone concerned about global warming. It provides an excellent non-technical guide on scientific and political aspects of the subject. It is an essential briefing for students and science teachers.’ Tony Waters, Weather

‘It is difficult to imagine how Houghton’s exposition of this complex body of information might be substantially improved upon … Seldom has such a complex topic been presented with such remarkable simplicity, directness and crystalline clarity … Houghton’s complete briefing is without doubt the best briefing the concerned citizen could hope to find within the pages of a pocketable book.’ John Perry, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 'An impressive … exploration of the scientific basics of global warming and the likely impacts of climate change on human society.' Long Range Planning

‘I can recommend (this book) to anyone who wants to get a better perspective on the topic of global warming … a very readable and comprehensive guide to the changes that are occurring now, and could occur in the future, as a result of human action … brings the global warming debate right up to date … Read Houghton’s book if you really want to understand both the scientific and political issues involved.’ William Harston, The Independent

‘… precise account of the science, accompanied by figures, graphs, boxes on specific points, and summaries at the end of each chapter, with questions for students … ranges beyond the science into the diplomacy, politics, economics and ethics of the problem, which together present a formidable challenge to human understanding and capacity for action.’ Sir Crispin Tickell, The Times Higher Education Supplement ‘… this is a rigorous and well-presented overview of the science of global warming. … I highly recommend this textbook.‘ EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union

‘… an interesting account of the topic for the general reader.’ Environmental Assessment ‘I have no hesitation in endorsing this important book.’ Wilfrid Bach, International Journal of Climatology ‘… the definitive scientific book on global warming by one of the few authors who is actually in a position to give a complete briefing. … it has been written in a way that can both appeal to the general reader and be used by the student … The book as a whole is very well set out and makes use of the latest scientific findings. … If you read just one book on climate change, this has to be it.‘ Scientific and Medical Network Review

‘… very thorough and presents a balanced, impartial picture.’ Jonathan Shanklin, Journal of the British Astronomical Association ‘… a useful book for students and laymen to understand some of the complexities of the global warming issue. Questions and essay topics at the end of each chapter provide useful follow-up work and the range of material provided under one cover is impressive. At a student-friendly price, this is a book to buy for yourself and not rely on the library copy.’ Allen Perry, Holocene

‘I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone concerned about global warming. It provides and excellent essentially non-technical guide on scientific and political aspects of the subject. It is an essential briefing for students and science teachers.’ Tony Waters, The Observatory ‘ … this book is the most comprehensive guide available. Ignore it at your peril.’ The Canadian Field-Naturalist

‘For the non-technical reader, the best program guide to the political and scientific debate is John Houghton’s book Global Warming: the Complete Briefing. With this book in hand you are ready to make sense of the debate and reach your own conclusions.’ Alan Hecht, Climate Change ‘… this complete briefing on global warming is remarkably factual and inclusive. Houghton's concern about planet Earth and its people blends well with his hopes for global cooperation in concert with the spirit of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.’ Choice

‘This is a remarkable book … It is a model of clear exposition and comprehensible writing … Quite apart from its value as a background reader for science teachers and students, it would make a splendid basis for a college general course.’ Andrew Bishop, Association for Science Education ‘Throughout the book this argument is well developed and explained in a way that the average reader could understand-especially because there are many diagrams, tables, graphs and maps which are easy to interpret.’ SATYA

‘This very readable and informative book is valuable for anyone wanting a broad overview of what we know about climate change, its potential impacts on society and the natural world, and what could be done to mitigate or adapt to global warming. To this end, discussion questions are included at the end of each chapter. The paperback edition is an especially good value … Houghton’s compact book is an accessible, well-researched, and broadly based introduction to the immensely complicated global warming problem.’ Dennis L. Hartmann, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle

'The book is in its third edition, but just gets better. When it says on the cover 'the complete briefing', please believe it … The volume is a potent myth buster. If you wan ammunition to fight the global-warming sceptics, here it is … This book is, of course, a must for students. But it is also for you and me and the millions of people who think that maybe they ought to know a little about the biggest of the big issues … Buy this book.' Focus (Science and Technology)

'All in all, the text and figures have improved on the previous edition … the book provides a clear explanation of the issues associated with global warming from a knowledgeable expert in the field.' Journal of the British Astronomical Association

'This book has become the standard introductory text for explaining the mechanics and the implications of global warming. … it provides one of the most readable and authoritative statements of the basic science and its implications.' Journal of Biological Education ' … within the overall evolving policy process towards the complete stabilization of greenhouse gases, the decision-makers and their advisers need to be as well informed as possible. the third edition of global Warming is in this respect a very useful tool - and very readable for lawyers too.' Marjan Peeters, Maastricht University

About the Author
Sir John Houghton CBE, FRS is a former Chairman of the Scientific Assessment Working Group of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Chairman of the UK’s Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, Vice President of the World Meteorological Organisation, President of the Royal Meteorological Society, and Professor of Atmospheric Physics at Oxford University. He was Chief Executive of the UK Meteorological Office from 1983 to his retirement in 1991. As well as the previous editions of this book, he is author of The Physics of Atmospheres (Cambridge University Press, in three editions), and has published numerous research papers and contributed to many influential research documents. Sir John and his wife Sheila live in Wales.

Customer Reviews

the best guide to climate change.
This is a balanced and comprehensive account of the science behind climate change, including discussions of its causes, and different models for predicting future temperature increases. It is probably the best guide to global warming.

Lucid summary of best available science
Lucidly written by an outstanding scientist, discusses the many factors and mechanisms involved, and places anthropogenic change in its context along with natural factors. The scientific consensus on this issue has shifted steadily in one direction, from airy speculation about whether man-made change is real, to pressing concerns about how much, how soon, to what effect, and what to do about it; this book shows why.

Excellent summary of scientific evidence for global warming
This book presents the scientific evidence for global warming and man's involvement in it. While much of the science is explained in lay terms, some of the data tables assume a scientific background. It explains the variability of the climate models and the future global lifestyle assumptions used to predict the future. The author is chairman of the Science committee of UN International Panel on Climate Change, hardly a "Junk Scientist" as a previous review stated.

However, it makes little attempt to squash some of the wilder opposing arguments still being bandied around by some sceptics.
(I allow that there are still some areas for discussion).